International magazine editor and travel writer


 

© Sarah Monaghan – all rights reserved

THE REPUBLIC OF GABON is a former French colony with a longstanding stable political climate. In 2002, the late President Bongo put Gabon firmly on the map as an important ecotourism destination by nominating more than one tenth of the country as national parks. Percentage-wise, only Costa Rica has set aside more land for wildlife and biodiversity conservation. Straddling the equator, this rainforest nation is situated on West Africa’s Atlantic coast. Animals reign here – Gabon is the continent’s least densely populated country – and is 85 per cent covered in tropical forest. This, along with savannahs, mangroves, lagoons and beaches, makes it an ideal habitat for myriad species of animals and reptiles including 20,000 lowland gorillas and 60,000 forest elephants – the largest population in Africa – and 700 types of exotic birds. Gabon enjoys one of Africa’s highest per capita incomes thanks to natural reserves of oil, gas, tropical timber and manganese. Ecotourism is playing a growing role in contributing to this buoyant economy. visiting_gabon.htmlGabon_files/GABON7.COVER2.jpg_1shapeimage_2_link_0

GABON MAGAZINE

Sarah is editor of Gabon Magazine: www.gabonmagazine.com, a quarterly publication about the new West African ecotourism destination of Gabon. She co-ordinates its production in French and English versions (2005 until present).

    Each issue covers Central African current affairs, economic issues, ecotourism and conservation, culture, and traditions.

    Getting to grips journalistically with a country that many would think inhospitable – and a Francophone one at that – is demanding but exciting.

    For her research, Sarah has travelled across equatorial forests and savannahs, learned to tap rubber trees, stayed on palm oil and sugar cane plantations, lived in a remote camp of western lowland gorillas, radio-tracked mandrills, the world’s least understood primates, observed sustainable forestry management and visited Pygmy communities.

n Learn more about visiting Gabon here >>

n Gabon in more depth here >>


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Gabon

Sarah Monaghan...

has reported from Gabon for the BBC and written for many outlets, covering topics ranging from politics to economy to conservation to culture. Find out more here >>

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Samples of published work

(click on image to view)

Babes in the woods,

Africa Geographic Magazine

Opening Gabon to the world, BBC Radio 4 Excess Baggage

Can oil and nature mix?

Geographical Magazine

The future is green

Gabon Magazine

Bouncing back,

Gabon Magazine

Elephants in the garden,

The Telegraph

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Google, the new eye in the sky for protecting forests? Mongabay.com