News  |  01.04.2022

The creation of African Equatorial Hardwoods confirms Gabon's ambitions for sustainable timber management

According to a publication of La Libbreville,  the company African Equatorial Hardwoods, which is the result of the merger of the groups African Conservation Development and Cora Wood Gabon, plans to invest 20 billion CFA francs by 2026, in the south of the country, for the construction of a new wood processing plant. The ATIBT shares this article with you.

The creation of African Equatorial Hardwoods confirms Gabon's ambitions for sustainable timber management

"Our ambition with Equatorial Hardwoods is to create a sustainable forestry and timber processing powerhouse in southern Gabon," says African Conservation CEO Alan Bernstein in a statement. "Gabon has had a concerted policy of protecting its forests since 2002, but it also needs to increase timber revenues as it moves away from its historical dependence," he added.

The new company, which will operate 400,000 hectares of concessions in the south of the country, plans to practice sustainable forestry, where trees are cut down on a rotational basis every 25 years. It also plans to reforest 13,000 hectares of previously degraded land. "We are fully in the green economy," says a source in the Ministry of Forestry.

The merger between African Conservation and Cora Wood Gabon will result in an investment of 20 billion CFA francs by 2026 to increase timber processing capacity through a new factory to be built in southern Gabon. The cut trees will be used to produce sawn timber, plywood and veneers. The company will employ approximately 900 people by 2025.

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