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Post‐Logging in Remote Rural Forest Areas of Gabon and Its Long‐Term Impacts on Development and the Environment

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Post‐Logging in Remote Rural Forest Areas of Gabon and Its Long‐Term Impacts on Development and the Environment L’Okoumé, fils du manioc : Post‐logging in remote rural forest areas of Gabon and its long‐term impacts on development and the environment. Olivier Hymas Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London 2015 Page 1 of 391 “We do need time to think. We do need time to digest. We do need time to misunderstand each other, especially when fostering lost dialogue between humanities and natural sciences. We cannot continuously tell you what our science means; what it will be good for; because we simply don’t know yet. Science needs time. —Bear with us, while we think” (The Slow Science Academy, 2010) “Theory helps us to bear our ignorance of facts” (Santayana, 1896, p.125) “On the Shoulders of Giants” (Merton, 1993) “I, [Olivier Hymas,] confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis” (UCL, 2015). Signed: Page 2 of 391 Abstract Development and conservation theory use a chain of logic to suggest that timber industries bring long‐term development to rural areas at the expense of the environment. This logic chain assumes that the arrival of industry and their transport infrastructure in an un‐exploited area creates employment opportunities that result in economic development which attracts migrants and the commodification of agricultural and forest products. However, this chain does not factor in historic natural resource exploitation before the arrival of timber companies, nor what occurs after their departure. This thesis proposes an alternative chain of logic which incorporates these two. By using historic literature, social and ecological methods, this alternative is explored in Gabon, where 60% of roads are logging roads and 44% of its forests are timber concessions. The long history of exploitation of natural resources has resulted in the local extinction of species which have then recovered, while any resulting development has been one of booms and busts. Two sets of sites, where transport infrastructure had been created by timber companies, demonstrate the repercussions of the departure of companies. Only in the less remote sites was it found that commercial bushmeat hunting occurred. In the remote sites transport infrastructure had collapsed, livelihoods had reverted to subsistence activities, migrants had left, while education levels were worse. In one remote village animal signs were higher than in a remote village that had never been logged. These findings correspond with Von Thünen’s classic theory on land use and access. By overlooking the drawbacks of the accepted chain of logic, misleading blanket assumptions have been created. This can contribute to project failure. Assumption drag has been created not only due to a lack of a multidisciplinary approach but also because research is usually only carried out while timber operations are occurring. Page 3 of 391 Acknowledgement For all the “monomaniacs” (Wadham, 2013, p.132). Thanks go to everyone, especially the doctors and nurses who kept patching me up so that I can go back to the forest and the peoples of Africa. Many thanks to Katherine who somehow managed to corral my thoughts and writing into something that I hope is intelligible. Thanks also to Gretchen, who amazingly did not go crazy after reading each chapter a dozen times. Also thanks to Marcus for looking over the statistics. Kevin, Stevens, Repara, Wille first work colleagues and then research assistants who I dragged into the middle of nowhere, just to see what was there. Hopefully one day we can get together again and drink some Régabs. Also thanks to Kate and Anne‐Marie for helping me to get set up in Gabon. To Eric, Fiston, Malcolm and their families, their families who had to put up with both of them disappearing to moan about the white car society in some bar deep in les quartier populaires of Libreville. To the village of Santa‐Clara, home for over seven years, especially Copain, Petit Paul, Claude, Ndong, American, Maman Theresse, Boulingey, and all the chefs. Where each day our only thoughts were on the state of the roads. Even though the lights of Libreville were reflected off the roofs of the houses, they were a world away. I hope that one day I may again have the privilege to fit as many of you into my car and give you a lift. I would also like to thank John and Charles for their long conversations, et beaucoup de Bla Bla Bla, over grilled fish in Yaoundé. Thanks to Loz and Judy for allowing me to work in sites that they have been studying for a long time. Finally to all the people in Waka and Koulamoutou. Chimie, Canton, Slipe, Maman Jeanne and the list continues. Many thanks to you all for putting up with me. One day I hope to find myself with you again. I know that is probably just a fruitless wish. But one can but try. Now pass me the palm wine and palm grubs. Page 4 of 391 Table of contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... 4 Table of contents ........................................................................................................................... 5 List of figures ................................................................................................................................ 10 List of tables ................................................................................................................................. 14 List of pictures .............................................................................................................................. 18 List of maps .................................................................................................................................. 19 Preamble ...................................................................................................................................... 23 1 Introduction: isolated states, timber companies and remote rural communities in Gabon ........................................................................................................................................... 25 1.1 Overview of chapter ..................................................................................................... 29 1.2 Literature review .......................................................................................................... 30 1.2.1 Assumption drag ................................................................................................. 30 1.2.2 Von Thünen’s spatial analysis of tradable resources .......................................... 33 1.2.3 Transport infrastructure and development ........................................................ 39 1.2.4 Timber companies, transport infrastructure and development ......................... 42 1.2.5 Transport infrastructure and the environment .................................................. 49 1.2.6 Patch dynamics and logging ................................................................................ 55 1.2.7 Current research on the impacts of timber companies and their transport infrastructure on development and the environment ....................................................... 59 1.3 Aim of thesis................................................................................................................. 61 2 Background to the study sites and methods ....................................................................... 64 2.1 An overview of Gabon .................................................................................................. 64 2.1.1 Geography and Climate ...................................................................................... 65 2.1.2 The Peoples of Gabon ......................................................................................... 66 2.1.3 Population ........................................................................................................... 67 2.1.4 Colonisation ........................................................................................................ 68 2.1.5 Economy .............................................................................................................. 69 2.1.6 Gabon and land use ............................................................................................ 69 2.1.7 The study sites .................................................................................................... 70 Page 5 of 391 2.2 Overview of methods ................................................................................................... 74 2.2.1 Historical approach ............................................................................................. 76 2.2.2 Geographic information system methods .......................................................... 77 2.2.3 Social methods .................................................................................................... 80 2.2.4 Ecological methods ............................................................................................. 83 2.2.5 Data analysis ....................................................................................................... 83 2.2.6 Critique of data collection ..................................................................................
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