Gabon:
Marc Ona Essangui awarded 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize
At a ceremony held in San Francisco, USA on 20 April
2009, Marc Ona Essangui was presented with the prestigious Goldman
Environmental Prize, which recognizes grassroots activists who take
significant risks to protect the environment and communities in
their countries.
A founding member and executive secretary of Brainforest, a leading
Gabonese environmental NGO founded in 1998, Marc Ona was one of
six recipients of the prize this year, which is awarded annually
to environmental activists in six different regions of the world.
Marc Ona was selected primarily for his efforts to protect and preserve
Ivindo National Park, located in northeastern Gabon, from the controversial
Belinga iron ore mining project, which calls into question the country’s
commitments to environmental protection.
Ivindo National Park is situated in the Congo Basin rainforest,
the world’s second largest after the Amazon rainforest. With the
support of other members of Gabonese civil society, Marc Ona headed
up a major campaign to inform both the Gabonese public and the international
community about the potential social and environmental consequences
of the Belinga mining project, and to demand that the government
carry out all of the necessary social and environmental impact assessments.
Marc Ona is also at the forefront of the Gabonese civil society
efforts to raise awareness of the need for transparent and responsible
management of the revenues generated by the mining sector. He is
the national coordinator of the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) coalition
in Gabon, which has fought for greater transparency around the government’s
negotiations with a Chinese mining consortium for the Belinga iron
ore mining project.
With regard to the construction of a hydroelectric dam as part of
the Belinga project, Marc Ona told the Pan African News Agency:
“We believe that the reasons to protect Ivindo National Park also
include Kongou Falls (located inside the park), which form part
of our national heritage.” Brainforest has launched an international
petition through its website to save what is widely known as “the
most beautiful waterfalls in Central Africa”.
The many battles spearheaded by this tireless environmental activist
also include his tenacious opposition to the construction of an
airport north of Libreville in the Mondah Forest, which is a legally
protected area. Under Marc Ona’s leadership, the Gabon Environmental
Platform, comprising close to 20 environmental NGOs, mobilized forces
to warn of the consequences of this project, particularly the dangers
it entailed for Akanda National Park, an internationally recognized
site for migratory birds.
A similar mobilization of Gabonese NGOs, with Brainforest in the
lead, took place to harshly condemn the conduct of the French energy
group AREVA and its failure to rehabilitate the uranium mines formerly
run by its affiliate COMUF in southern Gabon. The company is now
being charged by local communities for numerous cases of poisoning
and health problems.
Marc Ona is also an active member of the multi-stakeholder national
committee (or Interest Group) responsible for the implementation
in Gabon of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
The EITI is an international initiative to promote greater transparency
in the oil, gas and mining sectors, and involves cooperation and
dialogue between governments, companies and civil society. Gabon
joined the EITI in 2004.
For Brainforest: Gualbert Phal Mezui Ndong, Communications and International
Relations Officer, and Protet Judicaël Essono Ondo, Programme Coordinator,
http://www.brainforest.collectivex.com
