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Gabon

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  • The official mandate of the « Institut National de Cartographie » (INC) of Gabon is the production of topographic maps. They are currently digitizing the 1:200,000 scale topographic data to update them. For a few years now, INC has acquired GIS and Image Processing capacities. They have developed GIS applications for public health (location of health centers) and logging concessions management (limit of the concessions and exploitation figures database). INC has also started to study the potentialities of RADAR imagery for topographic or vegetation mapping.

    • By using ERS RADAR data, a first prototype of satellite image map (Kango area) was produced by INC Gabon in collaboration with the French « Institut Geographique National » (IGN) and with the French company SERTIT. INC is planning to continue studying RADAR data applications, especially for logging concessions monitoring. In 1997, a feasibility study will be carried out in collaboration with WCS and ECOFAC in the Lope area. In addition to its production activities, INC has also been conducting research on deforestation at specific test-sites: the « Mondah » forest (located near Libreville) and the Oyem area (located north of Gabon). 

    Fig.20 

  • The « Direction des Inventaires, des Amenagements et de la Regeneration Forestieres » (DIARF) is currently carrying out a major project in Zone 1 (Coastal zone). The objective of this project, which is funded by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), is to develop a stratification frame for the Zone 1 of Gabon. Under this project, the Canadian private company TECSULT is processing remote sensing data (Landsat TM and RADARSAT) to produce vegetation maps. GIS methods are applied to integrate the various layers of the analysis : topographic data, socio-economic surveys, soil information, biodiversity data, ... DIARF is currently building, with the support of TECSULT, a logging concession database to monitor timber exploitation in Gabon.

    • Fig.21  

    In the reserve of Lope, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the ECOFAC project have been conducting important research on vegetation mapping, using INTERA airborne RADAR data. In addition to the internal research reports, they also produced a significant book on Lope vegetation. 

    The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) works together with INC and WCS experts (digital videography) on several ongoing biodiversity research and conservation projects in the Gamba area (south of Gabon, coastal area). WWF is currently mapping land cover and land use by satellite data interpretation. 

    Others: In Gabon, the activities of private companies must be mentioned: Shell, Elf and Amerada Hess in the coastal area (Airborne RADAR surveys, production of topographic maps, satellite image maps, vegetation maps, some socio-economic and biodiversity surveys), Geoscan (topographic mapping) and Africa Forest (forest inventories).

      

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