Développement de l'approche HVC pour la flore et la végétation au Gabon

The concept of High Conservation Value (HCV) was developed to support sustainable forest management by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) which many Gabonese forest operators have joined to develop their concessions. However, in order to implement HCVs at Gabonese level, and more generally throughout Central Africa, an ambitious project for the use of flora and plant data is necessary.

Thanks to the knowledge acquired by the Missouri Botanical Garden of Gabonese forests over the last 30 years, the Missouri Botanical Garden and its partners are key players in the collection and integration of the flora and plant data necessary for identifying HCVs. We propose developing the methodology for the identification of 3 of the 6 HCV criteria (rare and endangered endemic species; landscapes; ecosystems and habitats) and applying them to two concrete cases (Lvindo and Ramsar site in Lower Ogooue) in order to demonstrate their value; to train field workers in the identification of HCVs; and to disseminate information on HCVs, their application and their utility to Gabonese and international players actively involved in forestry, impact studies and more broadly the management of natural resources.