Gabon’s flagship Loango National Park closed to tourists indefinitely

Loango is now cut off due to lack of transport possibilities.

July 2010. Africa's Eden SA, the main tourism operator at Loango National Park - the park described as Gabon's "jewel in the crown" - has announced that it has been forced to abandon its ecotourism operations at the park.

Africa's Eden's shareholders have invested more than 15 million Euros in the last nine years in tourism infrastructure and nature conservation: building accommodation, eco-camps, training Gabonese staff and eco guides and supporting research and monitoring studies for the conservation of Loango's exceptional wildlife and biodiversity wealth.

Loango Lodge
It also means that Loango Lodge, which since 2001 has welcomed thousands of international tourists to discover Gabon's wildlife rich forests and unspoiled coastline, is closing its doors indefinitely.

Gabonese aviation authorities
The move is a result of the failure of negotiations following a dispute between the Gabonese civil aviation authorities (ANAC) and Africa's Eden's sister company SCD Aviation which ran a regional airline charter company to transport tourists from to the park. Even active support of key members of Gabonese government could not prevent the severe consequence of a malfunctioning civil aviation authority (ANAC) that failed to create the conditions necessary for regular and safe aviation transportation.

"We have made numerous attempts to resolve this dispute amicably for over a year now," said Rombout Swanborn, founder of Africa's Eden and SCD Aviation. "The ongoing events and consequences of not being able to operate our aircraft have financially crippled our organisation, leaving us with no choice but to take this drastic measure." He added: "We are highly disappointed as a solution would have benefited all parties involved."