Libreville, Tuesday, May 23, 2023 (Gabon Info) – The presidential envelope is intended for 13,000 people who are victims of recurrent attacks by elephants.
From the perspective of repairing the injustices and frustrations caused by the repeated attacks, the Head of State decided today to release an envelope of 4 billion F for the benefit of local residents. Ali Bongo Ondimba’s gesture is intended for 13,000 people whose crops and homes bear the brunt of elephant attacks. “Biodiversity is a treasure to be preserved, for Gabon and the planet. But my compatriots are and always will be the first priority. Human-wildlife conflicts exist. They give rise to damage, even to tragedies. I have therefore decided to grant aid of nearly 4 billion FCFA to more than 13,000 identified victims. This help is released immediately. It can be perceived tomorrow by its beneficiaries, ”he wrote on his Facebook page.
In order to considerably reduce this scourge, the Gabonese government signed an agreement in May 2022 for the implementation of the national strategy to combat human-wildlife conflict with the Kenyan NGO Space for Giants. A choice that falls within the framework of the National Plan for the management of this conflict launched in 2016 by the government. This concerns the construction of electric dams around the 11 national parks. With the support of the World Bank, which provided Gabon with an envelope of 9.5 million dollars, strategies and innovations aimed at reducing human-wildlife conflicts have been put in place. The Libreville authorities have opened a budget line in the 2020 Finance Law intended to effectively combat this scourge. In 2021, an amount of 1.6 billion FCFA has been budgeted for the management of these conflicts.
FIN/INFOSGABON/SM/2023
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