My name is Eric Ngang and I am Cameroonian. My training background is in environmental management and sustainability. My research interest is in climate governance, indigenous knowledge development and use. Much of my work focuses on understanding how local communities organise and empower themselves using their local indigenous knowledge and practices (LIKP) to effectively manage their natural endowments amidst external and internal threats such as climate change. Thus, I have initiated collaborative projects on this issue and mobilised funding to implement these projects. With the experiences and lessons from this work I have made contribution at flagship events of global climate adaptation spectrum, and at various academic fora targeting diverse audiences.
I am passionate and strongly believe that if communities are given the opportunity sit on the driver’s seat of their development processes, they can better define what development they want and contribute to achieving it. Thus, I have stepped forward as a researcher and community development practitioner and continue to demonstrate visionary and inspirational leadership in citizen advocacy and not-for-profit management. I initiated several local and national organizations which are working with communities on social, environmental, economic development, and human rights initiatives across Africa. The most remarkable is the Action Group on Governance and Environmental Management (AGGEM), a community-based organisation which is gaining recognition as the representative voice in articulating the needs and interest of various beneficiary communities in Africa and carrying out impactful projects on natural resources and environmental management.
I believe in giving back and contributing to build a cadre of new generation thinkers. Thus, I have mentored many students and young professionals within the framework of as the Queen's Young Leaders Programme, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, and the University of Birmingham Careers Network Mentoring.
I am recipient of several scholarships and fellowships that have enabled me to earn academic and professional qualifications from Cameroon, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Some of these include the Australia Awards Scholarship, Australia Awards Fellowship, and the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship. My work with local communities in Africa has earned me several awards including the 2018 African Dream Achiever’s Award, 2019 Australia Alumni Award and the runner-up of the 2020 Africa Evidence Leadership Award (AELA). I am an Alumni of the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program, the International Visitor’s Leadership Program (IVLP) and the Mandela Institute of Development Studies (MINDS).