Forest code

The 2001 forest code brings together the rules on waters and forests, wildlife and inland fishery resources. It rests on sustainable management: resource inventories and management plans, biodiversity conservation and steady production. The forest estate is split between a permanent State forest estate, made up of classified forests and registered production forests, and a rural forest estate whose use is reserved for village communities. All forests belong to the State and must be covered by a management plan and an industrialisation plan, which underpins the policy of local wood processing. Apart from customary use rights, logging requires an authorisation and a title. The code has been amended several times, notably by Ordinances No. 006/PR/2002, No. 11/2008 and No. 008/PR/2010, and by Organic Law No. 039/2023. According to Gabonreview, a new code was already in preparation in 2021.