ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION IN RURAL AREAS

Caritas Bangladesh  was founded in 1967. Nearly 6,000 staff and volunteers work together on several actions at the national and diocesan levels. Caritas Bangladesh has the following six objectives/sectors:

• Improving the quality of life of people living in extreme poverty and vulnerable communities
• Promoting the right to education and inclusive quality education
• Improve health education, public health and care services
• Strengthening disaster response and community resilience
• Strengthening ecological sustainability
• Improvement in the quality of life of indigenous populations.

Manav Adhikar Seva Samiti (MASS) was founded in 1988 by sociology and anthropology students from Sambalpur University to work alongside indigenous communities in the state of Odisha in India. MASS works in more than 120 villages to assist populations on issues related to the sustainable management of natural resources, the promotion of indigenous knowledge, land rights, resilience to climate change, environmental protection, and the development of local value chains.

Karuna Mission Social Solidarity (KMSS)  was founded in 2001 and works to help people living in Myanmar, where more than a third of the population lives in poverty. Specific areas of the Church's mission pay particular attention to integral human development (IHD), justice and peace, environmental protection, education, health, means of livelihood, social protection, humanitarian assistance and emergency relief services.

Social and Ecological Policy Research Institute (SPERI) was established in 2006. It focuses on land law, land use planning and Farmer Schools (FFS). SPERI works in Vietnam and especially in Laos.

This regional TEJR project aims to strengthen partners and supported communities to respond to the following challenges:

• Recognition of ancestral territories, access and effectiveness of associated rights for indigenous peoples
• The promotion of family farming and the transformation of food systems to enable adaptation to climate change, the preservation of natural resources and food sovereignty
• The promotion of sustainable land and resource management practices, compatible with the lifestyle, livelihoods, social practices and beliefs of indigenous peoples.