Oceanium Dakar: The daily struggle for the integrated community-based protection of West Africa’s marine and coastal ecosystems

• Main Authors: Ismaïla Sall, Guillaume Durin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institut Veolia Environnement 2013-04-01
• Series: Field Actions Science Reports
• Subjects: awareness-raising; conservation; halieutic resources; large scale; local communities; mangroves
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/factsreports/2564

The coastlines and deltas of West Africa have suffered—and continue to suffer—significant environmental damage. Although they fulfill crucial functions, their mangroves have been subjected to widespread destruction. The Senegalese NGO Oceanium has been combatting this phenomenon since 2006 by sensitizing and involving the surrounding populations. The “Plante ton arbre” (Plant Your Tree) project is a rare example of the large-scale participatory restoration of a severely threatened coastal ecosystem. Its results deserve to be analyzed in greater detail, but it has already demonstrated that a proactive initiative designed to be friendly to people, as well as to the environment, really can make the difference.