A series celebrating conservationists from across Africa
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. Stay tuned to hear their stories!
Meet Nature's Champions...
Cyrille Mvele
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
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 rarely being 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.