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ATLAS REPORT

Country report: Gabon

Generated 15 October 2026, 06:28 from live Atlas data

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Executive summary

Atlas holds 490,401 mapped features and 294,972 observations in 83 datasets. The mapped mangrove canopy covers 194,465 ha in 7,554 polygons across 1 formation classes; Mangrove dominates with 100.0% of the area. The median patch is only 0.179 ha, while patches of 10 ha or more hold 98.1% of the area. 0 ha (0.0%) lies within 10 km of the LAPSSET development footprint.

Single mapping epoch (2019). Areas are geodesic hectares recalculated from geometry.

Species & formations

FormationPolygonsArea (ha)ShareMean patch (ha)
Mangrove7,554194,464.5100.0%25.74
Shannon evenness by area: 0.00

Pressure: LAPSSET and villages

Mangrove ha by distance from LAPSSET

Mangrove ha by distance from villages

Data quality

DatasetFeaturesRepairedScore
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2020, Gabon4,1010100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 1996, Gabon4,9070100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2007, Gabon4,8710100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2010, Gabon3,7800100
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2015, Gabon3,8590100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2025, Gabon8,3220100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2020, Gabon7,5540100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2015, Gabon7,7540100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2010, Gabon7,7600100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2005, Gabon8,9920100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2000, Gabon9,8480100
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 1996, Gabon9,8470100
TRIDOM Boundary1095
Colleges1095
Gabon Segment1095
Railways2095
TRIDOM Country Intersection3095
Possible Route of Railway3095
GAB_COG_CMR3095
Tridom Mining Concessions SIGHT 20213095
Dams4095
Ramsar sites4095
National Park8095
Principal Mining Sites8095
Proposed Wildlife Corridor10095
Tridom_buffer_OSM_airports10095
Airports11095
WCB_WDPA11095
Tridom WWF Office Locations12095
FLRi Countries13095
FLRi Countries13095
Exploration Permit15095
Protected Areas15095
Schools19095
Home Bases26095
Tridom Main Towns31095
Planned Major Roads and Rails33095
Tridom Agricultural Industrial Plantations Complete37195
Tridom Arrondissements40095
Elephant Population Density42095
Tridom Agricultural Industrial Plantations Complete45195
Gabon Departments49395
Operational Land/Seascape701095
Operational Land/Seascape701095
Operational Landscape791395
Africa_WWF_Priority_202104_Operational_Landscapes_Seascape961695
Forestry Commissions & UFA PNNP108295
Congo_Basin_Tridom_Forest_Concessions120295
Fibre Cable Landing Stations126095
Community Forests133095
Medical Facilities134095
Tridom Complete Mining Concessions146095
Roads180095
Protected Areas210495
Rivers228095
Existing Railway Lines323095
Gabon Tridom Important Sites344095
Clearings486095
ProtectedAreas_AfricaPriorityLandscapes492495
Administration (Level 2)495195
Administration (Level 2)495195
Forest_Concessions5351195
Power Plants (Power output MW)642095
AfricaPriority_River857095
Villages1,050095
Tridom Villages1,051095
Rivers1,585095
Tridom Rivers: complete1,585095
Small airport1,979095
Dams2,586095
Population Clusters2,691095
Tridom Roads: complete3,741095
Districts6,0991395
World Database on Protected Areas7,438195
Electricity Transmission Network9,759095
Tridom_OSM_Roads11,963095
Selected_Species_Oil_Impact17,779095
Irrigated Areas23,095195
Agro-Ecological Zones25,7911795
Community and nature projects (UNDP): Gabon9090
Roads54,384095
Observation_ICCN101,621095
Forest Roads127,758095

Recommendations

High 9 of 9 themes have no data yet
Atlas holds no records for: Seagrass, Salt Marsh, Blue Carbon, Carbon Projects, Land Use & Land Cover, Wildlife & Habitats, Fire & Climate, Farming & Livelihoods, Surveys & Field Data. Seagrass and salt marsh would come from UNEP-WCMC global datasets; carbon projects from the Verra and Gold Standard registries; community projects from partner programmes.
Action: Ingest the planned sources listed in the Source Catalogue, starting with Global Mangrove Watch, UNEP-WCMC seagrass and salt marsh, and the carbon registries.
High Licence terms to be confirmed for 70 datasets
Licence terms are being confirmed with the publisher. Atlas holds the data for scientific and internal use and shows the original attribution, but cannot grant bulk redistribution rights.
Action: Request written permission from WWF Kenya, KMFRI and KFS for redistribution and derivative products.
Medium Most polygons are very small, but most area sits in large stands
46.0% of the 7,554 mapped polygons are under 0.1 ha, yet patches of 10 ha or more hold 98.1% of all mangrove area. Management and monitoring effort should focus on the large stands, while the small-patch tail needs checking against satellite imagery.
Action: Prioritise field verification of large stands; review the sub-0.1 ha tail for mapping artefacts.
Low Net gain of mangrove since 1996
Global Mangrove Watch maps 192,088 ha of mangrove in Gabon in 1996 and 193,598 ha in 2025: a net gain of 1,510 ha (0.8%), about 52 ha per year. This is the net balance of total mapped area; gains and losses inside the country can cancel out, so real loss may be larger.

