Emergence of an environmental citizenship in Senegalese rural areas: local development initiatives by the Fannabara association in Missirah (Fatick, Senegal)

In Missirah, a village in Senegal, a group of young ecologists who are part of an association called Fannabara, developed initiatives with the objective of restoring deteriorating ecosystems and promoting local culture. Along with the many numerous to their credit, in cooperation with partners such as the IUCN and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Fannabara is trying to establish itself as a framework within which the interests of the Missirah communities can be defended. The projects undertaken are in line with a perspective that promotes public-awareness, education and actions for a sustainable development. The project is dependent on obtaining the necessary resources to meet the ecological, economic, social and cultural challenges faced in Missirah. This research shows that the decentralization and accountability context for community-level players – associated with the changes taking place in rural areas, namely as they relate to the participation of populations in the governance of biodiversity – has greatly contributed to the promotion of new local development dynamics.