Our environmental project in Senegal is protecting both forests and people’s livelihoods…
Image ©Jason Florio
Abdou, a herbalist who depends on thriving forests to earn a living, is just one of the thousands of people whose livelihoods have been improved as a result of our forest conservation work in Senegal. Watch the video to find out how livelihoods like Abdou’s are instrumental in protecting forests in Senegal:
Video transcript:
“Together with the local authorities we were able to provide seven organisations with grants for green job creation. These projects are implemented by consortia who are made up of local organisations, civil society and businesses.”
“As a nursery gardener, my job is to understand the different produce that the community relies on [for their livelihoods], and I put in place tree nurseries so that enough trees can be distributed and planted. For example cashew, gmelina arborea, ditakh and baobab fruit. In the first year we sold 700 plants. In the second year we sold 1200 plants, so we saw that it was very profitable because each plant is sold at 1000 cfa [£1.30]. The more people that come to rely on fruit trees for their livelihoods then the more we will see a reduction in forest fires because everyone will be more committed to protecting their area of the forest; forests that the community has developed together with UP.”
Our environmental project created green jobs through providing local businesses and organisations with sub-grants. This led to the development of sustainable and ecological livelihood opportunities through capacity building in organisational development, environmental sensitisation and advocacy.
Context:
The EU-funded ‘Gouvernance Environnementale Communautaire’ (or ‘Community based Environmental Governance), began in 2018 and has been instrumental in reducing illegal logging and bush fires in the Casamance area of Senegal. With significant impacts on the environment, value chain addition and people’s livelihoods, this project has contributed to the increased commitment of the community to protect their natural resources.