From Father to Son – A Shared Love for the Forest

As we mark our 10th anniversary in December 2025, we continue to highlight the people and projects that shape the Foundation’s ecosystem and the ambition that drives them. 

Today, we’re in the Republic of Congo, where a story of conservation spans generations. It begins with Roland Missilou Boukaka, a long-serving Conservateur who dedicated his career to some of the region’s most biodiverse areas — including Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Lésio-Louna Reserve, and Conkouati-Douli National Park.

During the Ebola outbreak, Roland stayed in Mbomo to support local communities and help investigate wildlife deaths. “Conservation often means showing up,” he says. His son, Rabbi Dieu-Veille Missilou Boukaka, remembers growing up in Pointe-Noire without ever seeing wild animals — except when he joined his father in the field. Those early experiences made a lasting impression.

Today, Rabbi is a second-year PhD student at Marien Ngouabi University and a researcher with SPAC Conservation Research at the Ngaga Research Station, an initiative supported by the Hasso Plattner Foundation. He studies animal bioecology, focusing on endangered species such as gorillas and elephants. “My father never asked me to follow in his footsteps,” he says. “But I saw what he did, and it stayed with me.”

At SPAC, Rabbi works with a team committed to science, education, and fieldwork. He describes an enduring pull toward the forest — a sense of connection that took root early and never faded. “It’s not about pressure,” he says. “It’s about presence. The time we spent in the forest shaped me.”

His father reflects: “Science is an open door. Where I stop, my son continues. Where he stops, others will follow.” This idea — that conservation is a long chain of shared responsibility — is central to SPAC’s work. By investing in young researchers like Rabbi, the organization supports a future where expertise is grounded in experience, and knowledge is passed hand to hand.

The ambition is clear: to protect biodiversity in ways that endure. For Rabbi and Roland, that means a legacy that lives on — in forests, in classrooms, and in the next generation.

For our anniversary, we are sharing stories from across our ecosystem – snapshots of the people and ideas that drive them. New stories will appear on our anniversary page between July and December 2025. We invite you to follow along – and perhaps, find inspiration of your own.