Natur'ELLES

Through a community-based approach, Natur'ELLES aims to bolster the critical environmental services provided by mangroves, particularly for the benefit of women, such as enhancing fisheries productivity and mitigating coastal erosion, flooding, and salinization.

Supported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the project seeks to empower stakeholders in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Indigenous Community Heritage Areas and territories (ICHAs) to spearhead conservation and governance strategies, placing local communities at the forefront.

Activities will encompass restoration campaigns, awareness-raising, and the promotion of climate-smart, biodiversity-respecting energy and production alternatives, with a focus on sustainable fisheries and microenterprise federations to provide tailored products and services, enhancing income crucial for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation.

Additionally, the project aims to establish a pilot mechanism for payment for environmental services (PES) geared towards women and their communities. Based on an economic assessment of the value of blue carbon sinks using IISD's Sustainable Asset Valuation (SAVi) methodology and targeting the blue carbon market, this model will be widely disseminated to demonstrate the holistic economic value of the ecosystem to the community.

Natur'ELLES will directly benefit 8,000 people, including at least 6,000 women and young women vulnerable to climate change, as well as their communities in the Sine Saloum and Upper Casamance deltas (including more than 85,000 indirect beneficiaries across 113 villages, who will benefit from improved fishery resources, food security and environmental services for climate risk mitigation).

SOCODEVI will lead the project, with partners including the International Institute for Sustainable Development, IUCN and Ostrom Climate Solutions.