Our Team

Bernard Atarigiya is a goal-oriented and self-motivated conservation professional with approximately six years of experience in community mobilization, collaborative natural resource management, and sustainable landscape governance. He serves as a Research Assistant at Alliance for Pangolin Conservation Ghana (Pangolin-Gh), where he supports field research, community engagement, and data collection for species and habitat conservation initiatives.

Bernard is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Tropical Forestry at Bangor University (United Kingdom) through distance learning as a Commonwealth Scholar. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana. His academic and professional interests focus on climate change, ecosystem management, sustainable livelihoods, social inclusion, and integrated landscape approaches.

Professionally, Bernard works as a Forest Range Manager with the Forestry Commission of Ghana, where he is responsible for the administration of forest ranges, stakeholder collaboration, community sensitization, plantation development, and investigation of forest offences. He has played a key role in the successful implementation of the Ghana Shea Landscape Emissions Reductions Project (GSLERP) in the Yerada Forest Reserve in the Savannah Region. As a Forest Range Manager, he also contributes to forest protection and revenue generation through conveyance certification.

In addition, Bernard volunteers as a Technical Officer with Plant-For-The-Planet Ghana, an international NGO working to restore degraded landscapes and enhance livelihoods in Ghana’s savannah zones. His responsibilities include community outreach, technical support for tree planting, site demarcation, and guidance on appropriate species selection and planting practices.

Bernard possesses strong technical skills in field data collection, GIS (ArcGIS Pro and QGIS), basic data analysis using R, academic writing, and the use of field equipment such as GPS units and diameter tapes. At Pangolin-Gh, he contributes to ecological surveys, community-based conservation activities, and research aimed at improving the management and protection of pangolins and other threatened wildlife species.