Preliminary Strategy Report for Land-use Planning in the Mayumba National Park and Community Based Natural Resource-use Zones WCS Mayumba Project October 2006 DRAFT Incomplete -Not for distribution 1. Introduction and Baseline Data This document is designed as a guide to the process of land-use planning in the Mayumba National Park (MNP) and its associated community based natural resource use zones (CBNRZ). While not in and of itself a management plan, it is the logical precursor to the development of such a plan. The objectives of the current document are as follows: 1. Provide a brief description of the geographical, political, biological, and socio- economic landscape of the project area. 2. Describe current status of zoning within the area and propose new zoning system. 3. List and describe the stakeholders in Mayumba Park conservation and resource-use zones. 4. Identify priority structures fro development and actions necessary to advance the land-use planning process. 5. List and describe current and perceived hurdles to land-use planning in the area. 6. Propose logical ‘next step’ for the development of a Management Plan for the Park and the CBNRZ. 1.1 Historical perspective In August 2002, the President of the Gabonese Republic, OMAR BONGO ONDIMBA, made conservation history through the unique act of creating thirteen national parks. These parks together protect nearly eleven percent of the surface area of Gabon: a staggering 30,000 km 2 in a country itself of only 267,667km 2. The personal involvement of the President at all stages of the selection and creation of these parks is a reflection of his commitment to protecting the extraordinary richness and bio-diversity of the country. It also reflects his vision for a more dynamic and diverse economy for Gabon, in which the country’s great wealth of wildlife, forest, savanna and water contributes significantly to the wealth of the nation while remaining intact and largely undisturbed. Following the example of nations such as Kenya, Tanzania, Costa Rica and Belize, it is hoped that eco-tourism will become a fruitful and sustainable harvest for Gabon, nourishing the development and growth of the nation in a manner that is at the same time both durable and environmentally sound. The potential for genuine, durable, and economically self-sustaining conservation in Gabon is immense. Over eighty-five percent of the country remains forested, and these forests harbor the world’s most important populations of forest elephants, chimpanzees and gorillas. Gabon’s beaches host Africa’s most important nesting aggregation of highly threatened leatherback turtles, and its coastal waters witness the annual migration of around ten percent of the planet’s humpback whales. In addition to these and numerous other natural wonders, Gabon enjoys an unprecedented political stability in a region torn by civil war, uncertainty and economic turmoil. In contrast to many other African nations, the municipal and regional infrastructure of Gabon, though stretched, is adequate to provide a foundation upon which further development can be built. In such a light, the bold move by the President of the Republic to protect such a large area of the country can be seen as anything but political rhetoric or economic adventurism. In Gabon, sustainable and environmentally sensitive development has a genuine chance of success. Gabon’s new network of national parks is largely terrestrial, with tropical forest constituting the greatest area under protection. In the north of the country, the Akanda National Park protects important estuarine habitat for migratory birds, and other parks (Pongara, Loango) have buffer zones that include some small areas of coastal sea. However, the only area dedicated wholly to the protection of the marine environment and marine species is Mayumba National Park. The Park was created by Presidential Decree, No. 614/PR/MEFEPEPN on the 30 August 2002, principally as a means of protecting what is generally acknowledged to be the most important nesting beach for leatherback turtles in Africa, and potentially the world. WCS, acting as principal partner to the government for Mayumba National Park began a long-term support project for the park in May 2004. This was the first such project of its kind in the Mayumba area. 1.2 Political considerations Mayumba town and Park are situated within the Province of ‘Nyanga’, which has its main seat in the town of Tchibanga. The area is further sub-divided in two ‘Departments’ with their own local administration capacity; the Basse Banio and the Haute Banio. Each is characterized by having an independent Prefects Office and other administrative functions. The principal town of the Basse Banio is Mayumba, while in the Haute Banio, the administration is centered on the large village of Ndindi. Each of these villages has its own Mayors Office, and a Prefecture, however, Ndindi does not have a hospital or a wildlife and forests office. The political character of the area is strongly influenced by that of several government Ministers who have their origins and surviving family in the region. Political allegiances and political campaigning are therefore strong and influence many aspects of life. There are many small cultural or quasi-political groups set up around the towns or villages, that ally themselves to the government and very rarely, the opposition, via support for a particular Minister. 