Pongara National Park, Coastal national park in Komo Department, Gabon

Pongara National Park covers 929 km² on the south side of the Gabon Estuary, between the Komo River's left bank and the Gulf of Guinea. Its habitats include mangrove forest with Avicennia and Rhizophora, swamp, riverine and seasonally flooded forest, grassy savanna and a long sandy beach. The Remboué, Igombiné and Gomgoué rivers cross the park and empty into the estuary.

Pongara National Park was created in 2002 as a protected area of Gabon. Since 2007 its wetlands have been recognised as a Ramsar site of international importance. People have lived in the area since at least the Neolithic era, gathering timber and growing cassava and banana.

A local conservation group monitors female leatherback turtles as they come ashore to lay eggs, tagging them, guarding nests and running a hatchery. The same organisation provides ecological education for people living around the park, and residents have long gathered timber, grown cassava and banana, hunted and fished here.

Access is by boat across the Gabon Estuary from Libreville, landing on the southern shore; the park has no road link to the capital. The beaches where leatherback turtles nest are monitored by a local conservation team, so keep distance and follow their guidance. Much of the interior is mangrove, swamp and seasonally flooded forest crossed by the Remboué, Igombiné and Gomgoué rivers, so plan for wet ground and a local guide.

During winter months, tens of thousands of migrating birds rest in the estuary as a stopover between breeding and wintering grounds. This temporary gathering of water birds makes the area special for birdwatchers.