What does the Africa you dream of look like?

Recently, Dr.Aristide Takoukam Kamla and eight (8) prospective open water SCUBA divers from Cameroon, Ghana and Senegal were welcomed to eKhaya Storytelling and Research Centre in Sodwana Bay. This partnership with the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organisation (AMMCO) marks a year since Aristide himself broke the surface and delved deeper into his dream of seeing the marine mammals he has dedicated his career to, in their natural environment.

To grasp just how significant paying access forward in this way is to Aristide, we went all the way back to where his story started more than 16 years ago. The result, 95 minutes of inspired conversation and reflection from London where just on Wednesday he accepted a highly acclaimed Whitley Award for Nature,  which recognises and celebrates effective grassroots conservation leaders across the Global South, shining an international spotlight on the impact they’re making for conservation and their communities. 

We spoke about everything from finding his purpose on the waters of Lake Ossa, to a small Weevil giving it the chance to breathe again - and how together it has paved the way for a career rooted deeply in Cameroon's coastal communities. 

Photo courtesy of AMMCO.

Interestingly, his journey started with the disappointment of failing the entry exams for medicine no less than three (3) times. He recalls his agitation deepening as he felt God strongly nudging him into selecting the unknown subject of Ecology, a discipline introduced to the University of Dschang for the first time just that year. 

I grew up in an environment where we were not taught that there's something like conservation or animal protection. If our parents would present an animal to us, the first question that we would ask is, do we eat it? How does it taste? You know?

But I never imagined that an animal could go extinct. I believed in the infinite presence of wildlife species. I heard that voice in my heart saying that I should go for ecology, it was totally nonsense to me because I didn't know what that ecology means. 

Starting his studies, he finally learned what exactly ecology was and it piqued his curiosity.

So, why marine animals - why manatees? 

It turns out that was another divine nudge when in his absence, his classmates chose to focus on marine aquatic megafauna - another concept he was not at all familiar with.

At first I was like, what is aquatic megafauna? It meant all animals that are larger than 45 kilograms. I came across dolphins (which was not a surprise), whales, sea turtles, some sharks and rays. 

I never imagined myself studying marine animals. In fact, I grew up in a region where water was seen as a home for evil spirits. And so, I had that very strong fear. 

But when I came across the African Manatee, it wasn't like an animal I've seen before, even virtually - so I started reading more about this species and I realised that we have them in Cameroon. And on top of that, they are threatened and there is nobody working for their protection in the country.

In his pursuit of his masters and considering how and what it would take to further specialise, the complete lack of local academic expertise on marine mammals (especially the African Manatee) inspired AMMCO as a tool to offer locals in marine and related sciences an easier, more informed start than his - one powered by locals and the deep well of knowledge shared with him that aided his research and conservation efforts.

Dr.Aristide Takoukam Kamla, instructor Sli Mbuyazi and the West Africa Dive Lab cohort in NEWF’s training pool at eKhaya Storytelling and Research Centre. Photo by Chisomo Kawaga for NEWF.

My journey with AMMCO started in 2012. I was doing my masters research and there was no organisation working for the protection of the African manatee, yet the species faced serious threats such as poaching, accidental capture in fishing nets and habitat degradation. 

I also struggled a lot when I was doing my research because I had no senior local manatee specialist who could guide me through my work. I had to struggle and learn by myself, and get guidance from external specialists from the U.S. I wanted the people after me to have the opportunity to benefit from experts in their country too.

Institutionalising his experience gave him the opportunity to formalise and share his research and help young scientists find direction in this research environment, where local knowledge and needs were an intrinsic part of AMMCO’s approach.

For my fieldwork research, I decided to push my curiosity about this animal. For the first time, I was leaving my hometown, a mountainous area and travelled down to the coast 300 kilometres away. This coastal area, which is culturally totally different from my hometown, was where I started looking for the African manatee.

And believe me, it wasn't easy when I got there, because I went with a biassed idea. There was much information about the African manatee on Google. With the help of the community we have been providing a lot of data on African manatee on the internet now, but at the time I read more about the Florida manatee, because this was the most studied species. And I was seeing those manatees in clear water so I thought that it would be the same thing. I was very disappointed because the colour of the water looked more like coffee - completely brown!

Photo courtesy of AMMCO.

He spent three months and $500 dollars given to him by his mother looking for the manatee without seeing any. Disappointed and tired he wondered whether he’d made the wrong decision studying the species… That was until he met a local fisherman who explained how to go about sighting the manatee. His academic brain and bias now humbly set aside, he learned from the fisherman that he was going at the wrong time, looking at the wrong indicators and almost comically in the wrong locations too.

