African President Talks Sustainability at WM Today

By Amber Lester Saturday, September 25, 2010

The president of the African nation of Gabon will talk about sustainability in his country today at the College of William and Mary.

Ali Bongo Ondimba, president of Gabon, will deliver his speech at 1:30 p.m. today in the Great Hall of the Sir Christopher Wren Building, followed by a question-and-answer session. The event is open to the public, but seating is limited.

Gabon is located on the west coast of Africa, sharing its borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north and the Republic of the Congo to the east and south. The democratic country is one of the most prosperous in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly 80 percent of the country is covered by natural rainforests and for the past decade, the government has led a sustainability initiative called “Green Gabon.”

Ondimba’s speech, called “Sustainable Africa,” will outline how Africa can promote ecological and politically sustainable institutions. “Green Gabon” includes cancellation of some logging concessions that had been granted in pristine forest areas, a ban on log exports and the prohibition of “flaring,” or burning off gas emissions. World Bank recently pledged funds to conserve tropical forests in Gabon.

In an opinion piece published in The Guardian in March, Ondimba wrote, “Avoiding deforestation in my country and the wider Congo Basin region, which is the largest carbon sink in the world after the Amazon, provides one of the most effective means available to minimize carbon emissions and combat climate change.”

While in Williamsburg, Ondimba will tour the college, eat lunch and meet with students, faculty and guests at a reception. He was elected president of Gabon in September 2009. His father, El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba, ruled the nation from 1967 until his death in June 2009.