IK Notes Nurturing the Environment on Senegal’s West Coast he Natural Reserve of Kër Cupaam were clearly required to restore its T is situated in the “Petite Côte” re- ecology and attract the sort of tourist gion of Senegal, 45 kilometers activity that would benefit the local po- south of Dakar along the Atlantic pulation. That, in any case, was the coast. This fragment of a former na- conclusion reached by a group of tional forest covering roughly 100 hect- women from the village of Popenguine, ares was set aside by government de- who decided in 1988 to create the As- cree in the early 1980s in order to pro- sociation of Women of Popenguine for tect the wintering site of the blue the Protection of the Environment (Re- grackle and the rock grackle, two en- groupement des Femmes de Popenguine dangered species, and to shelter the pour la Protection de la Nature or migratory route of birds that follow the «RFPPN»). The group was composed Atlantic coast of West Africa. The cliffs initially of 119 women and one man, that border the seashore in this region who just happened to be present at the of the coast provide prized nesting and inaugural meeting. They selected as feeding grounds for many species. their matron deity Mame Cumba Both the flora and the fauna of this Cupaam, «the guiding spirit of coastal area had been severely damaged over fisherman.» preceding years by the effects of During the following eight years, the drought, increased grazing, and RFPPN used first its own resources and firewood harvest. The coast near then additional ones provided by donor Popenguine nonetheless is a favorite organizations interested in this novel tourist destination for people from Da- form of natural resource management kar as well as a renowned center of to restore the vegetation of the reserve No. 8 religious pilgrimage for Catholics. But and the surrounding territory. May 1999 this activity has not greatly benefited local people, and a growing population has put heavier pressure on a IK Notes reports periodically on Indig- enous Knowledge (IK) initiatives in deteriorating resource base. Sub-Saharan Africa. It is published by the Africa Region’s Knowledge and Learning Center as part of an evolving Taking up the challenge IK partnership between the World Bank, communities, NGOs, develop- ment institutions and multilateral orga- Though constitution of the nature nizations. The views expressed in this reserve in the early 1980s helped to article are those of the authors and World Bank should not be attributed to the World stop further degradation of the Bank Group or its partners in this ini- environment, the vegetation of the tiative. A webpage on IK is available at http://www.worldbank.org/aftdr/ik/ region had already been so severely default.htm damaged that more intensive efforts 2 Measures implemented by the association included constitu- • Second, they established a village tree nursery and a tion of green firebreaks around the entire perimeter, community forest to begin enhancing the supply of local replanting of native species furnished by a nursery that the combustibles. women established at the same time, and organization of • Finally, they organized the collection of household workshops where young volunteers from neighboring rural wastes and trash for composting both in order to stem and urban areas were brought in to learn nature conservation public health threats arising from inadequate disposal and perform much of the physical labor required. facilities and to produce compost for the nursery. In this manner, the women not only succeeded in Going to the root of the matter progressively reconstituting local bio-diversity and restoring the natural vegetation of the area, but their efforts also In addition, RFPPN members rapidly put their finger on the apparently contributed materially to the reappearance of ani- leading threat to restoration and preservation of the mal species not seen in those parts for years: numerous types environment: deforestation due to collection of firewood by of birds plus porcupines, mongoose, the patas monkey, the population of villages throughout the area. The women jackals, civet cats, and even antelope. resolved on a series of measures to provide alternate sources of energy and make their communities self-sufficient in Building a network cooking fuel. • First, they established a cooperative distribution network Their efforts soon reached a level where restoration of the for wood, charcoal and gas to regulate consumption and regional environment could not be guaranteed without help their members provide for household needs. broader participation from surrounding villages. The program and the example of RFPPN had, in fact, awakened an IK Notes increasing amount of interest among people in neighboring communities. Rather than simply expand the RFPPN, would be of interest to: members of the Popenguine association decided to encou- rage women in nearby villages to start their own Name organizations and establish their own nurseries, work details and fuel distribution networks. Eight communities eventually Institution affiliated with Popenguine under the guidance of a commonly-elected coordinating committee, and the overall Address membership grew from the 119 members initially involved to over 1500. Tens of thousands of new tree seedlings are now produced each year by this network of associations. At the same time, the women’s groups added new dimen- sions of activity to their program. Three complementary di- Letters, comments, and requests for publications rections have developed, thanks in part to substantial sup- should be addressed to: port from the European Economic Community (EEC). Editor: IK Notes • Credit and banking: To help alleviate the pervasive Knowledge and Learning Center Africa Region, World Bank poverty that led to repeated degradation of the 1818 H Street, N.W., Room J5-171 environment, the associations began creating cereal Washington, D.C. 20433 banks, credit mutuals and small irrigated vegetable E-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org farming enterprises in each village. The last provided an additional incentive to keep up the waste collection and composting effort. 3 • Tourist and training infrastructure: Given the growing A model to emulate interest in the Popenguine experiment throughout Senegal and even abroad, the women decided to build a The reserve and the surrounding protected areas now cover simple infrastructure for hosting delegations and over 50 square miles and provide more economic visitors, followed by the development of a «Center for opportunities for all the bordering communities. This coexis- Training in Ecological Management.» They have now had tence between an African national preserve and its human groups of visitors from several foreign countries neighbors is at the same time emblematic of a new and intrigued by this example of successful hopeful style of environmental conservation. The RFFPN has «ecodevelopment.» offered Senegal and interested groups in other African • Youth employment: To help stem the out-migration of countries a model of ecological stewardship developed with school leavers and remedy the lack of opportunity for and by the local population, and one that yields short-term productive employment of young people throughout the benefits for both the environment and the people within it. region, the associations put a premium on inducting youth into the various functions and economic activities created around the new reserve. Volunteers from surrounding villages and nearby urban areas have been recruited to help with restoration of the reserve and learn principles of good ecomanagement, in many cases leading to new lasting employment. Much of the recruitment is handled by Senegalese young people’s clubs affiliated with the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, a French NGO dedicated to environmental preservation. This article is based on research conducted by Senegalese researchers with the support and technical supervision of Peter Easton, Associate Professor, Graduate Studies in Adult Education, Florida State University, with the active collabora- tion of the concerned African communities. The research was carried out under the joint aegis of the Club du Sahel/OECD, the CILSS and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa ( ADEA ).