Michele Marina Kameni Ngalieu

Michele Ngalieu is protecting endangered frogs by rediscovering lost species and promoting eco-friendly farming in Cameroon. She founded the first female-led herpetological NGO of her country and inspires locals to join in on nature conservation.

Background
Michele has been fascinated by animals since she was a young girl. She pursued her passion, went to study animal biology and was able to intern in Madagascar. It was there, in the middle of a mine, where she fell in love with frogs. This experience not only gave her a love of amphibians but also showed her a need for their protection.

In her home country, Cameroon, Michele continued to study reptiles and amphibians in the high mountains of the Manengouba region. Throughout her work, she connected with local communities and especially the village women. They inspired her to found Herp-Cameroon, the first female-led herpetological non-profit of Cameroon, focusing on community-driven amphibian and reptile conservation. With her team, Michele works on engaging local people and children through workshops, community programs and school outreach. This is difficult work as villages can be far up in the mountains, requiring days of walking to reach them. Besides education, Michele and her colleagues also study endemic and critically endangered species and have rediscovered frog species that were thought to be lost.

Herp-Cameroon now employs five full-time staff members and has engaged over five thousand people through their educational activities. Michele has persuaded local farmers to adopt more sustainable fire regimes and practices to support amphibian conservation and convinced them to avoid pesticides and maintain remaining forest habitats.

Vision and approach
Michele believes educating local communities about and involving them in nature conservation is key to its success in the Mount Manengouba region. Locals often lack knowledge about the extraordinary natural areas they live in or are close to, and the impact they can have on their surroundings. By working together with local communities to conserve their natural environment, Michele aims to reduce threats while at the same time creating awareness for the importance of nature and wildlife.

Impact of the Future For Nature Awards
With the FFN Award prize money Michele will:

• Scale up her community-based conservation for threatened frogs in Manengouba by hosting workshops in local communities on amphibians, their threats and how locals can help protect these species
• Expanding to other communities to promote eco-friendly farming and agroforestry to reduce pesticide use and minimise deforestation
• Training locals as forest stewards to monitor frog populations and habitat
• Develop a community-led ecotourism programme to provide economic incentives for habitat conservation

Written by Marloes Leeflang