We believe communities thrive when they work together.
The primary goal of ICPSD is to support community-led ecosystem restoration with native plants. We work with local communities in a unique, holistic approach, blending science-based and local knowledge to bolster their efforts to improve environmental and economic resilience, focusing on youth and women.
By supporting community reforestation efforts in Togo, you directly (1) restore habitat important for environmental balance, local fauna, and local climate regulation, (2) support indigenous knowledge-sharing/keeping, conservation knowledge-building, and educational outreach activities, (3) contribute to global wellbeing by increasing percentage of forest vital to the global carbon sink, and (4) increase accessibility to education and resiliency resources for women and youth.
The Challenge
Unfortunately, the most vulnerable communities and people on the planet are those most impacted by warming and changing global weather patterns. These changes make existing inequities worse, increasing vulnerabilities and exposures to pollution, exacerbating health impacts, and people’s ability to adapt. No matter where you are in the world, you are tied to people and places worldwide - especially those most vulnerable. The demands of Western consumption drive much of the environmental degradation seen today. The loss of important global carbon sinks impacts us all.
The Opportunity
Forests play a crucial role in climate health and change mitigation. They are crucial carbon sinks that effectively offset greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. Few areas have been thought to be able to rival the Amazon when it comes to tree growth, but a recent study found that plant growth rates in West Africa exceed those of equivalent sites in the Amazon.
Who We Are
ICPSD was born from Dr. Romuald Afatchao’s desire to give back to his country of origin while connecting it with his home in Idaho. With a background in environmental science and forestry, Ro has been a member of the Moscow, ID community for 20+ years and currently teaches for the University of Idaho’s International Studies program. With Togo ranking as one of the most deforested countries in the world and having one of the highest rates of deforestation relative to its remaining forest area, Dr. Afatchao decided to take action to combat deforestation with ecosystem restoration that relied heavily on knowledge-sharing, community-led action, and education. He was able to partner with the University of Idaho’s College of Natural Resources to establish a native plant nursery in Togo and a future of continued knowledge- and experience-sharing between these two unique places.
ICPSD has three main programming pillars deeply intertwined with one another:
- Ecosystem Restoration
- Youth Community Development
- Experiential Learning
The Ecosystem Restoration Program is the heart of all we do. We have a native plant nursery where we start seedlings for planting in local and regional communities, as well as at our experimental forest. We partner with a local women's cooperative to run nursery activities and workshops, as well as source compost from their cooperative. Students participating in our Youth Community Development program are involved in all aspects of the reforestation activities. We supplement their education with tutoring, leadership development, digital literacy, and cultural activities. Our Experiential Learning program allows people from the U.S. to visit Togo and participate in reforestation and cultural activities. We have had 60+ students from the Moscow area (predominantly University of Idaho students, but also some Moscow High School students) travel to Togo for these immersive experiences. Our dream is to have the student exchange go both ways, with students from Togo visiting the U.S. as well.
Community-led reforestation efforts are important to building community resilience and sustainability. Bringing together Indigenous knowledge and science ensures knowledge exchanges aimed at generating the most successful solutions for localized reforestation work and agroforestry practices.