PRINCE WILLIAM AWARD FOR CONSERVATION IN AFRICA
WINNER 2024
Nomba Ganamé
Mali
Nomba Ganamé’s dedication and leadership as Head of Field Operations for the Mali Elephant Project has ensured the survival of Mali’s unique elephants. Despite the complex challenge of conserving an elephant population along trans-Saharan trafficking routes in a conflict zone, and in the face of an escalation in poaching in 2015 (when 83 were lost), it is thanks to Ganamé’s unwavering commitment and effective conservation strategies that their numbers have stabilised, with a population of more than 300.
Ganamé’s career began as a sociologist and rural development advisor, working on environmental development initiatives, before being appointed to manage community engagement for a significant Global Environment Facility project, integrating biodiversity conservation and development across three countries.
While working with the German government aid organisation GIZ, he came to focus on land tenure, which he recognised as vital in addressing the long-running conflict between resident agricultural communities and migratory herders, and its heavy environmental impact. This experience honed his skills in dispute resolution, and it was following a series of stakeholder workshops in 2006 that he joined the Mali Elephant Project, where he plays a pivotal role engaging local communities in elephant conservation.
Ganamé has dedicated his life to understanding the diverse and interconnected drivers behind ecosystem degradation, and he has helped develop an innovative environmental governance architecture spanning 16 communes across 60,000km2.
This “elephant-centred” model of landscape restoration makes space for elephants while improving local livelihoods, thereby fostering sustainable, grassroots, community-led environmental management, supported by governance structures at multiple scales.
Exhibiting deep humanity, pioneering creativity, and relentless courage, Ganamé is committed to his vision for restored ecosystems, where people and recovering wildlife populations coexist peacefully. His work highlights the importance of integrating human and ecological needs, showing how effective conservation action requires collaboration, adaptability, and perseverance.
My advice to the next generation is to have total commitment to community conservation, to listen to the local population and to demonstrate impartiality in their dealings. I would also say that you should never put the money first, because conservation takes a lot of time and energy and if you put the money first, it’s difficult to succeed.”
More about Ganamé
