The Gamba Complex - Key Staff and partners

Bas Huijbregts
Principal Technical Advisor
Coming from the Netherlands, Bas's family name is quite difficult to pronounce. Mr. Bas, as we therefore call him, has been a motivating leader, in encouraging the fantastic team in Gamba in their work in the area. He is responsible for securing funding, meeting with partners and potential partners, and catalysing coordinated actions in the Gamba Complex.

Augustin Mihindou Mbina
Conservateur Loango South National Park
With the creation of the Gabon Park network, 15 Conservateurs have been sent around the country. In the Gamba Complex, 3 are working to oversee and coordinate all activities going on in the parks. Augustin is working in the southern part of Loango National Park. He has vast experience in park management, having worked in Lopé National Park before.

Bas Verhage
Conservation Advisor
In order to avoid confusion with Bas Huijbregts (Mr. Bas), this Bas is known to all as Little Bas or Sebastien. He comes to us from the Netherlands as well. In 2003 he started as marine turtle volunteer and later also as technical advisor for the local NGO Ibonga (www.ibonga.org) nowadays he is the direct assistant of the Principal Technical Advisor, and also still involved in local NGO development and the marine turtle conservation programme
He still sometimes flees to the beautiful beach outside of Gamba for a long night of patrolling and turtle measuring, if he is not playing the guitar.

Stéphane Le Duc Yeno
GIS and database manager
Stéphane is a very important element in the WWF Gamba team. From Port Gentil, he has shown his skills in developing and running the GIS centre, and assisting field teams in entering their data, facilitating report writing and data analysis. After four years at WWF he is now responsible for most overall reporting in French. He can be found most days riding his bike to work, getting some physical exercise before exercising his mind.

Martial Onanga
Surveillance officer
Martial is the person responsible for all surveillance support work in the Gamba Complex. He will soon be an official agent of the Ministry of Water, Forests, Fisheries and National Parks on which WWF can rely. He has a loud voice to make sure people listen to him when he informs them on the existing laws or when he confiscates illegally hunted bush meat and illegal guns. He’s also our man to help local communities to find solutions for human / elephant conflict issues. He never needs to take a break and is therefore always ready to work.

Donnie Ronald Ekwa
Operations Manager
Donnie put his carrier within the Ministry on stand by to fully serve WWF. He proofed to be able to manage any team for months in the forests and is now learning about project management before becoming WWF’s focal point for the work with the logging Company CBG (Companie des Bois du Gabon). He lives of juices and fish and is always the last one to stay in the office.

Byogho Bi Essono II
Head of the Wildlife Brigade in Sette Cama
Biyogho is the head of the Sette Cama Wildlife Brigade which is situated at the southern entry of the Loango National Park. He loves to talk for hours with a smile with all the different actors in the area, such as the local and foreign fisherman, the oil companies, tourists, villagers, tourist operators, the Park Warden and his staff of experienced eco-guards and is therefore much appreciated by everyone.

Manassé II Mba
Eaux et Forêts agent and human/wildlife conflict resolution
Manassé, originally from northern Gabon, has a passion for protecting the environment, which fits well with his passion for his fellow Gabonese, who are often set at odds with their environment. He is a key force in helping resolve the conflict between locals and wildlife, as well as in anti-poaching work. A gifted speaker and writer, he is often to be heard on local and national radio, discussing various conservation issues.

Jean Pierre Bayé
Environmental Education and outreach
From the village of Sette Cama, it is at once evident why Jean Pierre has such success working with school kids. His enthusiasm is catching, and his smile and knowledge of his fellow locals and their hopes, problems and desires, have assisted him in creating a strong local NGO called Ibonga (www.ibonga.org), and in teaching locals about the importance of conservation. He is also a great guide of the area, which helps him interpret local conditions when discussing with students, tourists, and others.

Frederic Siby
Logistician
When you need things done correctly, on a day-to-day basis, Freddy is your man. From Sette Cama, he is an avid fishermen and conservationist. Freddy is in charge of managing inventory, vehicles, and assists in budgetary affairs.

Hugues Mouanambatsi
Finance and Administration
Any field project needs sound financial management, and for Gamba, this comes from Hugues. Donor money coming in, spending and accounting of this money creates a very busy day for our accountant. Every mission costs money, and requires justification of spending. To ensure transparency, Hugues works long hours, but always with a smile.

Olga Bourobou
Administrative Assistant
Olga is the bright feminine face of the project handling office stocks, the library and all other administrative tasks. If you need money for day-to-day expenses you need to pass by her. Apart from her daily work she also plays together with her daughter as film star in a conservation movie realised by Ibonga (www.ibonga.org)

The project further consists of 8 trained eco-guards for all field activities, two drivers, 5 field assistants, a cleaning lady, one park guard and three guards to ensure the safety of the office and the garage and at night.

Then there is...

The NGO Ibonga
All environmental education activities in the Gamba Complex are outsourced to the local NGO Ibonga. Apart from environmental education (including the implementation of an environemental education curriculum and excursions), Ibonga ensures awareness raising in all villages with their Conservation Road Show, manages a local handicraft shop, marine turtle research and a Visitor’s Center for southern Loango National Park. For more information go to Ibonga’s website.

Cybertracker Programme
Since August 2003, the EU-funded Cybertracker programme has provided support to WWF Gamba. This partnership allowed WWF Gamba to set up a modern data hub and GIS centre for the Gamba Conkoauti transboundary Landcape, to use high tech Cybertracker data collection tools, as well as set-up a satellite internet connection in it’s field offices in Gamba.