Deforestation in Gabon: determinants of forest activities and economic growth amidst landscape protection and climate change crisis

Abstract

Forestry is vital in the socio-progress of numerous societies and nations, especially those with abundant forest reserves, like Gabon. However, managing forests sustainably faces challenges due to factors such as population growth, expansion of agriculture, wood fuel, and round wood production at the expense of nature, habitats and tourism activities. Understanding the drivers of forest-related actions is crucial for developing policies supporting forest preservation and economic progress. This research explores the factors influencing forest-related actions and their implications for growth in Gabon, including population size, wood fuel production, round wood production, energy emissions, agriculture, and gross domestic product (GDP). Using time series methods, we analysed data from the United Nations Forest and Agriculture Organization covering the period from 1980 to 2019. We uncover significant connections through tests like Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Engle Granger cointegration test for assessing stationarity and long-term relationships among these variables as ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression analysis to understand their impact on economic growth. Our results highlight that population and wood fuel production affect growth while round wood production has a negative impact. Moreover, we find that wood fuel production and agriculture contribute to expanding wood production, while energy emissions also influence the economy, and yet are considered critical factors of deforestation. These insights could guide policymakers in Gabon aiming to craft strategies for forest management and economic advancement while forestering landscape protection, biodiversity and ecosystems services.