Through our #WomenInConservation series, WildAid is shining a spotlight on some of the incredible women in conservation who are working tirelessly to protect wildlife across Africa.
Andréa Minkwe is the manager of the Raponda Walker Arboretum, a protected area of 6747 ha, located in the north 30 minutes from the Gabonese capital, Libreville. She works at the National Agency of National Parks, one of the most prestigious institutions in Gabon in charge of the management of national parks and protected areas.
This small area of forest is threatened by habitat loss because of its proximity to Libreville, and protecting it is a daily challenge. Andréa believes that it takes love, passion and willpower to choose conservation as a career.
“Our job as defenders of the integrity of protected areas puts us in constant danger and in conflict with all the offenders who are responsible for poaching of any kind. These poachers, consider us as their enemies because we place ourselves in the way of their interests,” says Andréa.
Andréa feels more support is needed for women in conservation and believes governments and national institutions should facilitate their work by providing them with all the material and financial means to be more efficient.
“There should be an international day for women working in conservation. In addition to being a woman working in conservation, she is a mother. As such, help these women to offer their children good schools or universities through scholarships. Most of them are single mothers due to their very constraining work that some men can't bear.”
She recalls that one of the most difficult experiences in her work was when a lawbreaker in the protected area that she manages looked down on her because she is a woman. “The thing I hate most is to see my authority flouted because I am a woman. This led me to act to force respect by relying rigorously on the law in terms of punishment according to his offence.”
This exploitation of natural resources over time has eventually depleted certain stocks and reserves causing environmental imbalance, says Andréa, but believes that by conserving species, we slow down the process of extinction of any wildlife that are in serious danger of extinction.
She wants more girls to take an interest in protecting nature and wildlife.
“For girls considering a career in conservation, it starts with a good awareness of all the harm that mankind causes to nature. It is this awareness that can spark an interest in moving into training streams that can later work in deep conservation.”