TEAM
SUPERVISION COMMITTEE
Pedro PEREIRA
ANAC
Oraca CUMABE
ANAC
Alban DE LOISY
FFS Director General
Alessandro FUSARI
FFS IGF Project Coordinator
Thomas PRIN
FFS IGF Project Manager
Thomas Prin is Project Manager (Africa) for the Foundation François Sommer / International Foundation for Wildlife Management. He has a PhD in Ecology from the University of Lyon.
He is a conservation ecologist and project manager with 14 years work experience in Africa. After living for 6 years in Niassa Special Reserve in northern Mozambique where he performed his PhD about the buffalo population, Thomas worked for several international NGOs in Southern and Western Africa.
He assumed the position of Conservation Manager and Field Operations Manager and developed business and management plans for several protected areas in Africa. Thomas joined the FFS-IGF in 2018 where he oversees the Gilé National Park Program.
Project Implementation Unit
Warden
(ANAC)
Since December 2021, João Juvêncio Muchanga is the new Warden of Gilé National Park.
João Juvêncio Muchanga is a Forest Engineer graduated at the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo and he has dedicated his life to the study and management of ecosystems, climate change and eco-tourism. João Juvêncio was teacher at the secondary school in Maputo, professor at the Pedagogical University, Delegation of Niassa and responsible for the Forest and Wildlife studies and statistics department in the DNFFB (Direcção Nacional de Florestas e Fauna Bravia).
He worked in many regions of Mozambique:
Community Management Officer in Moribane Reserve (Buffer Zone of Chimanimani National Park), Head of Provincial Forest and Wildlife Services in Maputo and Gaza Province, ten years as Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism in the Province of Niassa e Sofala, Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism in Sofala Province and Head of the Forestry Department in Manica Province.
José ZAVALE
Law enforcement Manager
(ANAC)
“My name is José Selimane Zavale, I am 45 years old, I was born and raised in the province of Maputo.
I studied Conservation Management of Natural Resource Conservation at Southern African Wildlife College – SWEC. I joined the Conservation of Natural Resources as Inspector in Limpopo National Park and I worked as Head of the Department of Protection and Control of the Zinave National Park.
Since 2019 I am the head of the GNAP Law Enforcement Department. During my years of service I have learned a lot about the importance of natural resources and how they are closely linked to the co-existence of man and our planet. Continuity is necessary to guarantee a future for the next generations through education, awareness and the involvement of local communities and society.”
Sergio MACASSA
Administration & Finance Manager
(FFS-IGF)
Tomas BURUWATE
Technical Assistant (FFS-IGF)
Tomas Chipiri Buruwate is a Mozambican from Pemba. He did his early education in Zimbabwe and graduated in Wildlife Management in Tanzania at the Mweka Wildlife College.
He has worked for WWF based in Quirimbas National Park, for East Africa Safari as a manager and for Wcs as a logistics manager.
Tomas has worked in the Niassa Special Reserve for 11 years as Operations Manager making a substantial contribution to the Niassa Carnivore Project over the last 5 years helping to develop community based ecotourism and the construction of Mpopo Trails Camp.
For the broader Niassa Reserve, he has added many species to the Niassa Special Reserve’s biodiversity lists, from his work on fish to his surveys of reptiles and amphibians, and his work on gladioli and orchids.
His contributions and commitment to conservation in Mozambique will now continue in GIlé National Park.
Celina CIPRIANO LUPAKA
NTFPs project Manager (FFS-IGF)
Biologist with a professional passion for nature and people development, with experience participating in relevant conservation projects and working with communities to create awareness on biodiversity and sustainability in the northern part of Mozambique (Palma and Pemba) and the central region (Gorongosa). Experience working with terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Celina holds an advanced diving licence, a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences and a Master’s degree in Conservation Biology. She believes that awareness is enough to act for change to become a reality and dreams of a world where we all do our part to protect the planet and people. She seeks to harness knowledge and experience in areas such as research, leadership, management, community engagement, ecotourism and conservation policy. From December 2022, Celina is responsible for GNAP’s NTFPs (non-timber forest products) project.
Atanasio HENRIQUES
Infrastructure Manager (FFS-IGF)
Atanasio graduated as a construction technician from the Commercial Institute of Quelimane, Zambézia. He has 5 years of experience in construction, civil construction design and budget planning. He is involved in supervising works in the renovation and rehabilitation of buildings, sanitation and water supply systems. He also attended the professional technical course on occupational hygiene and safety in Maputo.
He joined the GNAP team in November 2022.
Salma MUDADIUA
Human Resources Officer
(FFS-IGF)
Salma Agostinho José Mudodiua, was born in Quelimane, Zambezia Province. Salma has a degree in Human Resources Management with a qualification in Workplace Hygiene and Safety from the Pedagogical University of Quelimane and is currently employed at the Gilé National Park as Human Resources Manager.
