I am citizen of Benin Republic. After completing my high school (1995), I was selected for three scholarships to enter the only one national university of the country: medicine, animal science and agronomy. I chosed to go through the five-years study in agronomy at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences (FSA) of the National University of Benin. In 2000, I received from that university, my ‘ingenieur degree’ in forestry with the best distinction. After my degree, I worked in the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée of the University where I conducted, as research assistant, work on vegetation and wildlife monitoring in the Biosphere reserve of Pendjari (Benin). Under the recommendation of the head of the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée, I was involved in a German Project (IMPETUS) where I was in charge of the identification and description of the ecology of savannah and gallery forest plant species for the project’s two doctorate students, in sudano-guinean zone of Benin. I also conducted research on livestock management and the pressure on fodder tree species in protected areas located in the central part of Benin. In June 2001, I was hired by the International Plant Genetic Research Institute (IPGRI) to serve as Scientific Assistant in its Sub-Sahara African Forest Genetic Resources Program (SAFORGEN). At this position, I was involved in the development of cross-national research projects to bring together scientists and decision-makers in Sub-Sahara Africa. I was also involved in following up projects financed by the Program. I provided scientific backstopping whenever necessary. I contributed in starting research programs on the assessment of harvesting threat for tree species in Sub-Saharan Africa. I also contributed in editing books under the umbrella of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and IPGRI. While being at IPGRI, I used part of my time to advise undergraduate students from the National University of Benin on their proposals and dissertation writing. 
 
My working experience at the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute was critical for my present orientation in ethnoecology and conservation biology. Trained as forest ecologist, with emphasis in community ecology, I was acquainted to the ‘species approach’ used by IPGRI in forest genetic resources conservation. I built on this and decided to further my knowledge in demography and population viability analysis. With that in mind, I applied for a research internship in the Plant Ecology Lab of Dr Eric Menges in Florida. I was selected and I spent seven months (January – July 2003) at Archbold Biological Station (Lake Placid, Florida) where I conducted, under the supervision of Dr Menges, research on Dicerandra frutescens (Lamiaceae) population viability and microhabitat analysis. This internship was a great opportunity for me to improve my fluency in English and get used to American culture. This was a very important step toward applying for graduate school in the US. My application was accepted at the University of Hawaii at Manoa where I am currently doing my Ph.D. 
 
My career goal is to contribute to fill out the gap of scientific knowledge that render decision making difficult when attempting to develop sound conservation plans in developing countries in general and in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular. This influenced my research interests which are related to the assessment of the ecological impacts of harvesting Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) by indigenous people. For my Ph.D., I focus on Khaya senegalensis (Meliaceae), a threatened African mahogany species harvested for its foliage, bark and timber. I study how harvesting Khaya senegalensis bark and foliage by indigenous people affects the reproductive biology, genetic diversity and demography of harvested populations in order to suggest strategies for efficient community based conservation.