BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DIRECTORS.
Professor William Oduro
Dr. William Oduro is a Lecturer of Wildlife Biology/Ecology and
Management and Dean of the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources (FRNR) of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. Prof Oduro has spent his entire professional career in wildlife with focus on education, research and service. His academic training consists of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Wildlife and Range Management in 1984 from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and a Master of Science in Wildlife and Range Management and Doctor of Philosophy in 1985 and 1990 respectively and nine professional certificates from seven countries. Prof. Oduro began his academic career as Teaching Assistant in 1987 at University of Ibadan, Nigeria and lecturer in 1990 at the KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.
During his academic career he published 45 papers in 18 peer review journals, authored or edited 4 books, 4 book chapters, 18 abstracts in proceedings, 2 periodicals, 40 technical reports, one international public exhibition, 3 video documentaries, and 31 other publications. He attended 97 conferences/seminars and workshops including scientific presentations and plenary addresses. He served as key supervisor for 11 students at the Diploma Natural Resources Management Level, 112 Students at the Undergraduate BSc Natural Resources Management Level and 22 Postgraduate Research Projects at Masters Level (Both MPhil Wildlife & Range Management, MSc GISNATUREM and MSc Environmental Resource Management) and 4 PhDs. Prof. Oduro serves as an external assessor in three Universities in Ghana and a regular reviewer for 8 international and 2 local journals.
Professor Oduro has managed 14 robust international and 19 national wildlife research projects for the past 20 years. Much of these research projects have focused on biodiversity/agrobiodiversity assessment, assessment of wildlife populations, wildlife ecology/biology, wildlife utilization, park design and management, community nature-based tourism, game ranching and domestication, traditional conservation of biological resources, rural land management and land use, rural environmental resource management.
Professor Oduro has played a key role in preparing strategies to monitor trade in Elephant Products and Illegal Killing of Elephants" - Nairobi, Kenya. TRAFFIC/IUCN/SSC/CITES (1998). He has been member of Government of Ghana delegation to Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention on International Trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) on 4 occasions, 1995 -2004. He is a registered member of 14 international and national professional associations. Prof Oduro's extensive professional experience and travel in 14 African countries and 13 other countries outside Africa provides him with a unique understanding of the cultural context of wildlife capacity building in the world. He moves freely within the culture of these countries with knowledge of gender roles, language and current sustainable wildlife management issues.
Professor Oduro has coordinated several external funded projects including: 'People, Land Management and Environmental Change' (PLEC) GEF/UNU/INRA. $ US 10,992,900.00; 'Sustainable Land Management for Mitigating Land Degradation, Enhancing Agricultural Biodiversity and Reducing Poverty in Ghana" (SLaM) GEF/UNDP/Ghana Gov't) $US 1,758,023.00; 'Agroforestry Practices to Enhance Resource-Poor Livelihoods' (APERL) CIDA CAD 3,000,000.00; 'The inclusion of community based agro-biodiversity conservation into value chains and markets: designing viable institutional configurations through cross-site learning in Southern Africa, Ghana, Colombia and Thailand (ICHA), Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation/Wageningen UR/KNUST, Euro 146,000.00; 'Enhancing Management of Natural Resources through the Empowerment of Traditional Leaders in the Oil and Gas Region in Ghana towards Poverty Reduction'.
African Association of Universities (AAU)/DFID Euro 100,000.00; Member, Research Team on Global Pollination Project UNEP/GEF- funded USD 130,808.00; Member, Steering Committee "Building Stronger Universities in Developing Countries" (BSU). 60 million DKK (11.5 million USD) granted for the first phase. Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark/DANIDA; Consultant/Coordinator High Forest Biodiversity Conservation Project of Faunal Survey in Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (FSD, FC, MLFM, GEF/World Bank/Ghana Gov't); $US 250,000.
Professor Emmanuel Danquah
Emmanuel Danquah is a Senior Lecturer/Ecologist and Head of the Department of Wildlife and Range Management at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi - Ghana. He is also a Technical Advisor to A Rocha, Ghana, which is part of a national network of 19 committed environmental NGOs that constitute A Rocha International. Having worked for several years in the NGO sector, Mr. Danquah's academic background is interdisciplinary. He has a Diploma in Education and BSc in Zoology from the University of Cape Coast, a Postgraduate training in Elephant Biology and Management and an MPhil in Wildlife and Range Management from KNUST. His field experience has been principally in Ghana and West Africa. Recent areas of research include endangered species management; protected areas governance; indigenous people and conservation; traditional knowledge in natural resource management; and environmental impact assessments of natural resource-based projects. Mr. Danquah is a Fellow of the University of Michigan African Presidential Scholars in Ann Arbor, Michigan and also a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), IUCN SSC African Elephant Specialist Group (AfESG) and Society for Conservation Biology (SCB).
Gilbert Adum
Gilbert Adum, Executive Director and Founder, was born into an “endangered” hunting tribe in northern Ghana. In 2011, in response to alarming amphibian declines in Ghana and globally, he founded Save Ghana Frogs, with the mission to protect declining amphibian populations. He has received several honors and awards for consistent efforts in championing amphibian conservation and commitment to improving the health, education and livelihoods of local people who are dependent on critical frog habitats. Some of these include becoming Ghana's first traditional (honorary) Chief for Frogs and Environment, 2016 Green Oscars (Whitley Awards), 2015 Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, and 2011 Cambridge SCCS Prize for Best Report.
Gilbert has also been involved with multiple research projects with international collaborators that have resulted in several scientific publications. Some of these findings cut across rediscovery of species lost to science; establishment of the absence of the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus in West Africa; and enhancement of knowledge about natural history of Ghanaian amphibians. Gilbert Adum holds two master’s degrees respectively from the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST, Ghana). His vision for Save Ghana Frogs is to make it a model organization capable of stemming the tide of the ongoing biodiversity loss.