Last updated: April 2025
The Ecological & Citizen Restoration Project in Carbet, led by ASSOMER, supports the city in sustainably developing its coastline. This coastal area serves multiple purposes—recreational, economic, and subsistence—making it essential to include the voices of its key user communities: fishermen, restaurateurs, residents, and tourists. However, both these uses and critical spawning habitats are increasingly threatened by coastal erosion, which is worsened by urbanization. Beyond reducing nesting areas, urban expansion also creates light pollution, which disrupts nesting females and hatchlings that rely on moonlight reflections to navigate. This project was selected during the inaugural Biodiversity Lottery, a French government initiative inspired by the Heritage Lotto (established in 2018). The funds will be dedicated to protecting Carbet’s turtle population. Key efforts include reforesting the beach to combat erosion and creating new nesting spaces for turtles. By restoring vegetation in a way that addresses multiple environmental challenges, this initiative aims to raise public awareness and ensure long-term coastal preservation. (1,2)
Carbet
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Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Coastlines
Key challenges
- Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
- Climate change adaptation
- Coastal resilience and marine protection (SDG 14)
- Coastal protection / hazard mitigation
- Marine and coastal biodiversity protection
- Environmental quality
- Soil quality improvement
- Waste management
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Habitat and biodiversity restoration
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Climate-Related Hazards
- Coastal hazards (e.g. erosion, flooding)
- Environmental Degradation
- Biodiversity loss
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Rapid urbanization
Key priorities
Climate action (adaptation and/or mitigation), Biodiversity (conservation and/or restoration)
Focus
Coastal landscape management or protection, Coastal ecosystems restoration and maintenance (mangroves, dunes, saltplains, underwater meadows), Improving coastal resilience, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Soil remediation and revegetation, Protection of natural ecosystems, Habitat restoration, Marine and coastal conservation initiatives, Knowledge creation and awareness raising, Educational and awareness raising programs
Project objectives
Reduce anthropogenic pressures (light pollution, waste, etc.)
Rehabilitating sea turtle nesting habitats
Fighting against the retreat of the coastline
Take into account the socio-economic and cultural uses of the beach
Promote awareness raising (2)
Implementation activities
The project will last 3 years and will end at the end of January 2027. It will take place on the Carbet beach from Marouba to the harbor. The main areas of the project are:
Social diagnosis : survey of residents of Carbet and socio-professionals ( e.g. restaurateurs , fishermen ) in order to better understand their perceptions and take into account opinions on the location of areas to be revegetated .
Ecological diagnosis : Synthesis of data already present on the territory to have a global understanding of the issues and pressures present on the Carbet coastline. Collection of missing data.
In this project, we take care of all the stages of revegetation with the help of our volunteers and the Carbet classes (primary and secondary).
This includes:
Seed collection
Preparing the seedlings
Repotting the plants
Planting on the beach
The seedlings and plants are then kept in nurseries set up in schools or at our volunteers' homes before being planted.
As part of this initiative, an educational trail will be set up along the coastline. It will include participatory science terminals and a tidal pool, allowing for the observation and analysis of the various pressures affecting the coastline (erosion, light pollution, sediment dynamics, waste, and vegetation changes). These terminals will be accompanied by information panels to raise public awareness of these issues. (2)
Climate-focused activities
Climate change adaptation:
- Implement measures that prevent/manage desertification, soil erosion and landslides
Communities vulnerable to environmental hazards or climate change impacts
Yes
Specification of climate or environmentally vulnerable communities
Coastal communities
Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities
Biodiversity restoration:
- Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
- Restore endangered species
- Restore ecological connectivity
Main beneficiaries
- Local government/Municipality
- Citizens or community groups
- Coastal-dependent communities (e.g. small-scale fishers, coastal farmers, and indigenous peoples)
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Non-government organisation/civil society
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Dissemination of information and education
- Consultation (e.g. workshop, surveys, community meetings, town halls)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The RECC is a project led by ASSOMER with support from Le Cabret Municiplaity, local residents, local professionals. The seedlings and plants are then kept in nurseries set up in schools or at our volunteers' homes before being planted. The project involved survey of residents of Carbet and socio-professionals ( e.g. restaurateurs , fishermen ) in order to better understand their perceptions and take into account opinions on the location of areas to be revegetated. The project is based on a funding agreement from the French Office for Biodiversity and co-financing of the project by the Martinique Water Office. (1, 2)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Yes
(Mission Nature is part of a broader national strategy in France aimed at biodiversity conservation. Launched in 2023 as a collaboration between the French lottery (Française des Jeux) and the French Biodiversity Agency (Office français de la biodiversité), this initiative introduced a scratch card game designed to raise funds for local biodiversity restoration projects. A portion of the proceeds from this game is allocated to support various environmental endeavors across French territories, including Martinique. (4))
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Capacity-building projects, Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships), Funds, subsidies or investment for GI/NBS in the city (available for the city or provided by the city)
Financing
Total cost
€100,000 - €500,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public national budget
Type of funding
- Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
- Provision of expertise
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
- Private sector (businesses, financial institution)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Climate change
- Enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
- Expected enhanced protection against extreme weather events (e.g. storms, cyclones, tidal surges, coastal erosion)
- Environmental quality
- Improved waste management
- Expected improved waste management
- Improved soil quality
- Expected improved soil quality
- Water management and blue areas
- Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Expected enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Expected increased green space area
- Reduced biodiversity loss
- Expected reduced biodiversity loss
Economic impacts
- Unknown
Socio-cultural impacts
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Expected increased knowledge of locals about local nature
- Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
- Expected increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Unknown
References
1.
City of Carbet (n.d.). The RECC (Ecological & Citizen Restoration Project in Carbet). Accessed on April 3, 2025,;
2.
L'Assomer (n.d.). Ecological and Citizen Restoration in Carbet (RECC). Accessed on April 3, 2025,;
3.
Facebook (n.d.). Ville du Carbet. Accessed on April 3, 2025,;
4.
OFB (n.d.). Restoring sea turtle nesting habitats. Accessed on April 3, 2025,;
5.
Communes (n.d.). Satistiques de Le Carbet. Accessed on April 3, 2025,;
6.
Map France (n.d.). Population Le Carbet. Accessed on April 3, 2025,;
7.
French Government (n.d.). Mission Nature. Accessed on April 3, 2025,;
Carbet
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Carbet
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=885443477112971&set=pcb.885495143774471
Carbet
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=885443477112971&set=pcb.885495143774471
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.