Building a 'Green Gabon' has always been a central pillar of my

Hear the voice of Ali Bongo Ondimba, who spoke not only for himself, but for his nation and for the generations yet unborn: “Building a ‘Green Gabon’ has always been a central pillar of my government, and in 2014, I introduced a new legal framework that puts environmental protection and sustainable development firmly at the heart of our future economic growth.” These words resound with the gravity of both promise and duty, for they reveal a vision where prosperity and preservation walk hand in hand, and where wealth is measured not only in coin, but in rivers unpoisoned, forests unbroken, and skies unchoked.

The meaning lies in the phrase Green Gabon, a vision to build a nation’s strength not through blind exploitation of its natural riches, but through stewardship and harmony with the earth. Gabon, blessed with vast rainforests and abundant biodiversity, holds treasures not only of timber and mineral, but of life itself—trees that breathe for the world, rivers that sustain villages, animals that belong to no man but to creation itself. To place environmental protection at the very heart of economic growth is to declare that progress must not devour its own foundation, but nourish it.

The origin of these words is rooted in the year 2014, when Ondimba unveiled a legal framework to weave environmental protection into the fabric of governance. It was not empty talk, but law, binding the ambitions of men to the needs of the earth. This was no easy task, for throughout history, the temptation of wealth from oil, coal, and minerals has often drowned out the quiet wisdom of the forests. Yet Ondimba declared that Gabon would not follow the path of nations that grew rich only to find their lands stripped bare and their children left in poverty amidst ashes.

History gives us the cautionary tale of Mesopotamia, cradle of civilization, whose fertile lands were once green and abundant. Through overuse, deforestation, and the salting of soils, the bounty was lost, and the great powers of that region faded into dust. Their failure was not a lack of brilliance, but a blindness to the balance between man and earth. By contrast, Ondimba’s words seek to prevent such tragedy, to make of Gabon not a wasteland, but a beacon—a nation that prospers while preserving, that grows strong without consuming its own roots.

The lesson shines clearly: sustainable development is not a luxury, but survival. To build upon the earth without care is to build a house upon sand, doomed to collapse. To respect the environment is to build upon rock, ensuring that storms of time and hunger cannot sweep away what is built. Leaders, communities, and individuals alike must learn this wisdom: what you take, replenish; what you use, protect; and in all growth, remember the children of tomorrow.

What then must you do? Support laws and leaders who bind economic growth to environmental protection, who see beyond the hunger of the present to the needs of the future. In your own life, tread lightly—waste less, plant more, cherish the land where you live. Recognize that every act of stewardship, no matter how small, joins in the greater chorus of preservation. For nations are built not only by governments, but by the daily choices of their people.

Thus, remember the words of Ali Bongo Ondimba: “Building a ‘Green Gabon’ has always been a central pillar of my government.” Let them be more than the vision of one nation, but the call of all nations. For the earth is one, and its survival depends on whether its people, from the smallest village to the grandest empire, choose to place harmony with nature at the core of their strength. In this lies true wisdom, true prosperity, and the promise of a future where man and earth flourish together.