New Africa Coordinator for the Ramsar Bureau
Abou Bamba selected to succeed Anada Tiéga
The Ramsar Bureau is delighted to announce that, from a short-listed field of exceptional candidates, Mr Abou Bamba from Côte d'Ivoire has been offered and has accepted the position of Regional Coordinator for Africa, succeeding Mr Anada Tiéga. Mr Bamba obtained a Masters degree in Marine Resources Management from the University of Québec, Canada, in 1994, and a Certificate in Sustainable Environmental Management from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 2003. 
He also followed studies at the Economics Development Institute of the World Bank in Washington, DC, in 1996 (Certificate in Political Economy of the Environment); the McGill University in Montreal in 1997 (Certificate in Information and Communication Technologies), and the University of Montpellier, France, in 1999 (training on "Environmental Challenges of Third World Countries Energetic Options").
He has been working with the Network for Environment and Sustainable Development in Africa (NESDA) since 1998; first as Program Officer and Acting Coordinator, since 2001 as Coordinator. NESDA is a International NGO based in Abidjan that brings together African experts and institutions involved in the management of environment and the conservation of natural resources. Special emphasis is being given to NESDA's contribution to the environmental component of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
From 1994 to 1998, he worked as Technical Advisor with the World Bank/International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in Abidjan; he prepared the "Overall Performance Study of Côte d'Ivoire" for GEF in 1997; the same year he spent three months with the Ford Foundation in New York for a feasibility study for "Endowment funds for environmental management in the West Africa Region", and he coordinated the Africa Environment Outlook for UNEP- to name but the most important steps in his professional career.
Through his diverse experiences, he also established many contacts with African institutions such as the African Development Bank, the UN Econmic Commission for Africa, the Africa Units of Multilateral Environmental Agreement secretariats (UNCCD, UNFCCC, CBD, Ramsar), the African Ministerial Conference for the Environment, etc.
Besides his mother tongue Mandingo, Abou Bamba is fluent both in English and French, and has a good knowledge of Spanish.
Abou Bamba will enter the Convention's employment two weeks before the Ramsar Meeting of African Parliamentarians, to be held in Benin at the end of November 2003. Exact dates of the meeting will be fixed this week. He has already been working with Anada Tiéga on the preparations for this meeting, and during the first two weeks of his new position he will work in Abidjan, then attend the meeting, and finally join the Bureau in Gland, most probably on 1st of December.
-- Annette Keller, Administration Coordinator
