As a bats researcher and expert, it is legitimate for me to seek to understand the relationships between populations and bats. Bats face many threats such as the destruction of their habitat and poaching. This situation did not improve with the arrival of covid-19, which rather increased the distrust of the populations in these animals. In Cameroon, Eidolon helvum is the most endangered bat species for comsumption given to its size and availability; also the disturbances of their habitats are not to be neglected. By participating in this project of counting and monitoring this species in the city of Yaoundé, this allows me at the same time to raise awareness of the benefits we draw from these fantastic animals.

Paul Arnaud Mballa Ndzie is an entomologist currently pursuing a PhD at the University of Yaoundé 1 in Cameroon. In 2016, he began studying cocoa pest management in the Centre Region of Cameroon, and in 2018, he conducted a trial on the biological control of plant pests. He worked as a field assistant in 2021 for a research project titled "Diet analysis and tropical ecology of ungulates found in Cameroon" with Dr. NNJEJI LOTANNA Micah from Princeton University, New Jersey, USA. In 2022, he worked as a field assistant for the "Rainbow environment impact" project on Amphibians and Reptiles and learned about methods in tropical entomology from Vladimir Gusarov at the Natural History Museum of the University of Oslo. His primary goal is to contribute to the long-term conservation of biodiversity.  He has got a professional training on identifications of mammals and ungulates faeces; training on how to count populations of Eidolon helvum colonies across Cameroon, training in first aider. 

Passionate about natural sciences, I am mainly interested in questions of biodiversity conservation, ecology, environmental and climatic impacts on biodiversity and the ecosystem services associated with it. I am particularly interested in bats and I would like to make a significant contribution to the knowledge and conservation of this group of small mammals in Africa. My thesis work focuses on recording the echolocation calls of bats and studying the variation of their frequencies in different ecosystems of Cameroon. The main objective of his work is the establishment of a bat call library which will improve and facilitate monitoring and identification of bats through a non-invasive approach.

I have already taken part in numerous studies related to wildlife conservation (wildlife inventories) and to the knowledge of bats (Inventory of bat fauna in some area in Cameroon ; Evaluation of Impact of COVID-19 on the perception of bats by the populations of Dja Biosphere Reserve in Cameroon ; Eidolon Network Project Partner/Volunteer to regular monthly counts of Eidolon helvum colonies across Cameroon). I have already participated in numerous seminars which allowed me to acquire new knowledge and skill about bat.