Operation Loango explained

The Pilot Project Operation Loango was initiated in 2001. The aim of Operation Loango was to develop low-impact eco-tourism and conservation in Gabon through the concept of ‘tourism pays for conservation’. The project offered small groups of tourists the opportunity to intimately experience the unique, diverse and intant ecosystems in and around Loango National Park.

In 2007, the pilot project was wrapped up successfully and its activities formalised into three divisions:

• Africa’s Eden for eco-tourism,
• Africa's Connection - SCD Aviation for regional aviation and
• Société de Conservation et Développement for research, park management and educational activities.

The name Operation Loango is now used only for research activities in Loango National park.

In West Central Africa, Africa’s Eden offers a diverse range of tours and exclusive, comfortable accommodation for the passionate traveller looking for unspoiled, raw nature.

Our current eco-tourism activities are based in Gabon, São Tomé & Príncipe, yet we continue to expand to other regions in West Central Africa.

Background

By many nature lovers well acquainted with the African continent, Gabon is considered to be a rare and exotic tropical gem. Extraordinarily wildlife-rich forests cover 70% of Gabon’s landmass, its vast picturesque Atlantic coastline is predominantly wild and unspoiled, and its inland and coastal waters are teaming with myriad species of fish, reptiles and marine mammals.

Tourism in Gabon remains relatively undeveloped, as the oil and logging industries have traditionally provided ample external revenue and employment opportunities. But over the past few years, the Government of Gabon has become increasingly interested in tourism as a means of developing its vast natural resources in an ecologically and economically viable and sustainable fashion. This trend has been accelerated and encouraged by numerous forward-thinking international agencies, corporations, and individuals. Chief among these individuals is Gabon’s President, Omar Bongo, who recently signed a decree creating some thirteen new national parks in Gabon. Their combined land area is equal to 10% of Gabon’s total landmass.

It is in the wake of this growing wave of enthusiasm for sustainable eco-tourism development that the Societé de Conservation et Développement (SCD) and its ’Operation Loango’ was born. This project is the brainchild of Rombout Swanborn, son of a former Shell manager, who spent the formative years of his adolescence in and around the extraordinarily bio diverse Gamba complex.