Gérant associé – Président
CEO - Environmental Project Director
Holder of a DESS (Bac+5) in Management of agro-sylvo-pastoral systems in tropical zones from the University of Paris - Val-de-Marne (Paris XII) and a Master's degree in biology of populations and ecosystems (Rennes I), Sébastien has a professional experience of nearly 25 years in developing countries (sub-Saharan Africa, Maghreb, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, OCT) in the sector of rural and community development, as well as in the environment.
Its expertise is proven at the level of the procedures of the main donors (EU/FED, AFD, WB/IFC, etc.), in particular through the implementation and/or monitoring/evaluation of international development projects and programs in the form of high-level technical assistance, via for example several experiences in support of the National Authorizing Officer of the European Development Fund.
He has also supervised/carried out numerous missions for the private sector (energy sector and extractive / mining sector) in the framework of ESIA, ESMP, RAP, biological/physical environment inventories, socio-economic studies, value chain/industry studies, strategic studies, Protected Areas, etc.
Managing Director of Oryx Expertise, in addition to his involvement in the coordination of the office's activities and in the development of the company, he continues to be involved in projects, providing his expertise to support clients and teams.
Gérant associé – Directeur général
CEO - Community / Land / Resource Management Project Manager
Thomas MANTET holds an engineering degree from the Ecole Nationale du Génie de l'Eau et de l'Environnement de Strasbourg (ENGEES). He has 12 years of experience in the rural world, particularly in the structuring of farmers' organizations.
With more than 10 years spent as a resident in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, he has developed a very fine knowledge of local socio-economic dynamics and the organization of the peasantry, for the valorization of natural resources for production and economic development. He also has a perfect mastery of the aspects of local governance between users and managers for the proper perpetuation of rural engineering infrastructures.
Within this framework, he has been working since 2020 with large industrial and gold mining companies as a project manager for the elaboration of long-term community development strategies, the resulting local economic development plans, and the design/implementation/monitoring of action plans for the valorization of areas, in order to encourage the valorization of natural resources and the economic growth of populations. It is therefore interested in all the strategic components associated with industrial infrastructures, namely: the environment, community organization, local governance, economic development, income-generating activities, information/education/communication at all levels.
Having designed several hydro-agricultural perimeters and having supervised numerous development studies, he has a very good knowledge of hydraulics, agronomy and social aspects of development and farming practices. In this context, he has been working for the last 10 years as an expert in Social Water Management within the Scientific and Technical Committee for Agricultural Water (COSTEA) where he brings his expertise to bear on the various Irrigation Development and Management companies in West Africa, whether in Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, etc.
Directeur de projets - Inventaires biodiversité
Biodiversity Project Manager / Ecologist / Ornithologist
Simon Cavaillès is an ecologist specializing in fauna and flora inventories and monitoring, with 15 years of professional experience abroad, particularly in Africa. Passionate naturalist, he has trained through his various personal, professional and associative experiences in contact with experienced biologists and naturalists in many European countries, Central Asia and Africa. He graduated with a Master's degree from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. He is passionate about nature conservation issues in Africa and contributes to the development of knowledge on the biology and distribution of bird species in West Africa.
If ornithology is his core business, Simon now supervises biodiversity studies in their entirety within Oryx by creating methodologies, coordinating field inventories and participating in the drafting of various study reports, from biodiversity inventories to ESIAs, ESMPs and BAPs. He is familiar with the study techniques of the taxonomic groups usually studied in the framework of regulatory studies: mammals, reptiles and amphibians, aquatic fauna, botany and is interested in entomology through the study of Syrphidae diptera.
Simon has been working for 7 years in Africa on projects following international environmental standards, notably IFC/IFC Performance Standard 6. In addition to basic fauna and flora studies, Simon is involved in specific studies of priority species for conservation and critical habitats, including Great Apes (chimpanzee and gorilla population size estimates, population monitoring, etc.).
English (UK) 
Français