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Our association

French NGO of general interest, founded in 2009

  • Our mission : Work on the ground to preserve threatened forests and ecosystems, for the benefit of populations and in the service of biodiversity and water resources.
  • Our expertise : Develop multi-actor projects involving financiers (companies, communities, foundations or individuals) and project leaders, providing our advice on good agricultural practices and structuring of income-generating sectors.
  • Our team : Employees and volunteers alike, we are all driven by the desire to act for the common good.
  • Our programs : Projects for the restoration of tropical and temperate ecosystems, community agroforestry and the development of sustainable agricultural sectors in direct connection with local populations.
Up2green is
partner of
Up2green is partner of
the reference space for social and
environmental impact projects
the reference space for social and environmental impact projects

Some figures (at the end of 2024)

11 400 000

trees planted

23 000

beneficiary families

96 000

people involved

25 000

students sensitized

4

continents

13

country

186

different species

742 000

tonnes of CO2eq *

* Values ​​over 20 to 30 years according to project metrics. We use conservative methods for these evaluations, so this estimate must be understood as a minimum

Our Team

Founding President and Board of Directors

David Colon

Founding President

Armand Apruzzese

Treasurer

Olivier Barrat

Secretary

Nikolaos Sofronis

Board Member

Ambassadors and Scientific Advisors

Sandra Gorayeb

Ambassador for Africa

Adrien N’Koghe-Mba

Ambassador for the Forests of the Congo-Ogooué Basin

Chrystelle Roger

Bioinspiration and Biomimicry Advisor

Armelle Hébert

Health and Environmental Risks Advisor

Ismahane Remonnay

Scientific advisor

Operations Team

Vincent Castagnet

Executive Director

Mahery Rakotoarisoa

Head of Operational Support for Projects

Seynabou Ndiaye

Project Officer for Development and Partnerships

Our Volunteers

Anaïs Canevet

Graphic Designer at ZOZIODESIGN

In 2023, Anaïs created our brochure, roll-up banner, and posters.

https://bento.me/zozio

Olivia Renis

Freelance Graphic Designer

Olivia designed our new logo and brand guidelines in 2023.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-r-721561260/

Leah Buhain

English Translator

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-buhain-b682681b7/

Sergio Gómez

Spanish Translator

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergio-alberto-gomez-castellanos-translation-teaching/

Damien Guicheteau

Director and Cinematographer

In 2023, Damien produced a video showcasing the initiatives of Up2green.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/damienguicheteau/

Our local relays

employees, volunteers or consultants

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Nos coordonnées

contact@up2green.com

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Seynabou Ndiaye - Project Officer for Development and Partnerships

A Senegalese student with a passion for agronomy, Seynabou is an engineering apprentice at AgroParisTech. She has extensive expertise in the integrated management of agrosystems, underpinned by her strong knowledge in sustainable agricultural production. As a result of the numerous internships she completed during her Higher Technician’s Certificate in Agriculture (BTSA) with a specialisation in plant production, she has gained a practical understanding of field realities and the necessity of tailoring approaches to the unique conditions of each environment. At Up2green, Seynabou contributes her operational insight into projects and her writing skills to help respond to project calls. She also maintains and expands the association's partnership network while participating in the development and dissemination of its advocacy materials.

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Mahery Rakotoarisoat - Head of Operational Support for Projects

An agricultural engineer specializing in the agricultural and food industries, Mahery is passionate about sustainability, biodiversity and responsible management of natural resources. With field experience combining agriculture, environment and rural development, he is committed to sustainable agro-industrial sectors that promote forest ecosystems and strengthen local communities. Within Up2green, its constant presence with our field partners is essential to contribute in an operational and adapted manner to the success of our projects.

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Virginie van de Kerchove – Programme Coordinator and Technical Expert

An agricultural engineer with a postgraduate degree in sanitary engineering from the University of Liège (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech), Virginie is an agroecology expert and consultant, holding an ICRA certificate in development-oriented agricultural research. Throughout her career in environmental engineering, she has taken on both hands-on and leadership roles. Notably, she spent 18 years at the Chamber of Agriculture of Réunion, leading major agricultural enhancement projects. Leveraging her extensive national and international professional network in agroecology, Virginie has created the "Attérir" training programme, which equips agricultural project leaders with skills in entrepreneurial agroecology within a six-month period.
virginie.vandekerchove.ext@up2green.com

