Across Africa, there are men and women defending nature — protecting vulnerable wildlife and habitats and creating a more sustainable future for their communities. We are celebrating their impact in a series called “Nature’s Champions.”
WildAid believes in collaborating with, empowering and amplifying the voices of impactful and inspiring conservationists around the world. This reflects our core belief that that conservation is a team sport, and that it must include local people to be successful and sustainable.
We’ll release one new “Nature’s Champions” film every two weeks throughout 2026, spotlighting extraordinary individuals from Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Check this page to see the new stories as they’re posted!
Supuk Olekao – Tanzania
Across Tanzania, communities living alongside wildlife have been empowered to manage their lands and generate income from nature.
These lands are called wildlife management areas, or WMAs.
The people who work there are dedicated to improving lives within their communities – and protecting nature. We call them Nature’s Champions.
This is the story of Supuk Olekao, who works as the manager of Makame Wildlife Management Area in northern Tanzania.
Danièle Tjomb – Cameroon
When the forest began to fall silent, Danièle Tjomb knew something vital was being lost.
Danièle is a water, forest, and hunting engineer at Cameroon’s National School of Water and Forestry, and a champion for the forests that shape her country’s culture, identity, and future.
She has always felt a deep connection to and responsibility for the forest and its animals. However, returning to her hometown to visit, she noticed something troubling. The forests that were once alive with the calls of monkeys and other animals had fallen silent. That silence tells a story of deforestation and loss.
For Danièle, protecting forests is about more than biodiversity — it’s about preserving who Cameroonians are.
“To me, there is a connection between nature, animals, and traditions, so we can’t dissociate nature, animals, and Cameroonian culture,” she says. “If it happens that our forests disappear, we are going to lose our cultural identity.”
In her role at the National School of Water and Forestry, Danièle is both a teacher and a leader. She oversees eco-guards and leads the operational unit for capacity building in forest management, helping strengthen the skills needed to protect Cameroon’s forests and wildlife. She finds purpose in this work because safeguarding the forest means thinking beyond today and toward future generations, including her own children.
Cyrille Mvele – Gabon
Cyrille Mvele’s work is an example of how conservation efforts succeed when people and nature thrive together.
Co-founder of OELO, an organization created in 2010 to protect Gabon’s Lake Oguemoué (part of the Bas Ogooué wetland) and its biodiversity, Cyrille has built a model of community-led conservation rooted in dialogue, shared responsibility, and local pride. By working hand in hand with surrounding villages, he helps communities understand the environmental challenges they face, identify their causes, and co-create practical solutions that protect ecosystems and aquatic resources while generating sustainable income.
Under his leadership, OELO has reached thousands of students in 31 schools through environmental education programs, reduced poaching and trade of protected species, and supported the creation of multiple fishing cooperatives and no-take zones that safeguard the lake while securing livelihoods. Together with his wife, Cyrille also founded a community-run eco-lodge on his ancestral land, transforming sustainable tourism into a tool for conservation, cultural transmission, and economic resilience.
Cyrille’s work shows that when communities are empowered to protect the places that shaped them, conservation becomes a source of pride, opportunity, and hope. His model is already inspiring the next generation and will continue to benefit both people and nature for decades to come.
Eric Kaba Tah – Cameroon
Meet Eric Kaba Tah, Deputy Director of LAGA Wildlife Law Enforcement in Cameroon — and one of the country’s most determined champions for wildlife.
Eric draws his inspiration from the forests, its sounds, its beauty, its diversity, But early in his conservation career, Eric noticed a problem: wildlife crimes were being committed, but rarely prosecuted. The deterrent factor was the “missing ingredient” in conservation in Africa, he says.
Instead of accepting the status quo, Eric and his team worked with the government to build a model that ensures wildlife laws are enforced and offenders are held accountable.
“The message I want to give to traffickers is that: ‘Look, there is a law that protect these animals, and anybody who goes against the law will be arrested. If you get arrested, you will not be able to bribe your way out of it. You are going to jail.’”
But law enforcement is only part of the solution. Recognizing that bushmeat consumption is one of the leading drivers of wildlife decline in Cameroon, Eric is also focused on shifting public attitudes — encouraging Cameroonians to reconnect with long-standing values of wildlife stewardship and coexistence with nature.
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