Inter Aide (Madagascar)
Inter Aide specialises in carrying out development programmes for particularly low-income, rural families. Since Inter Aide’s creation in 1980, it has carried out work supporting water, sanitation and hygiene, agriculture, health and education needs. Inter Aide programmes target remote rural areas where population density is high, there are few or no NGOs, and the political landscape is stable enough for such programmes to be effective.
In 2019, Inter Aide led 51 programmes in seven countries, and helped 140,821 beneficiary families (732,000 people in total) to meet their vital needs.
In 2020/2021, the Eurofins Foundation supported the Inter Aide project Trees for Tranobe. A Tranobe is a community lineage organisation. The Eurofins Foundation grant allowed 224 Tranobe to be supported in their reforestation work and maintenance of plots in three districts, representing 4,748 active households, including women-headed families. This led to the afforestation of 279 hectares of degraded land.
A 2021 study conducted by Inter Aide has shown that the main impact of afforestation on these communities are the following:
- Agronomic: Improving the fertility of downstream hills and rice fields, or reducing erosion;
- Environmental: Improving water quality and availability, protecting against bush fires, increasing biodiversity;
- Social: Strengthening solidarity, both within the Tranobe and between different organisations.
In 2021/2022, the Eurofins Foundation renewed its support to the Trees for Tranobe project.
In total, 414 Tranobe or Lohatrano (lineage groups) have been supported through the project, supporting the reforestation of 380 plots and maintenance of 369 plots (reforested in previous years) in the 3 districts of Mananjary, Manakara and Farafangana.
These lineage organisations represent 6,850 participant households (including many women-headed families).
380 new collective plots were installed for the afforestation of 479 ha of degraded lands. 750,000 trees of different species were planted despite the difficulties met by the local population at the beginning of the year as a result of 2 tropical cyclones in the area.
The main effects of afforestation for beneficiaries are:
- Agronomic: such as improving the fertility of downstream hills and rice fields, or reducing erosion;
- Environmental: improvement of water quality and availability, protection against bush fires, increase in biodiversity;
- Social: strengthening solidarity, both within the Tranobe and between different organisations, and potential economic effects
Local leaders now consider the importance of afforestation for generations to come in decision making, and the number of requests for new afforestation interventions is growing.
Inter Aide expects that the initiatives developed as part of the programme will influence other organisations with similar purposes in Madagascar and elsewhere.
An external evaluation of the project was carried out by ECO-Consult in June 2022, and one of the main findings of the evaluation was that " socio-organisational and environmental impacts have been demonstrated both in terms of restoring tree cover and reducing the frequency of fires, as well as in terms of social cohesion and the acquisition of technical skills by reforestation farmers."
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
