Quand le syndrome Neerlandais: petrole, macroeconomie et forets au Gabon | Land Portal

Resource information

Date of publication: 
December 2003
Resource Language: 
ISBN / Resource ID: 
handle:10568/18856
License of the resource: 

Gabon’s oil wealth coincides with the fact that it is one of the most forested countries in Africa; about four-fifths of its land area is covered by forests. But this is not really a coincidence. The central hypothesis of this report is that oil rents have enabled a series of pro-urban, anti-rural policies that, together with the low demographic pressure, have been key in protecting forests from degradation and deforestation. In particular, forest conversion to cropland has been contained. Most probably, oil has helped expand forest cover in absolute terms. This has occurred through a number of economy-wide market and policy responses to oil wealth. Yet, none of the policies has been implemented because the government cared particularly about forests. Rather, the policies accompanying oil wealth have caused agriculture to decline. This misfortune has enabled forests to expand by default. Gabon’s unintentional, ‘blind’ conservation policies have been far more successful in conserving forests than most of those designed consciously by governments that actively strive to protect their forests through direct conservation measures. The gradually emerging decline in Gabon’s oil revenues thus poses serious challenges both for the macroeconomy and for forest conservation. The final part of this report discusses development scenarios and specific policy options for how to adjust to declining oil rents without sacrificing Gabon’s rich forests.

Authors and Publishers

Author(s), editor(s), contributor(s): 

Wunder, S.

Publisher(s): 
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is a non-profit, scientific facility that conducts research on the most pressing challenges of forest and landscapes management around the world. With our global, multidisciplinary approach, we aim to improve human well-being, protect the environment, and increase equity. To do so, we help policymakers, practitioners and communities make decisions based on solid science about how they use and manage their forests and landscapes.


Data provider

CGIAR (CGIAR)

CGIAR is the only worldwide partnership addressing agricultural research for development, whose work contributes to the global effort to tackle poverty, hunger and major nutrition imbalances, and environmental degradation.


Share this page