50 Pristine Miles are working to save the last truly wild costal area in Africa, Sette Cama in Gabon
The Eden of Africa
The Southern Gabon coast, and especially the area around Sette Cama and Loango National Park are the last of the true coastal wilderness’ left on the African Continent.
The area is a looking glass into the past and at how the entire West African coast used to be. Large mammals such as hippos, elephants and buffalo frequenting the beaches. Red River Hogs, Forest sitatunga, chimps and lowland Gorillas on the coastal belts of the jungle pushing onto the wild beaches. It is truly the last of its kind, and one that African Waters is working relentlessly to preserve for all future generations to gaze upon with the same wonder that we do now.
The Nemesis
Even being so far from human populations and within a truly wild area, the wilderness of the Gabon coast is not untouched by the human hand. Plastic is carried on the ocean currents from afar and washes up on the Gabon beaches in immense volumes. This is nothing short of an ecological tragedy, as it affects the entire ecosystem.
The Mission
50 Pristine Miles are on a mission to change the face of the South Loango and Sette Cama coasts. Over the next two years and beyond we will be employing a full time crew, and providing the management, logistics and equipment to clean a 50 to 70 kilometer stretch of coastal wilderness of every last piece of plastic and human rubbish and return this global treasure to the state that it deserves to be kept in.
We invite you to be a part pf this journey by supporting this incredible initiative. Every cent raised will be spent directly on the project and on the ground.
Surf's up
The "surfing" hippos are unique to this special place part of Africa, the hippos use the waves to move about the coastal area, covering huge distances
No Waters Left Untouched? There is one.
West of Sette Cama, in the wild Atlantic ocean, the Longfin jack still hunt the surface, ever looking for pray, the worlds biggest Tarpon runs supreme, and the migthy Bull Shark always patrol the coast. All over Africa, over fishing has desimated fish populations, but not here. The waters of Gabon still gives us a chance to see what was, and what it could be els where, truly the last of its kind.
The power of fly-fishing tourism
Thanks to Fly-fishing tourism, we have been abel to protect this one of a kind underwater eden. We think that a low impact catch and relese operation, where peopel from all over the world can come, and experiance this unique natural abundance, will help to
create awareness and opportunities to protect this last frontier.
The end of the line?
Much of the ocean is swimming in discarded plastic, this is a leathal threat to all living things in the oceans,
and in the end, all living things, inculding humans.
Can it be cleaned up? This is one of the big
challengesfor our generation, what kind of a world will we leave for the next. We at 50 Pristine Miles, believe we can, and aims to collect more than 250 metric tons of plastic in one of the most remote areas of the world, showing that anything is possible.
Plastic is not exclusively a marine problem
Plastic breaks down into Microplastics and find its way into every layer of the ecosystem. from the grazing elephant to the mighty whale, all the way down to the tiny plankton, the pastic finds them all. Humans are not spared, whether we like it or not, we are an intricate part of the ecosystem, like everything else on this earth. Even newborns are not untouched by plastic, when we take our first breaths, micro plastics are pumped around our bodies. Scientists are unsure what this could lead to, if we choose to do nothing.
A Bright Future
In progress
As of today with out any government subsidy and only private funds, we have been able to:
- Cleaned between 14 and 17 kilometers of coastline.
- Collected and removed over 5,000 bags of rubbish.
- Removed approximately 32 to 60 tonnes of plastic.
1. Environmental Impact: We have successfully cleaned a substantial stretch of beach, and we are extremely proud of the positive environmental outcomes.
2. Employment Opportunities: The project has provided permanent employment to three deserving individuals, which has had a life-changing impact on them and their dependents. We plan to increase the number of employees to four in the next phase starting in August and potentially up to six thereafter.
3. Ecosystem Preservation: By providing sustainable employment to these individuals, we have effectively reduced the need for subsistence or commercial fishing, thus alleviating pressure on the local ecosystem.
4. Community Pride: One of the most significant positive outcomes has been the sense of pride it has instilled in the community. The project has allowed them to envision the bigger picture of our economic and environmental goals in the area, and there is noticeable buy-in from the community. I cannot overstate the value of this.
5. Financial Contribution: Although not directly connected to the cleanup project - We have also contributed a substantial amount of 66,000 Euros directly to the national park agency through park entry fees. This contribution has been a vital source of revenue for the agency during a challenging period for their budget.
Right now we are shooting a documentary film about the project, Gabon with its amazing wildlife and nature.
This eye-opening film will be released early in 2024. You can find updates about it here.
