| JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020 Dear Friends, ‘Marvel at the beauty of the world’... This exhortation by Jean-Baptiste Dumond, member of the Foundation’s Board of Experts was made during the talk he gave on 23 January. Enthusiastically applauded by those attending the Foundation’s annual lunch, his invitation reminds us that Biodiversity Conservation is not simply a question of figures or a scientific term restricted to experts. On the contrary, it is visible to all, a promise of adventures and surprises, of boundless knowledge … an endless source of inspiration. And where do human beings stand in all this? Are we mindful of the fact that we represent but a few seconds on the evolutionary clock? That we are only one species among millions of others (or even more, given how many have yet to be discovered), all interconnected? We know that our responsibility is great when it comes to what is now being called the sixth mass extinction of species. For the last 15 years, the Foundation has been active in supporting Biodiversity Conservation and sustainable agriculture and fishing. Seven new projects were selected in 2019: in Laos, Myanmar and Peru, where biodiversity is under the greatest threat. We invite you to find out more about them in this issue. While the road ahead may be long and rocky and the task daunting, the adventure is an exciting one. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who support the Foundation and help it to fulfil its mission, in particular the members of our Board of Experts. Their loyalty, commitment, and sharing of experience throughout the project life cycle are, needless to say, a source of inspiration ! Enjoy this reading. | | Jacqueline Délia Brémond
Co-Founder/Co-Chair | | Biodiversity in the spotlight
at the Foundation’s annual lunch | | On 23 January in Paris, the Foundation held its annual lunch, where a talk was given by Jean-Baptiste Dumond, member of the Foundation’s Board of Experts. The statistics he presented on biodiversity were indeed alarming, but a purely pessimistic outlook was not to be expected from the founder of FauneSauvage.fr. For nature has already demonstrated its enormous potential for renewal. But humankind still needs to become aware of its own responsibility for this. In Mr. Dumond’s view, the greatest cause for concern is biodiversity loss becoming common place... Read more here | | The seven new programs selected in 2019 can be consulted on the Foundation’s website | These seven new grants, amounting to EUR 1.07 million, bring the number of projects supported by the Foundation since its establishment in 2004 to 340, with total funding of EUR 26.3 million. To access individual project factsheets, click on the corresponding image: | | | | | | | | For an overview of all the projects we support, click here | | Fondation Ensemble contributes
to ATEC* biodigesters 2nd funding round | | For the company’s CEO, Ben Jeffreys, ‘ATEC is the first biodigester manufacturer to introduce PAYGO (pay-as-you-go), a system that makes biodigesters affordable to all families living in rural communities in developing countries.’ In Cambodia, the company has sold over 1500 biodigesters to date, providing its customers with renewable gas for cooking, 20 tons of organic fertilizer per year, and average savings of more than USD 13 000 per family over the product lifetime. On the global scale, the potential impact is considerable, and it is for this reason that ATEC now wants to go even further. The Foundation, which participated in ATEC’s first round of funding in 2017, is making a further contribution to the second round of USD 1.6 million. Find out more about this news item Watch the latest ATEC video here Read the technical factsheet about biodigesters here Read the interview with Gaspard Verdier, pioneer in impact investment consulting in France, here
| | Our partner Électriciens sans Frontières (ESF) wins a prize for its solar electrification initiative | | Congratulations to all the members of the ESF team! The NGO is the 2019 award winner from among 2300 entries of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, in the energy category, for its solar electrification project in Bangladesh, in the Rohingyas refugees camps. Set up in 1986, ESF fights against inequalities of access to water and electricity. The NGO has 129 ongoing projects in 38 countries with one million beneficiaries. Its initiatives are implemented by 1300 volunteers and by local partners. The Foundation has been supporting an ESF project in Laos since 2013. To find out more about the Prize, click here To read about the ongoing ESF project supported by the Foundation, click here | Editor-in-chief: O. Braunsteffer Graphic design and text: B. Galliot, B. Gicquaud The Foundation wishes to thank its partners for the photographic material included in this issue. Fondation Ensemble - 1 rue de Fleurus - 75006 PARIS. | |
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