Datasets & sources

DatasetPublisherFeatures
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2020, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)4,101
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 1996, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)4,907
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2007, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)4,871
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2010, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)3,780
Global Mangrove Watch: mangrove extent 2015, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)3,859
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2025, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)8,322
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2020, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)7,554
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2015, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)7,754
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2010, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)7,760
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2005, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)8,992
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 2000, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)9,848
Global Mangrove Watch v4.1: mangrove extent 1996, GabonGlobal Mangrove Watch (Aberystwyth University, soloEO, Wetlands International, UNEP-WCMC, JAXA)9,847
TRIDOM BoundaryWWF Kenya1
CollegesWWF Kenya1
Gabon SegmentWWF Kenya1
RailwaysWWF Kenya2
TRIDOM Country IntersectionWWF Kenya3
Possible Route of RailwayWWF Kenya3
GAB_COG_CMRWWF Kenya3
Tridom Mining Concessions SIGHT 2021WWF Kenya3
DamsWWF Kenya4
Ramsar sitesWWF Kenya4
National ParkWWF Kenya8
Principal Mining SitesWWF Kenya8
Proposed Wildlife CorridorWWF Kenya10
Tridom_buffer_OSM_airportsWWF Kenya10
AirportsWWF Kenya11
WCB_WDPAWWF Kenya11
Tridom WWF Office LocationsWWF Kenya12
FLRi CountriesWWF Kenya13
FLRi CountriesWWF Kenya13
Exploration PermitWWF Kenya15
Protected AreasWWF Kenya15
SchoolsWWF Kenya19
Home BasesWWF Kenya26
Tridom Main TownsWWF Kenya31
Planned Major Roads and RailsWWF Kenya33
Tridom Agricultural Industrial Plantations CompleteWWF Kenya37
Tridom ArrondissementsWWF Kenya40
Elephant Population DensityWWF Kenya42
Tridom Agricultural Industrial Plantations CompleteWWF Kenya45
Gabon DepartmentsWWF Kenya49
Operational Land/SeascapeWWF Kenya70
Operational Land/SeascapeWWF Kenya70
Operational LandscapeWWF Kenya79
Africa_WWF_Priority_202104_Operational_Landscapes_SeascapeWWF Kenya96
Forestry Commissions & UFA PNNPWWF Kenya108
Congo_Basin_Tridom_Forest_ConcessionsWWF Kenya120
Fibre Cable Landing StationsWWF Kenya126
Community ForestsWWF Kenya133
Medical FacilitiesWWF Kenya134
Tridom Complete Mining ConcessionsWWF Kenya146
RoadsWWF Kenya180
Protected AreasWWF Kenya210
RiversWWF Kenya228
Existing Railway LinesWWF Kenya323
Gabon Tridom Important SitesWWF Kenya344
ClearingsWWF Kenya486
ProtectedAreas_AfricaPriorityLandscapesWWF Kenya492
Administration (Level 2)WWF Kenya495
Administration (Level 2)WWF Kenya495
Forest_ConcessionsWWF Kenya535
Power Plants (Power output MW)WWF Kenya642
AfricaPriority_RiverWWF Kenya857
VillagesWWF Kenya1,050
Tridom VillagesWWF Kenya1,051
RiversWWF Kenya1,585
Tridom Rivers: completeWWF Kenya1,585
Small airportWWF Kenya1,979
DamsWWF Kenya2,586
Population ClustersWWF Kenya2,691
Tridom Roads: completeWWF Kenya3,741
DistrictsWWF Kenya6,099
World Database on Protected AreasWWF Kenya7,438
Electricity Transmission NetworkWWF Kenya9,759
Tridom_OSM_RoadsWWF Kenya11,963
Selected_Species_Oil_ImpactWWF Kenya17,779
Irrigated AreasWWF Kenya23,095
Agro-Ecological ZonesWWF Kenya25,791
Community and nature projects (UNDP): GabonUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)9
RoadsWWF Kenya54,384
Observation_ICCNWWF Kenya101,621
Forest RoadsWWF Kenya127,758

Methods & limits

Areas and lengths are recomputed on the WGS 84 ellipsoid; units are harmonised (ha, m, %, UTC). The mapping is a single 2019 epoch; the source publishes no licence; field plots are a sample; scenario figures are illustrative assumptions. Cite the original publishers listed above. Full methods: Methodologies page.
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