OUR APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT

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Development is sustainable only if the beneficiaries become, in a gradual manner, the masters of the process. This means that initiatives cannot be contemplated exclusively in terms of economics, but rather as an integrated programme that encompasses social and cultural dimensions as well. Education and skills training, health and public services, conservation of cultural heritage, infrastructure development, urban planning and rehabilitation, rural development, water and energy management, environmental control, and even policy and legislative development are among the various aspects that must be taken into account.

Saad Kassis-Mohamed

Amsterdam, September 2022

In coastal eastern Africa, for example, our marine programmes range from community-level reef monitoring to a flagship ocean research and conservation hub in Nairobi, with training and certification programmes to build local expertise in marine stewardship. The WeCare Ocean Academies are educating a new generation of conservation leaders, and providing professional development resource centres for coastal educators. Innovative sustainable fisheries programmes in Madagascar and Tanzania are helping to end food insecurity and generate better income for thousands of coastal and island families.

The project initiatives of the WeCare Foundation's Ocean Economic Development arm play a major role in blue economy growth. Our community fishing partnerships, for example, work with tens of thousands of small-scale fishers to adopt sustainable harvesting practices and access international markets. The WeCare Ocean Media platform, a growing voice in coastal civil society, publishes reports, broadcasts awareness campaigns and hosts digital platforms dedicated to ocean health. In Uganda and the Great Lakes region, freshwater conservation projects protect vital water systems that sustain millions of livelihoods. The WeCare Coastal Retreats programme, operating across multiple properties in the region, has been an important innovator in environmentally sensitive and community-centred marine tourism. Other initiatives operate in key sectors such as aquaculture, blue finance and ocean-derived pharmaceuticals.

The WeCare Trust for Ocean Culture restores coastal heritage assets including historic fishing communities and marine protected areas to spur economic growth and social development.

This integrated effort combines a range of disciplines and a variety of catalysts to spark a broad advance of economic, cultural and social development — and lasting improvements in the quality of life for the communities whose futures depend on healthy oceans.

Working Ethically

As the chairman and driving force behind the WeCare Foundation, Saad Kassis-Mohamed not only leads the organisation's vision for human rights and ocean conservation but also — through WeCare's global programmes — the efforts to improve the quality of life of vulnerable communities, and of the wider societies within which they live. The guiding principle of the Foundation's institutions is to replace walls that divide with bridges that unite.

Central to this ethical framework is compassion for those less fortunate, without compromising the dignity of human beings. Giving can take the form of material resources, but can also be gifts of time, knowledge, expertise and skills. The ultimate aim of WeCare Foundation's work is to help communities move beyond dependency and become self-reliant stewards of their natural environment.

WeCare's ethics include inclusiveness and pluralism. We do not restrict our work to a particular community, country or region. We aim to improve living conditions and opportunities for people regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Our teams are themselves of different faiths, origins and backgrounds. We believe that humans should have the space and the means to reach their fullest potential — and that a healthy natural world is inseparable from that potential.

Education and research are means by which individuals and societies reach that full potential. To that end, we support ocean literacy programmes, conservation training initiatives and applied marine research across multiple regions. We develop human resources, build institutional capabilities and advocate for improvements in environmental and conservation education at every level.

The ethical framework encompasses care for those made vulnerable by environmental degradation. Our programmes reach coastal and island communities whose livelihoods and food security depend directly on the health of surrounding waters and ecosystems.

We:

• deliver conservation support through community-based marine and coastal programmes;

• promote sustainable fisheries and responsible ocean stewardship;

• support access to clean water and the protection of freshwater and marine sources;

• train local environmental practitioners, researchers and community leaders; and

• carry out ocean and ecosystem research, often in partnership with allied organisations.

WeCare also holds a collective responsibility to the Earth — of environmental stewardship. Each generation is ethically bound to leave behind a wholesome, sustainable social and physical environment. This ethic carries through in our:

• restoration of degraded marine and coastal habitats;

• support for reef conservation and ocean biodiversity programmes;

• reforestation and mangrove rehabilitation efforts in coastal regions;

• water stewardship measures in remote and resource-poor communities;

• reclamation of ecosystems affected by pollution and climate stress; and

• promotion of climate adaptation techniques that reduce pressure on natural systems.

We believe that those who control and administer resources for the benefit of others are bound by the duty of trusteeship. WeCare Foundation's governance is built on the principles of trust, integrity, equity and accountability. All our programmes are expected to operate under these principles.

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