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Michael Philippe Bessike Balinga
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Biodiversity Conservation Specialist
, Tetra Tech ARD
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Freetown,
Sierra Leone
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Bilingual (French, English) expert in Forest management and wildlife conservation. 7 Years conservation and development experience in Central Africa. 12 years of experience in West Africa on forest governance, national and regional policies, livelihoods and combatting wildlife trafficking including research coordination and capacity building. Some experience in gender and development. |
 Contact Michael Philippe Bessike Balinga
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Area of Expertise: |
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Environment, Climate, Energy, Water, Sanitation
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Professional Experience: |
My career to date has focused on applied research, project management, policy development and capacity building in the fields of conservation and livelihood development. I have worked in Central Africa from 2000-2007, and West Africa from 2007 to date, in both humid tropical and dry forest ecosystems. My main occupational interests lie in facilitating sustainable forest management at community level, and linking conservation objectives with livelihood needs and governance requirements, all based on sound biological and socio-economic science. I particularly enjoy training young foresters and researchers in natural resource assessments and management. Having been Coordinator of a national based NGO in Cameroon, Chief of Party for the LAMIL Project in Guinea and Sierra Leone, and as Regional Coordinator for CIFOR in West Africa, I have had to work with a diverse range of individuals, to build research and project implementation teams and represent my institutions at community, national and International events.
More recently I have focused on developing capacity in West African States for combatting Wildlife Trafficking. This has included providing strategic guidance to government and regional institutions on tools, strategies and approaches, but also developing training modules, strengthening networks and establishing baselines for decision making processes. I have been a pioneer in this field in West Africa and have been active in assessing needs for various forms of support and connecting countries and institutions to global fora, and current knowledge or best practices in fighting international wildlife crime.
Over the years, I have been successful in drafting fundraising proposals, and also have great experience in assessing and managing grants. I have led teams ranging from 6 persons to projects with 140 staff and am comfortable with Regional to global policy processes.
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Education: |
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Engineer degree (professional Masters) in forestry and wildlife management from University of Dschang in Cameroon. Other short course training in Biodiversity Assessments, monitoring and Management with Smithsonian Institution.
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Available for: |
- Being headhunted – make me an offer
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Years of Experience:
15-20 years |
Highest Qualification:
Masters |
Languages:
English, French |
Nationality:
Cameroon
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