Nyanga

The Nyangan Free State is a small country, on the west coast of Central Africa bordering Gabon in the north and Congo in the south. Located on the Equator. It has an area of 21.285km square kilometres (8,218 sq mi) and its population is estimated at 1.6 million people. Its capital and largest city is Mayumba.

Nyanga has been colonised by two diferent counties since the 1840s and up until 1992, a province of Gabon. Nyanga joined the Africa Union in 2000. It is a Presidential Republic, with the seat of government in the capital. The country is made up of 4 districts Haute-Banio, Mougoutsi, Basse-Banio and Douigni.

Nyanga is moderately industrialised with a thriving oil and petroleum industry in the west and a steady tourist and agricultural industry in the east.

History
Main Article: History of Nyanga

The earliest inhabitants of the region comprising present-day Nyanga were the Bambuti people. The Bambuti were linked to Pygmy tribes whose Stone Age culture was slowly replaced by Bantu tribes coming from regions north of present-day Republic of Congo about 1,700 years ago. Bantu tribes living in the Nyanganese Region, established kingdoms along the coast and along the Nyanga River. The capital of these Kingdoms was Tchibanga.

French, Histalian and Dutch traders were some of the first European colonists’ to arrive in Nyanga. They traded mainly with silver and glass for various types of, plant and animal products. Histalpol first colonised Nyanga in 1846, following the French in their colonising of the area. Many Histalians immigrated to Nyanga to start new industries and businesses after the 1885 Berlin Conference. After the fall of the Histalian Empire in the 1900s France claimed Nyanga and merged it with Gabon forming one of Gabons’ nine provinces.

After Gabon's independence in 1960 and M'Ba's bloodless coup in 1964, Nyanga's population wanted a way out. When Omar Bongo's one party state came into rule desire for political liberalization provoked violent demonstrations. Strikes by students and workers occured in early 1990. Tensions worsened after Several PDG politcians were murdered in Maybumba, ILN leader, Alabode Johnathon, urged his followers to end the violence and continue peacefully. In June 1991 Alabode and his coleagues' housing complex in Mayumba was raided during the night and he was taken to Libreville for questioning.

He was released a week later but was under surrveillance. Alabode spoke at ILN rally in Tchibanga, requesting a referendum for Nyanga's inpedendence be made following a poll in Nyanga. Bongo responed to the referendum on a positive note, making it a requirment of a 65% in favour for the bill to pass. Voting began in July through to August, the results were 83% in favour.

The Independence League of Nyanga, with Alabode Johnathon as president won with 56% of vote in the first democratic elections in Nyanga. During Alabode’s second term as president (1997-2001) Nyanga experienced an economic downturn following the many civil wars taking place on the continent. In 2001 elections took for the third time during the whole month of March. The Democratic Alliance won with 37% of the vote. Since then the Democratic Alliance has won the 2004, 2008 and 2013 being the current political party in state.

Geography
Nyanga is located on the Atlantic coast of central Africa. Located on the equator. Nyanga generally has an equatorial climate with an extensive system of rainforests covering most of the area. Nyanga has three distinct regions, the coastal plains, streching from Mayumba, north to the border of Gabon and the mountainous regions in the east, (Mpolo Range and Nkezi Plateu) and the karst regions of the southern coast, which hundreds of caves are located.

There is one major river, the Nyanga River which rises on Mount Berongou, in the Republic of Congo. The Nyanga River provides water and irrgation to many towns along its course and also gives way to some shipping routes from Tchibanga in the Mpolo valley.

Natural resources include: petroleum, natural gas, diamond, niobium, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, coal and hydropower.

Climate
Nyanga has the moist, hot climate typical of tropical regions. The hottest month is January, with an average high at Mayumba of 31°C and an average low of 23°C. Average July temperatures in the capital range between 20º and 28°C. From June to September there is virtually no rain but high humidity; there is occasional rain in December and January. During the remaining months, rainfall is heavy. The excessive rainfall is caused by the condensation of moist air resulting from the meeting, directly off the coast, of the cold Benguela Current from the south and the warm Guinea Current from the north. At Mayumba, the average annual rainfall is more than 2540 mm. Farther north on the coast, it is 3810 mm.

Flora and Fauna
See also: List of Mammals in Nyanga

Plant growth is rapid and dense. About 85 percent of the country is covered by tropical humid forest. The dense green of the vegetation never changes, since the more than 6,000 species of plants flower and lose their leaves continuously throughout the year according to species. Tree growth is especially rapid; some trees tower as high as 60 m, and the trunks are thickly entwined with vines. There are about 300 species of trees. In the coastal regions, marine plants abound, and wide expanses are covered with tall papyrus grass. Wildlife includes forest elephants, buffalo, various antelope and monkey species, sitatungas, leopards, three species of crocodiles, chimps and gorillas, and several marine turtle species which nest along the coast. As of 2002, there were at least 190 species of mammals.

Nyanga has a wide variety of plants that differ from the coast and inland areas. The coastal areas have typically dense mangroves or forest behind a narrow sandy beach. They have developed on the coastal plains which has allowed water from the mountains in the east to form many rivers, streams and wetlands in these regions. Dense rainforest covers more than 75% of the land area.

