The content of this blog was written by Professor Mark Huxham and is presented by Amber Baker. Mark is the founder and chair of ACES and has spent nearly two decades working with local communities dependent on mangrove resources to understand their ecosystems better and to use this science to help restore their environments and bring community development benefits.

This blog was written as part of our ‘Conservation’ series which showcases people in conservation and explores upcoming projects and trends.

Meet a mangrove champion, a conversation between Mark and Ansumana

ACES is a proud partner in Nnaa Saama Mankolou, our new project working with the community of Sankandi in The Gambia to restore their mangrove sites and help support livelihoods and biodiversity in the area.

Mark: tell me where you were born and a little about your early life

Ansumana: I was born in Sankandi [the village where Ansumana lives still]. My father was a farmer, as was my grandfather. He died in 1984 when I was a little boy. As a child I had to assist my mum in cultivating her rice fields and protecting them from wild animals, like monkeys and birds, until the time of harvest. I had to be at the fields by 7 am. Then when the time comes for lunch the adults sent me to go and collect lunch from home and then bring it back to the rice field for them, because the fields were far from my home.

Mark: and did you combine all this work with going to school?

Ansumana: yes I was enlisted in the school and started my primary education, but at the beginning it was tough because my mum wanted me to go to Arabic school instead of, you know, conventional school. So she did not always support my schooling. In the early years I had to go to school without lunch, and in fact, I did my primary school without a uniform.

Mark: so it sounds as if you were motivated even as a young boy to learn and to develop?

Ansumana: yes I had to struggle. I started as a local volunteer in a medical clinic whilst still at school. That led to opportunities for work and training as a medical assistant. Eventually, I was supported to train as a radiographer and so that was my profession until 2009.

Mark: so how did you become interested in conservation and in mangroves?

Ansumana: back in primary school, in 1994, I was invited to read a poem at the opening ceremony for a new national park [Kiang West National Park]. The poem was about conservation and the need to look after our forests; I learned it by heart and it still serves as a motivation for me.

Mark: how did you start Sankandi Youth Development Association?

Ansumana: in 2005 the president came through our village. I wanted to escort his car to where he was going, but the driver said ‘no no it is too far, we are going five kilometers’. But me and other youths insisted on going all the way on foot with him. When he arrived he was so impressed he gave us some money in thanks. We used that money to found the Youth Association.

Mark: and why did you start work on mangroves?

Ansumana: the local fishermen were finding that they could no longer find fish so we decided to look how best we could help them and restore the areas where they fish. So I did some research on mangroves and mangrove restoration in Africa.

Mark: and that is how you found out about ACES?

Ansumana: yes I came across an article that was written by you and then how you spearheaded the Mikoko Pamoja project and then I clicked on your email and thought yeah let me just talk to Mark and see whether we will be in a position for another mangrove project in the Gambia.

Mark: and now after some years we have managed to find funding for this work and are in a position to work together on this new project. What are your hopes for the future from this work together?

Ansumana: Well, my hopes for this project is for it to be modelled and replicated in all parts of the Gambia and let other communities benefit directly from the work they have been doing. And in fact, maybe it can be used by the government to help with their carbon policy.

Mark: and finally, do you have any advice for anybody who may be reading this, who perhaps is in a similar situation to you?

Ansumana: my advice would be for them to reach out because there are experts who will help. You need to make sure that your project will really benefit local people and make sure that you are able to take ownership of your mangrove restoration project.

You can find out more about Ansumana, the Sankandi Youth Development Association, and the Nna Saama Mankolou project on the ACES website SYDA’s social media pages.