THE DANGEROUS BUSINESS OF POACHING
IT WAS WHILE STANDING KNEE-DEEP IN WATER AND holding a spin tackle to haul aggressive Jack Fish in Sette Cama, a village in Gabon and one of the longest stretches of untouched coastline in the African country, that I met Guillaume Duboscq. This unassuming Frenchman’s expertise in anti-poaching efforts in over seven national parks spanning six countries in the past 14 years fascinated me and made me realize that his story needed to be told. So, one night in a rickety Parcs Gabon bungalow that by happenstance we shared, I opened a bottle of wine and sat down for an interview with him for FORBES AFRICA that ran late into the night.
Duboscq believes that effective law enforcement is the most critical and foundational component of the long-term sustainability of any park. Terrorists and poachers have a big stake in the nearly $10 billion in global wildlife trade. The security of the parks is a prerequisite for poverty alleviation, economic development, and for providing safety for wildlife and their habitats.
Little did I realize that in many of the 50-plus national parks spanning the