In the mountain ranges of eastern Nyanga the forest becomes less dense, and in some parts of the Nkezi Plateu the forest becomes grassland. In the Mpolo valley, farming has been the main industry for centuries, leading to a loss of the natural forests this has changed much of land permantly to savannah or seasonally flooded grassland.

In the south there is the karst region, known by locals as Ebe Onwu where the flora is drastically different. There are many rocky inlets and coves, where caves and hollows have formed. Vines, shrubs and low trees are typically found here growing in amongst the caves systems. In the low lying areas the forest is permantly flooded fresh water swamp forest. The forest has a high canopy, dense undergrowth and has a muddy floor. It has not been disturbed very much by outside influences and so remains largely pristine as getting through this forest is called "almost impossible"

Economy
Nyanga’s economy is conisidered diverse for central west Africa. The economy is based out of Mayumba, having the main financial centre, industrial centre and the port located there. Virtually all industrial enterprises were established with government subsidies, under Gabon's rule in the 1970s, in the early stages of the Democratic Alliances government steps were taken to privatize the remaining parastatal enterprises.

Costs rose significantly in 1994 when the CFA franc was devalued. Increased costs and oversized capacity have made the manufacturing sector less competitive and it mainly supplies the domestic market.

The mainly historical timber industry is centred around Tchibanga. Several plants operate there including two veneer plants and a large plywood factory. Other industries throughout Nyanga include textile plants, cement factories, chemical plants, breweries, shipyards, and cigarette factories. There is one refinery in Nyanga located 4km outside of Mayumba at the newly built Global Service Port.

Oil Industry
Oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 30% of GDP and 60% of exports. Oil production is now declining from its peak, in 1997. The 1998 fall-off in oil prices had a negative impact on government revenues and the economy.

Nyanga's oil revenues have given it a strong per capita GDP of more than $15,000, extremely high for the region. The economy is highly dependent on extraction of abundant primary materials. After oil, timber and coal mining are the other major sectors. Because the Nyangan economy is dependent upon oil, it is subject to worldwide price fluctuations. Due to this the country has taken steps to diversify the economy, and to engage in further petroleum exploration.

Road
Roads in Nyanga fall under control by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. It is the most used transport system in Nyanga and account for 80% of all travels. Cars are usually older models and poorly maintained, but Mayumba has introduced several new hybrid buses eventually to be implemented on the planned bus-rapid trasit system. Construction for the two motorways in Nyanga began shortly after independence in 1994. The regional road system was introduced during colonial times and the highway system was made during Gabons independence, but was expanded substantially in 2001-2006. In Nyanga there are four road classifications:
 * Motorway: are dual carriageways with a median of a steel barrier, grass or a hedge. They allow speeds of 100km/h to 120km/h. Motorways have limited access points at Junctions, which are labelled as J (eg: J14). There is two motorways in Nyanga; the M1 from Mayumba to Tchibanga and the M2 a partial ring road around Mayumba, which is expected for completion by the end of 2014.
 * Highway: these are typically single carriageway roads but some have 3 or 4 lanes. They do not have a median and allow speeds up to 100km/h, although more commonly 60-80km/h. They are fairly common throughout Nyanga but at a higher quality than R roads (see below). Highways are classified as H roads.
 * Regional Roads: are very common roads that were usually built up from older dirt tracks or gravel roads. They are the most frequently used roads, connecting towns and cities. They typically use a lower quality grade tarmac than Highways and often have potholes or other obstructions on them. Regional roads are classified as R roads.
 * Streets: these are the most common form of road in Nyanga as they are found in cities, suburbs, towns and villages. Streets can be made from tarmac, concrete, gravel or clay. They are generally the worst quality roads in Nyanga often having potholes, speed ramps and flooding. Streets are usually named after significant landmarks or numbered.

Security Forces
Main Article: Security Forces

Safety in Nyanga is mainly dealt with by the Security Forces, which controls the military, navy and all police and investigation services. The Security Forces is often looked at as a ministry of its own, but it is overuled by the Ministry of State Security and Defence.

The Security Forces of Nyanga consists of two sections; Defence Force of Nyanga and the Police Force. The Defence forces also contain the Nyangan Navy Service and Nyangan Air Force. There is around 11,000 personnel with 800 reserve soldiers in the military and navy. The minimum age for joining the defence force is 18 years old while in the Police Force it is 20. The military is mainly used for border checkpoints and patrols, as airport security and for anti poaching in national parks. The navy is mainly used for fisheries protection and anti piracy around the oil fields.

The Police Force has four departments; the Nyangan Investigation Bureau (NIB), First Response Service (in joint with fire departments and medical services), City Police and the Special Police Force, FGP. The Nyangan Investigation Bureau deals with ongoing investigations, such as murders and robberies, they are permitted one concealed handgun. First Response Service responds to 911 calls and is merged with the City Police in Urban areas. The First response service is a higher skilled officer, that is trained to deal with emergencies such as car accidents. Officers in this branch carry a handgun, knife (though not for weapon use), pepper spray and/or taser. Most have first aid kits permitted by the Security Forces, but it is not a requirement.

City Police, or traffic police deal mostly with vehicle related crimes but are offically assigned to general work in urban areas. There are two branches within the City Police, Thcibanga Police and Mayumba Police. The Special Police Force, FGP (Forces de la Garde de Protection) are military-styled and use specialized tactics in high-risk operations that fall outside of the capabilities of regular police. They can carry a variety of weapons depending on the service required.