Ulrich Joel Felicien Bilounga

I am PhD candidate in marine sciences at the University of Douala (Cameroon) with emphasis in Marine Ecology and Biogeochemistry. My research interrest is about the variability of carbonate system and assessment of potential impact of ocean acidification in marine ecosystems of the southern coastal ocean of Cameroon. I graduated in 2018 with a Master’s degree in Research and Development in coastal and marine environments from the University of Douala. It was during these Master’s years that my interest in the study of ocean acidification (OA) started, after a training course on chemical and biological aspects of OA organised by GOA-ON in Dakar (Senegal). Since then, I have taken part in several training courses, both online and onsite, on various aspects and techniques of monitoring and conducting research on OA. I am currently the country Focal Point of the BIOTTA project, which aims to build capacity in OA monitoring in the Gulf of Guinea. I am also interested in ocean observation, having taken part in shipboard training and seagoing campaign as part of a POGO fellowship. Professionally, I work as Research Technician at the Specialised Research Station on Marine Ecosystems of Kribi, a research station under the Cameroon Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. My daily work involves participating in the organisation of data collection campaigns in the ocean and coastal environment, and in Cameroon’s main rivers. I am also member of the data analysis team and assist senior researchers in their work. My skills include the use of various tools and equipment of data collection and observation of the marine and coastal environment, data analysis using several tools such as R and Python programming languages, laboratory analysis and scientific writing.

Ernest Ohandja Nomo

Mr. Ernest Ohandja Nomo is an early-career researcher specialising in coastal and marine monitoring. He holds a Master’s degree in Integrated Management of Coastal and Marine Environments from the University of Douala (Cameroon) and conduct applied research at the APCAM research association. His work focuses on using benthic communities to monitor Biogeochemical conditions in coastal ecosystems, which is crucial for understanding marine environmental dynamics. He is passionate about ocean conservation and committed to address global environmental challenges, including climate change, pollution, and marine biodiversity loss. He is involved in several international initiatives, such as the BIOTTA project (ocean acidification), GEM (eutrophication monitoring), and AAORIA (Atlantic Ocean Resilience Innovation Alliance). These collaborations allow him to contribute to global research on ocean health and develop sustainable solutions for marine management. His technical skills include programming, cartography, and data management, and he is continuing to develop his expertise to support sustainable coastal ecosystem management and protection against increasing environmental pressure.

Dicka Kwambe Henock Emmanuel

My name is Dicka Kwambe Henock Emmanuel, an environmentalist, and water, forest and hunting engineer. I obtained my Master of Engineering at the faculty of agronomy and agricultural sciences from the University of Dschang (Cameroon), and a Master of Sciences in Environmental Ecology and Biodiversity from the faculty of sciences of the University of Douala. My research work was mainly focused on the fauna and flora of mangrove forests. For more than a decade, we have been witnessing a very advanced degradation of this very fragile ecosystem which plays a very important role in the balance of our environment. I coordinate a scientific team that work to restore more than 90% of a degraded plots in the southern coast of Cameroon with a visible results today. In this momentum, we participate directly or indirectly in the fight against climate change and marine pollution. Since I joined the Agricultural Research Institute for Development as Scientific and Research Engineer, I have participated in several training courses related to the marine environment. These include, among other, measurements of the physicochemical parameters of sea and river waters, and sampling of mangrove sediments in estuaries. These outings allowed me to write and contributes in several research articles, notably the most recent, namely: Dendrometrical Structure and Physicochemical Analysis of Mangrove Sediments from the Nyong River Estuary (Cameroon, Atlantic Coast). To date, we can give an exhaustive list of benthic organisms threatened with extinction in our aquatic environments and constitute a reliable database to compare with other environments much more distant from the Gulf of Guinea to establish any verification