'OBOUT' US

'OBOUT' US 

Our Team
Local Program Director - Lucien Mballa Mbida
  • Lucien is a local Cameroonian who has been raising and collecting insects since age 9 and who is passionate about his forest, his family and football! Lucien is fluent in French (written and spoken) and acts as a coordinator of a network of forest guides and hunters who contribute livestock and selected papered specimens into the Cameroon Ark project.
  • This is mission critical to maintain genetic diversity of breeding stocks in the butterfly and moth farm while drawing off natural resources in a sustainable way as the local village populations have harvested prepual Saturniidae larvae from the forest for hundreds of years.
  • Lucien also acts as the education coordinator to teach local school age children and adults about the biodiversity and biology of the forest
  • Lucien owns 50 Ha of a mixed primary/secondary forest in Obout Village.
UK Liaison Director - Andrew Pearce Spicer – Ph.D.
  • Andrew has a passion for the natural world. Andrew has a professional background in scientific research, technology and innovation development. He is a Director of Spicer Consulting Limited and Chief Innovation Officer and Founder of Algenuity, both based in Bedfordshire, UK with total staff count >50. 
  • Andrew acts as the Charity Director for Cameroon Ark in the United Kingdom where his main role is to act in mentoring and guidance, vision and comms of the project. He has run successful conservation projects in the USA and has raised Saturniidae since he was 13 years old. 
Local team of forest guides and entomologists - drawing off the locally rich knowledge of the forest including guides who have an intimate knowledge of the wildlife and ecosystems.
 
Local team of volunteers and workers - an enthusiastic group of volunteers and workers drawn from the local community.
Extended Team
ARK-Cameroun Office: includes a Vice President, Secretary General. Treasurer, Auditor and Censor in support of the Project Manager and President, Lucien Mballa Mbida.

Other – advisors and substantial knowledge-base drawn from an extended network of UK/EU/USA/Central America butterfly and moth professionals and enthusiasts from Amateur Entomology Society (AES) UK and FaceBook groups including Lepidoptera Breeding & Rearing Discussion Group - Ian Smith, Matt Simmonds, Bart Coppens, Robin Allen, Mario Posla & Gary Saunders.  
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