The fisherman offered to take him out on his wooden canoe early in the morning when the water was still flat and mirror-like. Paddling out to the open water, they paid close attention to mud bloom and any illusive snouts coming up for a breath. Just 45 minutes later, the fisherman indicated that a manatee was around. Following the bubble trails as instructed by his far more knowledgeable water guide, he saw a snout sticking out of the water for one or two seconds before it disappeared. It happened again and again for fifteen (15) minutes. A juvenile manatee was going around their boat, coming to play with the paddle. 

That was a very unique moment. It was magic because it was my first manatee. And I think I even shed a few tears, it was a very emotional moment. And it felt like that manatee was accepting me into its world. He was giving me the okay to study them. And that's how my journey started 16 years ago. It has been such a pleasure.

Photo courtesy of AMMCO.

Even though he had received a Fulbright scholarship to pursue his PhD at the University of Florida, USA - where access to the Florida Manatee seemed like the obvious choice - he chose the African Manatee which allowed him to return home for part of the year to transfer his knowledge and share resources with other scientists and the communities that continued contributing to his research through logging their sightings. His determination to continue his research was well-supported by his supervisor, colleagues and peers - later supporting his weevil pilot with knowledge and access.

By the time he completed his PhD, AMMCO was 5 years old and his citizen science project back home matured from paper forms easily lost or damaged, to the development of a mobile app called SIREN designed to preserve data from local fishermen and the coastal community. Initially, his dear friend and mentor Papa Mensa was a significant driving force for the use of the app in the fishing community. Together the community logged more than 20 000 sightings, including a rare species not sighted for more than 40 years. 

But it was not only species they noticed - a deeply concerning phenomenon had emerged on Lake Ossa. The water flowing into it from the Sanaga River was significantly shifting the nutrient tables, blooming a fast-spreading invasion of Salvinia Molesta that threatened to suffocate the ecosystem impacting the manatees, other species in the ecosystem and directly impacted the community's ability to continue subsistence activities like fishing. In a matter of six (6) months, more than 50% of Lake Ossa was covered in a thick, bright green carpet of Salvinia. 

One of the Salvinia Weevil control areas where browning was observed - a clear indicator that the study and controls would yield positive results. Photo courtesy of AMMCO.

Today the invasive Salvinia covers less than 10% of the lake - thanks to a successful, community-powered biological control study using a species of weevil with a Salvinia-specific diet; imported from the USA.

Photo courtesy of AMMCO.

Discovering the African Manatee led to a career that offers an incredible case study on the power of African-led science to craft a hopeful future of Africa’s richly biodiverse wild spaces - and most importantly, a future that includes the knowledge, access and livelihoods of local African communities in developing sustainable conservation management plans that make a lasting impact.

More than just research, Papa Mensa’s journey with AMMCO is one that demonstrates the utter importance of including the existing knowledge in communities - and doing so in a away that offers all contributors equal access and ownership of their collected data. Through observing the local waters he knew so well in a new light, he became a curious and passionate advocate for the turtles that once provided income for his family. His absence in the community where he taught many of the young ones how to safely translocate turtle nests to combat poaching is deeply felt since his passing in 2023.

His legacy is one of reform, and part of a full circle interlinking with his son's journey. Prince Kuko, selected by Aristide to be part of the West Africa Dive Lab, is a spear fisherman who knows the local waters well. AMMCO and Africa Refocused will be supporting his journey to becoming a divemaster (likely Cameroons first). Aristide’s dream for Prince Kuko is not unlike Papa Mensa’s dream for his son - to head up a dive centre on Cameroons coast. 

Local to Cameroon but not to the coast, Aristide understands the importance of a true local being the one leading the management of the dive centre he hopes to fund in the area as part of AMMCO’s bigger vision to establish a dive industry in and for West Africa. 

From my perspective, Refocusing Africa is the rediscovery and accentuation of the intrinsic worth of the continent. It involves reasserting Africa's narrative, highlighting its cultural richness, vast biodiversity resources, and capacity for innovation. This process demands that the narrative be told by Africans and from their perspectives, thus confronting and dispelling outdated narratives and biases that have marginalised our importance. Ultimately, it’s about honouring Africa's global contributions and ensuring its rightful place at the forefront of international discourse and action.
- Cedrick Fogwan, a scientist from the West Africa Dive Lab cohort

AMMCO hopes to draw in and partner with neighbouring countries to expand the impact and amplify the voices of African scientists, citizen scientists and stakeholders to ensure a strong foundation for conservation as a viable career for emerging talent. 

Taking home the Whitley Award has been his biggest professional recognition. Starting as a man alone, asking for rain as a divine sign that this path was for him, he has leaned so faithfully into his purpose. And by doing so, contributing to Refocusing Africa for the future of African science and marine careers.

This is what the Africa we dream of looks like - African storytellers, scientists and conservationists carving paths for each to ease the journey ahead - constantly expanding the dream and realising it by bringing others with us.

Aristide and his team would like to dedicate this feature as a tribute to Papa Mensa, an integral part of their collective journey.