Strengthening Capacity for Managing National Parks and Biodiversity

The objective of the project is to protect and manage biodiversity in a sustainable way and contribute to the diversification of national economy through strengthened capacities of parks and wildlife authorities. The proposed GEF project is designed to complement the Gabon’s Forest and Environment Sector Program (PSFE), a sector wide, multi donor program led by the Ministry of Forests. The program is consisted of five components: 1) sustainable forest management including wildlife in production landscapes; 2) Fisheries and coastal zone management; 3) development of the national parks network; 4) valorization of other environmental goods and services; and 5) institutional strengthening research and training. The GEF project is designed to specifically support components 1 and 3 of the PSFE program. The IBRD loan will support component 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the PSFE. The GEF project will have its own project management and institutional arrangement with a Project Implementation Unit, separate from the IBRD loan program.