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In season 1 Extreme E, teamed up with TO.org to support local NGO, Oceanium, to plant one million mangrove trees in Senegal. In addition, Extreme E also supported the EcoZone Project, a living lab that addresses the Lac Rose community’s primary needs while preserving the environment through experiential learning, regenerative agriculture and a circular economy. Despite not returning to race in the country in season 2, a small Extreme E team headed back out to Senegal with 3 of the Extreme E drivers. They revisited the mangrove plantation and schools involved in the EcoZone projects to check on the progress of the projects and receive feedback from our partners in the country.
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The Oceanium project, which Extreme E has identified in partnership with TO.org, will focus on five areas totalling 60 hectares – the equivalent of around 112 football pitches – with the aim of reforesting mangroves, provide education to local populations and improve social cohesion.
Mangroves are one of the richest ecosystems in the world, providing essential goods and services and playing an important role in the life of coastal communities in countries like Senegal. In addition to being an excellent carbon store, they reduce flooding and erosion from storms, act as nurseries for fish and filter salt and pollutants from water.
Senegal has around 185,000 hectares of mangrove estuaries in the regions of Casamance and Sine Saloum, but unfortunately these are disappearing very quickly. Between 1980 and 2000, 25 per cent of Senegal’s mangroves and 35 per cent of the world’s mangroves were lost due to droughts and deforestation.
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Mangroves
So far, over 500 people including planters and seed collectors, have planted half a million propagules – a mangrove bud – covering 60 hectares over a period of three weeks. More than 85 percent of those propagules are developing into healthy mangroves. Upon Extreme E’s return visit in April 2022, we were able to see the progress of the mangroves planted in 2020 and 2021. We are in constant contact with our partners in Senegal and will be receiving an update on mangrove numbers in September 2022.
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The EcoBrique project – an innovative scheme that creates bricks from plastic waste - began in Niaga in June 2020 as a two-fold initiative: The programme brings the community together to create buildings that it can all benefit from as well as at the same time, addresses the issue of plastic waste. The EcoBrique solution prevents littering, stores dry non-organic waste and reduces risk to marine life (80 per cent of plastics found in the oceans come from land-based source), all while creating an alternative construction material that can benefit the community.
So far over 3000 children have joined in the campaign and created 6000 bricks which have contributed to building a primary school toilet and EcoBrique benches as well as major renovation works at two schools and the Youth Centre. Solar lighting has been installed in the local market for those starting work in the early hours - as well as a community water pump which negates the need to carry water long distances.
The scheme has also created gardens for communal use and enabled the planting of 600 trees – the produce of which can be used to feed communities or sold to local hotels. The local health centre, which was built by Paris Dakar Rally Founder Thierry Sabine and is used by the entire community, has been repainted plus a reworked solar energy system and new energy efficient light bulbs installed.
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The three key areas of the project are community outreach, resource conservation and economic empowerment through a variety of initiatives that create a circular economy, allowing communities to become self-sufficient from both a living and economic perspective. The specific projects are as follows:
- Experiential learning at local schools to make them hubs for sustainable action and community cohesion
- Regenerative agriculture for productive land usage
- Tree-planting activities to help tackle climate change while increasing greener and healthier living
- Eco-construction by using Ecobricks and local creativity to enhance and beautify their neighbourhoods
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Beyond Lac Rose, the Ecozone Project spreads to Dakar through the ‘Ecobrique Challenge’, where communities were challenged to contribute to resolving the urban waste issue by producing Ecobriques (PET bottles filled up with dry and non-recyclable waste, mainly post-consumer plastics). This diverts over 40 tonnes of waste from landfill by engaging communities in ecological waste management practices and eco-construction.
