. Earth Science News .
FROTH AND BUBBLE
Environment the loser in Gabon capital's rush for growth
By Caroline CHAUVET
Libreville (AFP) June 22, 2018

"It's an environmental disaster," said Magloir-Desire Mounganga as he strode across the soggy, spongy soil where mangroves have been ripped up for development near the Gabonese capital Libreville, threatening its fragile ecosystem.

"Here the mangrove trees have been completely razed, you can even see the marks left by the bulldozer," said Mounganga, an expert from Gabon's National Agency for National Parks.

The path in the district of Angondje Nton leads to a section of large homes owned by the wealthy. The svelte buildings rise on muddy terrain where mangroves once flourished.

Bit by bit, the tough, bushy little trees are being ripped away as Libreville pursues its relentless and almost unbridled expansion.

But, say experts, their destruction is depriving the coastal city of a vital ecological reserve and weakening its shield against disasters such as storm surges.

"Mangroves have the capacity to retain water and to combat coastal erosion with their (extensive) root systems, which also act as nurseries for marine species," said Medard Obiang Ebanega, a geographer at Libreville's Omar Bongo University.

And by clearing away the mangroves and building their homes here, Gabon's rich are creating problems for themselves, said Mounganga.

- 'Not fit to be built on' -

"The ground here is peaty. There's always water in it," he said, boots sinking into the boggy soil.

"Peat can prevent flooding, it's like a sponge -- but when you cover it with concrete, the water will rise... With global warming, these houses will inevitably be flooded," he said, referring to the danger of rising seas, driven higher by thermal expansion.

"This land is not fit to be built on. That's what people don't understand."

Gabon, an oil-rich, small equatorial African country of about 270,000 square kilometres (104,000 square miles), has won plaudits for some of its ecological work.

The country has 13 national parks constituting 11 percent of its land area, as well as 20 protected marine zones -- a strong achievement by the standards of central Africa.

Its territory accounts for around half of all the mangroves in the extensive Gulf of Guinea region, most of which are on the outskirts of Libreville -- and, in theory, are shielded from urban spread.

"This is the only capital in the whole Atlantic basin to be almost entirely surrounded by protected areas accorded high ecological value," said Mathieu Ducrocq, an expert with the ANPN.

But the protection is very far from complete.

- 'Law not applied' -

In many cases, Gabonese law gives precedence to those already using the land, which means that plots exchange hands by mutual agreement and the National Agency of Urban Planning simply records the transaction, said survey engineer Pierre Bongolo, a former government advisor.

"There are a few pieces of legislation (on urban planning) but they're not applied. For example, the law provides for studies on the environmental impact (of new buildings), but these aren't being done," he said.

The phenomenon is worsened by property speculation and corruption, he added.

Other problems include poor information -- there are no reliable figures for the city's population growth -- and inadequate maps of protected areas, something that the ANPN hopes to change with a project named "Emerald Arc" to limit building in buffer zones.

One answer, according to a development plan backed by the state in 2017, might be to produce more housing in the few "pockets of urbanisation" remaining in the city and further inland, said Bongolo.

He called for a new, tough and transparent urban code.

"If we don't take up rigorous urbanisation and land management policies, we run the risk of being hit head-on by climate change, land disputes, increased poverty, disease and mortality."


Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


FROTH AND BUBBLE
Japan passes anti-plastic law but with no sanctions for polluters
Tokyo (AFP) June 15, 2018
A bill intended to reduce the volume of microplastics dumped into the ocean was approved by Japan's parliament on Friday, but it included no sanctions for failure to comply. The measure, which received unanimous approval in the upper house, seeks to encourage businesses to reduce their use of microplastics, including microbeads - tiny plastic particles used in exfoliating creams and other cosmetic products. But the law contains no details of punishment for those who break it, raising questions ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

FROTH AND BUBBLE
NATO says ready to help Italy in Libya

Split families in limbo amid Trump immigration chaos

Pentagon to prepare 20,000 beds for migrant children

US military to help prosecute migrant cases

FROTH AND BUBBLE
From face recognition to phase recognition

Electronic skin stretched to new limits

Scientists use a photonic quantum simulator to make virtual movies of molecules vibrating

Cementless fly ash binder makes concrete 'green'

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Increase in storms could have 'catastrophic impact' on fishing industry

Prolific sea-observing satellite Jason-2 turns 10

Malaysian PM revives age-old water row with Singapore

Metron contracted for undersea unmanned vehicle payloads

FROTH AND BUBBLE
NASA study solves Greenland glacier mystery

Earth's squishy interior gives rapid rise to Antarctica

OMG, the water's warm! NASA study solves glacier puzzle

Bear necessities: cooler home for S. Korea's last polar bear

FROTH AND BUBBLE
China lifts French beef ban as PM ends visit

Lab-grown livestock feed may ease climatic effects of feed production

Indonesia takes a bite out of food waste one wedding at a time

Monsanto faces first US trial over Roundup cancer link

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Guatemala asks US to help its migrants after volcano eruption

5.5-magnitude quake hits southern Greece

I.Coast govt calls for evacuation from flood zones in Abidjan

'Drum tower' collapses at Japan's quake-hit Kumamoto Castle

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Gambia leader meets victims' families after deadly protest

Death toll from Gambia protest rises to three

Environment the loser in Gabon capital's rush for growth

Gambian police kill two anti-pollution protestors

FROTH AND BUBBLE
Cambodia finds 33 surrogate mothers in raid on illegal business

Cranium of a four-million-year-old hominin shows similarities to that of modern humans

Key difference between humans and other mammals is skin deep, says study

Improved ape genome assemblies provide new insights into human evolution









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.