Al’yas’aa Ben Ahmed (Paradise) - Programme Assistant, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

Paradise hails from the town of Iconi in Grande Comore and has a degree in ttourism from the University Institute of Technology- a branch of the University of the Comoros and ultimately wants to study environmental management overseas. In 2008, he completed training in SocMon and is currently responsible for coordinating the Junior Ecoguard network. Paradise is focussed on a career in sustainable development and management of natural resources.

Emile Bouba - Translator

Emile has a MA in translation from the University of Buea, Cameroon and has been working for C3 since early 2008. He has translated for the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon, World Bank and a Cambodian NGO working with street children. He is an active member of Traducteurs sans Frontières - Translators without Borders.

Patricia ZR Davis - Director

Patricia is a founding member of C3 and her interest lies in combining indigenous environmental knowledge with contemporary scientific techniques to conserve marine endangered species and ecosystems. She holds an MA in Zoology from Oxford Univeristy and an MSc in Protected Area Management from James Cook University. Since 2001 she has worked on the conservation of dugongs and marine turtles in the Pacific and Indian Ocean islands using a combination of aerial surveys, fisher interviews and habitat mapping. . She is currently working under our 'Dugongs Without Borders' theme, exploring innovative low-cost means to conserve declining populations of this species throughout the western Indian Ocean region.

Melissa Hauzer - Research Associate

Melissa is currently based at the University of Victoria, British Columbia and her research interests are focussed on marine resource management, environmental education, and poverty alleviation. She has worked on a development project in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam and conducted research in the Gulf Islands National Park in Canada. Melissa implemented the Junior Ecoguard programme and initiated socioeconomic monitoring on Mohéli and has worked in the Comoros since 2006.

David Hunter - Programme Officer, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

David studied Marine Environmental Science at the University of Portsmouth before completing an MSc in Conservation at Exeter University. He has studied coral reefs in the Philippines and conducted research in South Africa. His main interest lies in tropical marine ecosystems, both their biology and their link to local communities. David has worked for C3 in the Comoros since 2007.

Paul Ivory - Programme Officer, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

Paul has an MSc in Oceanography from the University of Southampton and his reserach interests focus on the effects of climate change on fisheries and the communities that depend on them as a source of livelihood. He is a past recipient of the Fisheries Partnership Scholarship from the Fishmongers' Association, UK and has worked for C3 in both Mauritius and Madagascar.

Maoulida Kamal (MC) - Programme Officer, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

Maoulida Kamal, from Grande Comore, has been part of the C3 team since 2006, and was promoted to Programme Officer in July 2007. MC has recently completed a DUT in Commerce, and the year before he completed a Bachelor in Applied Foreign Languages, specialising in English, at the University of the Comoros. He has worked with C3 on many different projects including Dugongs without Borders, The End of the Line and Sharing Power.

Ismael Leandre - Programme Assistant, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

Ismael holds a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Antsiranana. His work focuses primarily on ecological fieldwork and community liaison at our study sites around the northern Madagascar coastline. Ismael enjoys presenting our findings to local communities and acting on their feedback to better protect marine resources.

Chris Poonian - International Programme Manager

Chris' research interests focus on the human dimensions of natural resource management and he believes deeply in the importance of building capacity of local individuals for long-term sustainability. He has worked extensively on novel capacity-building programmes and is spearheading the development of regional training programmes for coastal biodiversity management in the western Indian Ocean in collaboration with local universities. Chris is also in charge of developing the SocMon network in Comoros.

Sahondra Parent - Programme Coordinator, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, Sahondra has a Masters degree in biodiversity and tropical ecosystems from the Université de La Réunion (Reunion Island) where she studied damselfish ecology. Her research interests include the practical applications of marine science to improve livelihoods of coastal communities in Madagascar. Sahondra has worked for C3 in Comoros, Mauritius and Madagascar.

Sthelastine Rosoanirinia - Programme Assistant, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

Sthela is a graduate from the University of Antsiranana and is responsible for developing publicity and social marketing campaigns about C3 and its work in Northern Madagascar. She also plays an important role in socioeconomic and fisheries survey work.

Catherine Sinfield - Research Manager

Catherine studied Ecological Speciation for her PhD at Leeds University, UK.  Her doctoral research combined field ecology and population genomics approaches to help explain the origin of biodiversity.  She is very interested in finding practical solutions for the preservation of biodiversity in a rapidly changing world, particularly management approaches for protected areas and sustainable resource use. Catherine is currently based in Madagascar.

Mouzidalifa Yssouf Bounou - Ecotourism Officer, Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands

Mouzidalifa is from Hoani, Moheli, Comoros and, following his participation in the community ecoguard training course, was awarded a C3 scholarship to complete his final year in geography at the University of the Comoros. During his time with C3, he has completed SocMon East Africa training in socioeconomic monitoring of coastal resources and will be a key player in future conservation and ecotourism development efforts in Hoani under our 'Sharing Power' theme.