David DOS SANTOS PEDRO
Senior Technician for the Community Development Department (FFS-IGF)
David dos Santos Carlos Pedro, born in Nacala-Porto Nampula Province, is 34 years old.
Community Development Officer of Gilé National Park, graduated in Agrozootechnics from the Agropecuario Institute of Gurué (Zambézia), he has been working for communities in the Buffer Zone since May 2019.
He has extensive experience in the use of NTFPs (non-timber forest products), with a focus on beekeeping and dehydrated mushroom production, in forest and community governance and in various agricultural production projects to generate income for communities.
David works in environmental education, community health to combat early marriage and ensure girls stay in school. He worked as Project Manager for the creation of a database of places with tourism and cultural potential in Zambezia called MUSSICA, funded by the University of Kenya, through the FNI National Research Fund.
His biggest challenge is to empower communities and transform them into decision-making bodies for the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of sustainable community development.
Rachele Caterina VILLA
Communication & Social Media Officer (FFS-IGF)
Cultural Anthropologist focused on social aspects, community development, NTFPs and women’s empowerment with 10 years’ experience in communication. After working in West Africa from 2016 to 2019 promoting food security, Rachele joined the Gilé National Park team in January 2020 and is in charge of the GNAP’s visibility and social media management.
Safina TALBO NEVES
Community Technician
GNAP community department technician since 2018. “I started working in the Gilé National Reserve (now Gilé National Park) as based in the locality of Malema (Pebane district), where I had the opportunity of a training in beekeeping in 2020, and in the same year I received training regarding mushroom picking and processing. In 2021, I had the privilege of participating in trainings organised by Nitedæ (a GNAP partner) on cashew nut production and processing, and in 2022 on cashew nut sales.“
Other Community Technicians:
Graciela PAIAIA
Community Technician
Graciela Januario Paiaia graduated in Agrozootechnics from the “Instituto Médio Agro-Pecuário” de Gurué (IMAPEG) in 2017.
In 2003, she worked as a literacy trainer at Namuinho Primary School in Quelimane.
In 2005, she worked as a technical assistant at the ARPEL company in Quelimane in the human resources sector.
She trained as a professional theatre actress and worked for 3 years on stage with the World Vision company, in the Rita Health project area, with material on HIV-AIDS. She also did internships in the IITA programme, a seed multiplication company in Gurué and in the fields of IMAPEG in soya production for 6 months.
Lucas ETAGA
Community Technician
Lucas Daniel Etaga started working for Gilé National Park in 2010 as a community inspector, an activity that aimed to collect information on the level of poachers entering the National Park. In 2020, he started working as a facilitator for the Gilé National Park, as part of the PFNM project, for 1 year. His duties include supporting the group of women gatherers in good mushroom picking practices, and supporting beekeepers in honey production practices and apiary set-up techniques.
Dino MACUMANHA
Community Technician
Dino Bulázaro Bento Macumanha, Agricultural Technician, graduated from the Agricultural Institute of Chimoio, Manica Province, in the speciality of Rural Extension and Agricultural Development. He completed his degree in Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and did an internship at the Agricultural Research Institute in the district of Sussundenga, where he developed activities related to agriculture, hybrid seed production (maize), and a second internship in the district of Vanduzi in Manica, where he developed activities related to seed production, from land preparation to marketing.
Gildo ESTEVÃO
Community Technician
Gildo Xavier Estevão, 30, was born in the province of Nampula.
Graduated from the Middle Agrozootechnical Institute of Gurué (Zambezia) in 2019, he carried out a trial internship at the Agri-Mel company, where he aroused a passion and interest in the study of insect life, especially honey bees (Apis mellifera), developing extensive experience in beekeeping and honey production and processing.
He specialised in beekeeping and the reforestation of native forest species.
In 2020, he worked in Agri-Mel as a technical beekeeper in the communities of the districts of Gurué, Alto-Molocué and Maganja da Costa.
He currently works in the Gilé National Park as a Field Technician, developing the functions of Technical Beekeeper and the collection of Non-timber Forest Products within the Buffer Zone.
Maria OSSIFO
Community Technician
Maria Emate Ossifo, was born in the district of Mocuba – Zambézia Province, Mozambique.
In 2020, she graduated in agronomic engineering from the Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering at Unizambe in Mocuba.
Part of the Gilé National Park staff, she has been working as a field technician for the Community Department since 2022.
In the years 2016 to 2019, during her academic and professional career, she participated in several scientific events and chess championships, domestic and foreign, such as the 1st Agribusiness Financial Innovations Workshop at FEAF-Mocuba, the National Agriculture and Livestock Congress at Nampula, the National Chess Olympiad in Maputo and the World Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan.