1.3 Geographical situation The area is situated in the extreme South West of Gabon, close to the international border with Congo. To the West, the region is delimited by the Mayombe chain of forested hills, and to the east, by the Atlantic Ocean. Mayumba Town sits at the tip of a narrow tongue of sandy soil between the Ocean and the Banio Lagoon. This major waterway runs 70km from its mouth at Mayumba, in a roughly south-westerly direction and parallel to the coast, to the border village of Ndindi. The lagoon in Mayumba separates the town from the rest of mainland Gabon, and is reached only by a government run car ferry, giving the town the feel of an island, despite the fact that its peninsula is attached to the rest of Gabon 70km to the south-west. 1.4 Access Mayumba Town is 700km by road from Libreville. Roughly 400km of the road is tarmaced, with the remainder being in a poor state of upkeep. Particularly in the south of the country, many sections of the road are frequently blocked by deep mud and standing water during the rainy season. The drive from the capitol takes approximately 15 hours and requires a solid 4x4 vehicle. As such, Mayumba is one of the more distant and isolated towns in Gabon. Ndindi is even more isolated, as there are no practical roads reaching it from the rest of the country. A dirt track from Mayumba that winds for part of its length through the Mayumba National Park is sometimes used, but the road is heavily eroded, and frequently flooded or blocked by fallen trees, and is only undertaken infrequently, and by very experienced drivers. Most people access Ndindi via an open boat service that takes roughly 5 hours on the Banio Lagoon from Mayumba and leaves every two days. Air travel to Mayumba is currently provided via a twice weekly flight by La National Airways, although the service is occasionally cancelled. Over the past few years, air travel to Mayumba has been hit-and miss, with the departure of the Avirex service, and a period of nearly 6 months with no planes at all. In these circumstances, some passengers fly to the towns of Gamba or Tchibanga, and then finish their journeys by renting space in a regular pickup truck service. Access and travel issues have an important handicapping effect on the development of the region, and on tourism in particular. In 2005, a US/Gabon sponsored consultancy visited Mayumba and several other Park areas, to assess transport needs and access issues, but we have yet to receive the consultants report. 1.5 Human habitation In the Mayumba Landscape segment, most people live either in Mayumba Town, or in isolated villages on the banks of the Banio Lagoon. Figure 1 shows the location of all towns and villages in the area, and transport infrastructure such as roads and airports. There are 13 permanent villages on the banks of the Banio Lagoon, not including Mayumba. Of these, only Ndindi has road access, by this is only from Congo. Only 3 of these villages are situated on the MNP side of the lagoon, however, THERE IS NO HUMAN HABITATION WITHIN THE PARK, and no persons or infrastructure were removed from the Park following its creation. Numerous small villages also line the main road from Mayumba north-west to Tchibanga, although these do not fall within the community zones currently being considered by the project. Most of the population in the region lives in simple wooden framed and slatted houses with corrugated iron roofs. Most lack central plumbing but rely instead on communal or home-made wells. In Mayumba, and Ndindi, electricity is available through the state operated power generating company. In several smaller villages, privately owned small generators provide light and television, while in many small fishing camps and hamlets, there is no power, and lighting is provided by hurricane lamps. Figure 1. Map of villages and main roads in the Mayumba Landscape segment Mayumba Town and Airport Banio Lagoon NDINDI Roads Mayumba National Park Boundary Buffer Zone of MNP Principal villages In addition to permanent villages, the Banio Lagoon is dotted with temporary fishing camps where families or small groups of fishers spend several months or longer at a time fishing. These camps are usually rudimentary in nature and generally number no more than one or two simple timber huts.