Collectif des Groupements d'Interest Economiques des Femmes pour la Protection de la Nature (COPRONAT, Collective of Women’s Groups for the Protection of Nature)
This collective brings together women’s groups from communities bordering the Popenguine Nature Reserve, a 1,000-hectare coastal reserve located in the Thies region of Senegal. Since the creation of the reserve in 1986 to prevent over-harvesting of marine resources and degradation of mangrove forests, the park’s authorities have sought to involve local communities in its management. Volunteer groups of women began forming to help reforest sections of mangrove forest in the late-1980s, eventually leading to the creation of COPRONAT in 1996.
Comprising more than 1,500 women organized in economic interest groups (Groupements d’Intérêts Economiques) in eight villages, the collective’s work has focused on rehabilitating ecosystems and resources that underpin the local economy. Its successes have included the creation of the co-managed Community Nature Reserve of Somone, and the operation of revolving credit funds that catalyze alternative livelihood activities such as ecotourism.
Key Facts
Equator Prize Winner: 2006
Founded: 1989
Location: Thies, 80 km south of Dakar
Beneficiaries: 9 villages
Biodiversity: 1,000-ha Popenguine Nature Reserve
Case Study
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Related Multimedia Resources
Collectif des Groupements d’Intérêts Economiques des Femmes pour la Protection de la Nature (COPRONAT) - Senegal (FR)
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Equator Prize 2006
Sub-Saharan Africa
Biodiversity Conservation
Ecoagriculture and Food Security
Sustainable Forestry
Marine and Coastal Resource Management
Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change
Sustainable Energy
Contact Information
Madame Woulimata THIAO, Présidente du COPRONAT,
BP 10 Popenguine
Sénégal
Tel : (00221) 632 19 71 / (00221) 957 72 51
Fax : (00221) 957 72 52
Email : kcupaam@sent.sn ; rnpopenguine@gmail.com
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