FORENA - was created in 2008 in Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. The idea launched by Manoj Vaghjee quickly attracted the support of other Mauritians who are passionate about biodiversity, the environmental cause and are concerned about the relationship between Man and Nature.
©FORENA
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Unlike other initiatives, FORENA is geared towards taking on long-term, complex and large-scale projects that are frequently off the beaten track. The Foundation was the first organization to introduce organic certification in Mauritius. Today, it actively raises awareness of agroforestry and the protection of Mauritian biodiversity, taking up the challenge of reversing environmental damage on neglected, arid and ungrateful lands.
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The reintroduction of endemic trees on the hillsides of La Citadelle in Port-Louis is one of the flagship projects it has undertaken. Since 2010, the little hands of volunteers come to plant, water and protect the fragile shoots exposed to the sun and beaten by the wind above the Capital. Today, the miracle is working and the endemic plants are gradually regaining their rights around this historic site, formerly forested.
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With the goal of leaving a sustainable island for future generations, FORENA federates the enthusiasm of volunteers from all walks of life and establishes long-term partnerships with public and private sector actors as well as local communities. The Foundation also builds bridges to include children, youth, vulnerable populations and convicts. Some embassies and international organizations present in Mauritius are sensitive to these initiatives which integrate several facets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, the Priest Peak Project was supported by the British High Commission, on the sidelines of the COP 26.
As the fight for the environment affects all sectors, the Foundation relies on the diversity of inputs to tackle environmental issues in Mauritius. Eventually, FORENA intends to become a platform capable of bringing together a whole range of partners and volunteers to carry out joint projects by combining their resources and skills. Thus, FORENA aims to create a space for sharing ideas and actions with the objective of promoting the environment as a springboard for a viable and sustainable society for all.
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Priest Peak plantation
Priest Peak plantation
©FORENA
Our primary ambition is to establish a network by bringing together economic, political and community actors in the creation of projects related to sustainable development: the protection of biodiversity, environmental education and adaptation to climate change.
Through this platform, NGOs, the private sector, ministries and the local community share their know-how and experiences. FORENA wants to facilitate exchanges between each actor to address the challenge of global warming in Mauritius.
The objective of reforestation is done in parallel with social projects that will not only contribute to the environment but also to the Mauritian economy. Through reforestation, the Foundation wants to restore the ecosystem and biodiversity that existed in Mauritius before the abusive industrialization. FORENA aims to set up nurseries for its partners as has been done at some colleges and the Petit Verger prison.
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In the long term, its nurseries will not only make FORENA autonomous for its plantations but will also be a way to create a green circular economy by training and sensitizing the population.
The "Fondation Resources et Nature" has medium- and long-term ambitions:
​- Strengthen the spirit of solidarity within the local community, particularly among vulnerable populations
- Reforestation of the island and the return of endemic plants
- Control soil erosion and fertility
- Strengthening the Mauritian ecosystem and empowering endemic plants
- Creation of new economic activities for the population
- Meeting the need for food self-sufficiency
- Creating healthy green spaces for the public
- An autonomous ecosystem capable of regeneration
- A change of mentality in society with regard to climate change
- Mitigate the effects of climate change by lowering the temperature of Port Louis by 2 degrees by 2040
