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A white pelican in Namibia.
This Sunday, January 16, like every year since 1967, a wetland bird counting operation started in 180 countries. Among the countries interested in this operation, which mobilizes 150,000 people, is Gabon. This country has created the Akanda National Park, north of Libreville, dedicated to bird watching. The bird counters will be installed this week.
With our correspondent in Libreville, Yves-Laurent Goma
At the foot of the Waters and Forests building, Gabin Nzamba, coordinator of the counting of birds in Gabon, reviews the equipment mobilized for the census which is starting shortly.
« So we have binoculars, telescopes, identification guides provided by our partners and which allow us to carry out these counts with enough confidence. »
Bird counting has been carried out in Gabon every year for twenty years. The country has a national network of bird counters working on the coastal region.
« Akanda National Park, known to host the highest populations of migratory waterbirds in Central Africa, Pongara National Park and Cape Lopez, are the areas that are selected each year for counting. Each year in Gabon, we can identify between 3 and 6000 individuals for around a hundred species. »
The birds are not threatened in Gabon. On the contrary, new species appear and others reappear.
« Twenty years ago, Gabon no longer recorded the presence of the white pelican at all. Every year we observe more and more white pelicans in Gabon. Recently we discovered the black-tailed godwit and others like the Eurasian Curlew. »
According to experts, the presence of birds in wetlands is a very important indicator of the quality of water and life, hence the importance of this regular count.
► Read also: Nature: a global campaign to count waterbirds