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Vincent CASTAGNET - Executive Director

An engineering graduate of Centrale Lille, Vincent has been involved in community-based hydraulic projects in rural Cameroon since 1993, followed by water management and environmental protection programmes in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, French Guiana, and Réunion. Vincent oversees the management of Up2green, with a particular focus on financing aspects. He brings his expertise to manage and monitor the operational activities of the Association and also handles Up2green Reforestation's representation to partner organisations and institutions.
vincent.castagnet@up2green.com

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Armelle Hébert - Health and Environmental Risks

A graduate of the Institut Pasteur in immunology and infectious diseases specialising on public health and environmental risks, Armelle Hébert has been involved in environmental health innovations and development for 15 years, a key component of the One Health approach. For the past 12 years, she has spearheaded science-policy innovations in environmental health aimed at better protecting human health and ecosystems from the combined effects of chemical pollutants in the water cycle. At the heart of these international projects, she has raised awareness and mobilised all international stakeholders to promote and support the integration of the One Health approach into the water cycle, an approach supported by the WHO that is now fully developed and ready for implementation. Also holding a degree from Sciences Paris in public development policies, Potentiel Afrique, her commitment is to combine major environmental issues and opportunities with public policy agendas, and to promote the integration of environmental health determinants into all policies. Her main challenge now is to raise awareness, train, and enhance the skills and resources needed for environmental health in the Global South to promote smart and sustainable investments aimed at better protecting living beings from environmental chemical pollution (air, water, soil, waste), reducing chronic exposure and the rising health costs associated with non-communicable diseases, and actively strengthening joint action programmes at the intersectoral level of countries, focused on the main environmental determinants of health (air, water, soil, waste). In the spirit of learning territories, she mobilises decision-makers (public, private, academic, institutional, territorial, NGOs, civil society) to strengthen intersectoral synergies to preserve our common goods, which are the environmental determinants of health, in accordance with the SDGs, the UNEP and WHO’s Health and Environment Strategic Alliance (HESA), and the One Sustainable Health international initiative.

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Chrystelle Roger - Bioinspiration and Biomimicry Advisor

With a business school background and a master's degree in Sustainable Development from Mines Paristech, Chrystelle ROGER has worked since the start of her career with Management Consulting firms and Digital Services Companies, primarily serving the Public sphere and Defense & Aerospace industries, mainly as an associate partner overseeing P&L management and sector development strategy. Confronted with the new societal challenges that require a reinvention of environmental and economic sustainability models, she founded her consulting firm, Myceco in 2019, specialising in Biomimicry. Myceco has significantly advanced biomimicry in France by structuring the national roadmap for this pluridisciplinary scientific approach under the guidance of Ceebios, targeting key decision-makers (government, legislators, industrialists), and positioning it as a critical instrument of national independence. Notably, biomimicry has been recognised by the French President as a pivotal innovation tool in the France 2030 plan and at the 2021 Sea Economy Conference. On the industrial front, Myceco promotes the integration of "Biomimicry by design" in groundbreaking innovation processes through bio-inspired eco-design. Chrystelle ROGER also personally engages in wildlife protection missions (e.g., NGO/WWF/ecosolidarity programmes for species preservation) and defence (reserve colonel in the Air and Space Force) as well as in inclusive ecological transition projects through the Think Tank #leplusimportant.org. Furthermore, she is an auditor at IHEST (Institute of Advanced Studies for Science and Technology), which aims to elevate the role of science in the decision-making processes of major stakeholders.

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Adrien N’Koghe-Mba - Ambassador for the Forests of the Congo-Ogooué Basin

Franco-Gabonese, Adrien is a committed and visionary entrepreneur with a multicultural perspective, having grown up between France, Gabon, and Senegal. As the grandson of Léon Mba, the first President of the Gabonese Republic, Adrien inherited a deep sense of responsibility and a desire to contribute to the building of a prosperous, integrated, peaceful Africa, that is democratically governed and influential on the global stage. Consequently, Adrien chairs the digital platform "Wany" and the association "Les Amis de Wawa for the preservation of the forests of the Congo basin," which aim to raise global awareness of the planet’s first tropical carbon sink and promote the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations’ Agenda 2030. Based in France, these organisations facilitate international collaborations and strengthen ties with European partners. Additionally, as the Director General of the Léon Mba Institute in Gabon, which includes a school group, Adrien advocates for the integration of sustainable development in the education of Africa’s young generations. Adrien was appointed in June 2025, by the President of the Gabonese Republic, Special Envoy of the Ministry of Water and Forests responsible for the promotion of Gabon's natural heritage.

