IN MEMORIAM: celebrating the extraordinary legacy of Professor Marie Marguerite Mbolo Abada
“It is with profound sorrow and deepest respect that the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) family, alongside the global forestry and conservation communities, mourns the passing of Professor Marie Marguerite Mbolo Abada. A distinguished academic, a steadfast advocate for labour rights, and a pillar of sustainable forestry in the Congo Basin, Professor Mbolo leaves behind an enduring blueprint for ecological integrity and social justice.”
A foundation rooted in science and community
Before her name became closely associated with international forestry standards, Prof. Marie Mbolo was a formative force in Central African ecology. As an Associate Professor (Maître de Conférences) and Laboratory Manager at the University of Yaoundé I (UY1) in Cameroon, she devoted decades to understanding tropical forest dynamics.
Her pioneering research on above- and below-ground carbon sequestration, the ecological effects of agroforestry systems, and biodiversity adaptation provided the scientific grounding needed to validate sustainable forest management. She did not merely study the forest; she measured its value to the planet and to the people who depend on it.
The pioneer years: cultivating the FSC we know today
Professor Mbolo was among the foundational architects of FSC’s footprint in Africa. Her particular strength lay in bridging rigorous botanical science with human dignity.
The Social Mandate (2009–2010): Serving as a Labour Attaché and Social Officer for the then FSC Africa Office in Accra, Ghana, she anchored the human dimension of forest certification. She worked tirelessly to integrate International Labour Organization (ILO) standards into commercial forestry, helping ensure that workers were afforded fair wages, medical protections, and safe working environments.
Building FSC Cameroon (2010): As a core member of the Executive Secretariat of the FSC National Initiative in Cameroon, where she served as Treasurer for the Social Chamber, she helped cultivate a generation of committed local advocates that defend the colours of FSC everywhere they go.
Empowering communities: In December 2010, she was a principal architect that first introduced the FSC Standard for Community Forests and SLIMFs (Small and Low Intensity Managed Forests) in Cameroon. This marked an important shift in regional forestry, translating complex international criteria into practical, empowering tools for indigenous and local communities.
The FSC Africa Advisory Committee
Recognising her lifelong dedication and rare perspective, the international community called upon her again in September 2023, during the FSC Africa Regional Members Meeting in Kampala, Uganda. Professor Mbolo was appointed to the FSC Africa Advisory Committee, where she represented the Social Chamber with clarity and conviction.
In this role, she served as a strategic compass for the continent, helping ensure that as African forestry modernised, the voices of vulnerable communities, the rights of workers, and the sovereignty of indigenous peoples were not set aside.
The 2025 Brazzaville landscape dialogue
Perhaps no moment better illustrated her exceptional character than the National Dialogue on Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs), held from January 14 to 16, 2025, in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo where she acted as co-chair.
Tasked with navigating the difficult tensions around Motion 65 — balancing the protection of pristine carbon-sink forests with the economic realities of more than 3.1 million hectares of certified concessions — Professor Mbolo stepped up. In a room crowded with conflicting corporate, governmental, and environmental interests, she guided the discussion with grace, tact and scientific authority. She helped steer the region away from gridlock and toward adaptive, landscape-level solutions that will shape the Congo Basin’s future for generations.
Rest in Peace, Professor Mbolo
Professor Marie Mbolo was that rarest of leaders: an academic who remained grounded in the field, a diplomat who never lost touch with the grassroots, and a scientist who understood a simple truth — forests cannot be protected without protecting the people who live among them.
The Forest Stewardship Council extends its deepest condolences to her family, her colleagues at the University of Yaoundé I, her students, and the many communities whose lives she enriched. Her voice will be profoundly missed, but her vision remains rooted in the forests of Africa.
Rest in peace, Professor Mbolo. Your legacy endures in every green canopy and every community protected.
Source: FSC
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