Our actions
Supporting local development
Reconciling the needs of communities and the preservation of ecosystems
In the countries where Planète Urgence operates, local communities often have little decision-making power over the management of their territories. They often lack the skills to develop and implement mechanisms to regulate access to natural resources, or to create, develop and sustain solutions that contribute to their protection.
For these reasons, Planète Urgence is developing, within its forest restoration and protection projects, a skills-building component for these populations in order to promote their development and respond to climate issues. This is a necessary component to ensure the sustainability of the association’s actions.
Levers to promote local development
In each country, Planète Urgence has local teams who meet, identify and support the players who can play an important role in protecting the forests. This support is tailored to the needs of each individual.
Access to
skills
The NGO works with around a hundred local players – women’s cooperatives, networks of micro-entrepreneurs, local associations, schools and local authorities – to identify their skills needs and offer them training – in particular through volunteer support, networking and tools.
Structuring
organisations
Access to skills is sometimes not enough. Local communities must then be encouraged to create or improve their organisations and governance. This is what Planète Urgence does by developing professional organisations or supporting the creation of local decision-making bodies, with the ultimate aim of ensuring that the communities will be able to continue the actions on their own over time.
Promoting sustainable, local employment
Each forest restoration project must be connected with the local inhabitants so that they benefit economically from the preservation of the forest. In this way, Planète Urgence supports the creation of income-generating activities (IGAs) that meet the needs of local communities.
The key principles of capacity building
There is no point in financing or carrying out a reforestation project if it is not based on tried and tested principles of success. On the strength of its experience and exchanges with reforestation actors, Planète Urgence has worked on the key principles of a quality reforestation project.
Parole des acteurs de terrain
« The project has helped us to structure our fish chip business. It’s important for our families, because it brings a bit of money into the house. What’s more, we’ve got all the authorisations to sell and we’ve even got the Hallal label, so we can sell better! »
Iba Fathu, village woman
« Before, the island that protected our village had 850m more coastline, but erosion is strong here and is destroying our mangroves. Thanks to Planète Urgence, I realised that people from outside our village had started destroying our mangroves to build fish farms. Our land is being stolen from us, and this can’t go on.. »
Pa Ismaël, village chief, former primary school teacher
« Planète Urgence’s missions have made it possible to collect and analyse data to obtain information on the health of ecosystems and, above all, to have arguments to raise funds to buy land and protect this territory. »
Sumac Muyu, Thierry Garcia
« We have developed a relationship of mutual trust with Planète Urgence. Without the association, we would not have been able to carry out a large-scale project of the same quality. »
Vivia Miel, Emmanuel Traore and Ridwane Bio Oure
How can you get involved in community development?
In order to play an active part in the local development of communities, you can go on a voluntary mission via one of the schemes offered by Planète Urgence or support our projects in the field by making a donation.
