Togo Mourns Sena Alouka, Who Gave African Youth a Climate Voice
TOGO · SOCIETY
Key Facts
—Who died: Sena Alouka, founder of the pan-African organisation Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement, known as JVE.
—When and where: Benin Web TV reported he died on 31 August 2026 in Créteil, France, after an illness.
—How it became known: JVE’s board of directors announced his death on 3 September, Le Nouveau Reporter reported.
—What he founded: JVE was founded in 2001 by Alouka and other Togolese students.
—The scale: By 2025 JVE reported about 30 national branches, 20,000 volunteers and 70,000 members.
—Other roles: He was founding chair of the climate and agroecology working group of AFSA, a tribute said.
Sena Alouka, who built a students’ club in Lomé into a pan-African network with a seat at the climate table, has died. JVE’s board announced his death on 3 September.
How a students’ club became a continental network
JVE began in 2001. Alouka and a group of Togolese students founded it in his home village of Kpélé Tsiko, according to AFSA.
They started with tree planting and school clubs. The organisation spread sideways rather than building a head office.
Chapters appeared across West Africa and then beyond, run largely by people in their twenties. By 2025 JVE reported about 30 national branches, more than 20,000 volunteers and 70,000 members across the continent, Le Nouveau Reporter said.
It became a genuinely African network, not a local franchise of a European one. That made it unusual.
JVE’s own record puts the network at about 30 branches and more than 20,000 volunteers.
The argument he kept making
His central point was practical, not rhetorical. African delegations arrived at climate talks short of staff and money.
He argued that the continent most exposed to the damage had the least say in the wording. Colleagues describe his argument in the same terms: that Africa should not be a spectator in decisions about its own future.
AFSA and JVE colleagues credit him with training young African negotiators and placing them on delegations. He put it simply, and repeated it for years.
That message was his signature.
Why Togo was the right place to start
Togo is small, coastal and squeezed between larger neighbours. Environmental pressure is impossible to ignore there.
Coastal erosion east of Lomé has been a long-running problem. Land degradation inland pushes people towards the coast, and the coast is retreating.
That squeeze was the observation JVE was built on. The country has also become adept at diplomacy above its weight.
The recognition, and what it meant
Ashoka elected him a fellow in 2014. Its profile records that by then JVE had a presence in 25 African countries and 11 operational offices.
The same profile notes that in September 2013 he had launched Tunzaafrika, a platform uniting more than 500 organisations. Ashoka does not claim the fellowship caused these achievements.
JVE says it is accredited with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. That gave a youth organisation formal standing in a treaty process, which is rare.
Civil society in West Africa runs on small grants and a great deal of unpaid time. Recognition does not pay the bills.
What tributes said
The messages that followed the announcement came from environmental and climate figures across the continent. Benin Web TV reported that many described him as a pioneer of Togolese and pan-African ecology.
Le Nouveau Reporter called him a pioneering figure of Togolese and pan-African ecology. The same outlet reported his death on 3 September.
Seyni Nafo, the Malian spokesman for African climate negotiators, said: ‘C’est un baobab qui tombe’ — a baobab has fallen. The consistency of the language is itself a measure.
He was known well beyond the countries where JVE has chapters. His voice reached the rooms where decisions are made.
The wider civil-society picture in West Africa
Aid budgets in several donor countries have been cut. Small environmental groups feel that first.
The work has not become less necessary. Coastal erosion, degraded farmland and irregular rainfall are pressing harder on the same communities.
What Alouka built gave some protection against that. A network of volunteers costs less to sustain than a professional staff, and it survives a lean year.
What happens to the organisation
Losing a founder is hard for any organisation. JVE has chapters and a governance structure, which helps.
The larger question is funding. Youth environmental work in West Africa depends heavily on donor cycles that have tightened considerably.
He trained young negotiators for years. Whether they now carry the work is the practical test of the legacy.
What to watch next
Watch for the funeral arrangements and any memorial announcement from JVE International. These had not been confirmed by 6 September.
Watch too for who takes the network forward. Continuity in the negotiation training is the practical test of the legacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Sena Alouka?
A Togolese environmentalist who founded the pan-African organisation Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement in 2001. He was an Ashoka Fellow and a fixture of international climate negotiations.
When did he die?
Benin Web TV reported he died on 31 August 2026 in Créteil, France, after an illness. Other tributes describe his death as sudden, and no cause has been given by his family or JVE.
What is JVE?
Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement, a youth environmental network founded in Togo and now working across Africa. JVE says it is accredited with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
What was he known for at climate talks?
Training young African negotiators and getting them onto delegations. He argued that Africa should not be a spectator in decisions about its own future.
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