Purpose on the Planet

Our program supports over 1000 acres of state-owned forest around the village of Antsanitia, which the Malagasy maintain was officially entrusted to the community members of VOI Taratra in 2012.

Through our work as part of the Accelerated Restoration Collaborative and by focusing on vital mangrove ecosystems, we’re using our “Recruit & Restore” methodology to create an immediate impact on human well-being, as well as long-term climate adaptation and for the villagers around Antsanitia.

The valuable work of restoring mangrove forests is currently creating life-changing opportunities for the members of VOI Taratra. As a result, the last decade at Antsanitia has seen many significant positive changes to both the forest and the lives of the people, as they restore their native ecosystems. These results are a testament to the positive impact of our humanitarian and environmental nonprofit mission, and also to the power of combining nature-based solutions with community-led forest management.

The Tuungane Project was launched by The Nature Conservancy in 2012 to conserve Lake Tanganyika, its ecosystems and affected communities. The project has already expanded protected areas to cover more than 50% of Mahale’s total forest area. It has also proven the viability of carbon enterprises that would pay villages for protecting their forests.

We support the long-term survival of the trees by providing tangible work and income benefits for local people, plus support to the Tree Planting Associations. Local community members may assume roles at tree nurseries (seed preparation, seedling germination and distribution) or adopt a range of responsibilities that are assigned to community-based tree-monitoring champions.

These important partners carry out the essential work of local advocacy and forest-conservation mentoring within the community. To date, this effort has been shown to achieve an exceptional 86% survival rate, thanks to such strong community-led stewardship.