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Sandra Gorayeb - Ambassador for Africa

A graduate of the American University of Paris in Business Administration and the general manager of a hotel complex in Gabon, Sandra has always had a passionate interest in the environment. Being Franco-Gabonese, her roots are deeply embedded in the world's second "green lung." Raised between the equatorial forest and the Atlantic Ocean in a family where preserving various ecosystems is a priority, Sandra has a deep connection to her environment. In 2009, she founded the Léopold Sédar Senghor School and has been serving as a Councillor for French Nationals Abroad for Gabon and Sao Tomé since 2014. She also holds the role of Gabon's Ambassador for the Groupement du Patronat Francophone. Actively involved in nonprofit, educational, and cultural sectors for 20 years, Sandra has been providing logistical and administrative support to Up2green since the One Forest Summit in Libreville in March 2023.

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Nikolaos Sofonis - Board Member

Nikolaos Sofronis is the CEO of the Canadian company Earth Alive Clean Technologies which develops, produces and distributes microbial products healthy for the environment.
Its mission is to solve the biggest sustainability challenges encountered in the sectors of the agriculture, mining and industry. Nikolaos is a board member and chair of the ESG committee of Aya Gold and Silver, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (AYA.TO).
Aya's community engagements focus on education, health and agriculture programs. He has served on numerous boards and was Chairman of Cyprotex, a biosciences company listed on the London Stock Exchange. He founded, in Geneva, the Private Equity company, BS Family Office Assets Management, specializing in the mining and natural resources sectors.
In addition, he has more than 16 years of experience in Private Banking, having held senior positions within several financial institutions, including PARIBAS and Republic National Bank of NY.

Ismahane Remonnay – Scientific advisor

With a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Strasbourg (Master 2), and from the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies in London, Ismahane is a certified auditor of environmental management systems (EMS). An expert in international management of environmental and chemical risks, Ismahane currently serves as the Director of the Mégatrends and Partnerships R&I department at Veolia, overseeing the "chemical transition" programme. At Up2green, Ismahane lends her expertise to the management of sustainable ecosystems by breaking down barriers within ecological transition issues. Her recent work on planetary boundaries and the resource cycle (chemical transition) guides Up2green's programme choices, facilitating a balance between global ecosystem preservation and the economic activities related to our programmes.
ismahane.remonnay@up2green.com

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Armand Apruzzese - Treasurer

Armand serves as the Director of the French Presidency at the European Union for the Ministry of Armed Forces. He has chosen to engage in sustainable ecosystem management by becoming an administrator at Up2green. In this role, he contributes to decision-making and the dissemination of the activities that Up2green implements.
Armand.apruzzese@up2green.com

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Olivier BARRAT – Secretary

A graduate of the Institut des Études Politiques de Paris (IEP batch 89), INALCO (specialising in Japanese and Malay-Indonesian), and an auditor at the IHEDN (63rd session in Defence Policy), Olivier is also an amateur photographer with a focus on the study of wildlife and forest flora. A seasoned traveller, Olivier brings his international expertise to the association. Formerly a lawyer at the Court of Appeal in Paris, he also provides legal and institutional support to the Association. With a PhD in Information and Communication Sciences, Olivier also teaches international humanitarian law in the International Security Master’s programme at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris.
olivier.barrat@up2green.com

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David COLON - Founding President

An alumnus of École Polytechnique (“X93” - class of 93), an engineer at the Génie Rural des Eaux et des Forêts and an auditor at the IHEDN (65th session in Defence Policy), David is an expert on issues related to water, energy, agroecology, and biodiversity. After a career that spanned leadership roles in public service management subsidiaries, encompassing sectors like water, transportation, and sanitation, he is a member of the National Water Council, a permanent delegate of the Strategic Committee of the French Water Sector within the National Council of Industry, and responsible for institutional relations and CSR at a leading environmental group. Currently, David is the Director of Strategy at Naarea, a startup developing mini fast-neutron reactors to convert nuclear waste into energy. Additionally, David is a board member of Earth Alive, a biotech company that offers microbial solutions to stimulate plant growth as alternatives to chemical inputs.
david.colon@up2green.com

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