Maximin Djondo

Aquatic Wild Life Conservation Expert, Western Africa

Maximin Djondo is Executive Director of Benin Environment and Education Society (BEES NGO). He has for the past fifteen years been implementing projects in the West Africa region to support national and international strategies and policies related to the sustainable use of wetland and coastal resources by maintaining their ecosystem services for local communities. He has a particular expertise in wetland ecosystem management including wetland biodiversity indicator development and assessment methodology, wetland monitoring, wetland ecosystem service valuation, and wetland ecosystem based adaptation actions. In addition, Maximin is a member of the CMS Aquatic Wild Meat Working Group, the representative in Africa for the World Wetland Network, Coordinator of the Benin wing of Delta Alliance and member of the IUCN Regional Committee for Western and Central Africa. He has acted as an ecological consultant to a range of organisations including environmental consultancies, government agencies, local environmental groups and NGOs. Maximin’s engagement with OceanCare since 2018 is to support the organisation’s work on aquatic wild meat in the region, mainly the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership aiming at increasing the awareness and action of governments, the private sector and local communities in West and Central Africa, in order to slow and reverse the over-harvesting of aquatic mammals, reptiles and birds for human consumption, trade, fishing bait or other uses.