Governance

STRUCTURE, MANDATES AND REDISTRIBUTION

TORA Initiative is structured to maximise local trust, access to institutional funding and transparency towards mandate-granting owners.

Legal structure

Non-profit association (loi 1901)

TORA Initiative is constituted as a non-profit association under French law (loi 1901), a status deliberately chosen for three structural reasons.

  • Local trust: the non-profit associative status signals to owners and Polynesian institutions that the collective interest takes precedence.
  • Access to public funding: AFD grants, DIREN, SOCREDO IMPACT 2028 and Kiwa Initiative programmes are conditioned or facilitated by this status.
  • Perimeter separation: the future commercial sales entity (TAPAO) will be affiliated with the association without creating confusion between a service mission and a commercial activity.

The foundational contract

The owner mandate

The mandate is the central legal instrument of the programme. It formalises the commitment of both parties and protects the owner's rights.

What the mandate grants TORA

  • Mapping and inventory of the parcel
  • Carbon calculation and reporting (MRV)
  • Negotiation and sale of contributions
  • Reporting to buyers and certification bodies

Eligibility criteria

  • Title deed or indivision attestation
  • Management commitment: no uprooting, no burning
  • Informed consent on terms and duration
  • Parcel located within the TORA intervention zone

Economic model

Revenue redistribution

The revenue split is fixed contractually and communicated publicly. The majority of revenues goes directly to owners.

50–60%
20–30%
15–20%

Landowners

50–60%, direct payment to mandate holders

Conservation fund

20–30%, atoll regeneration and conservation

TORA operations

15–20%, management, MRV, platform, reporting

Phase 1 projections, Raraka (estimates)

The carbon contributions presented are uncertified estimates. Plan Vivo certification is targeted for 2027–2028.

€4,000–15,000

estimated annual revenue (200–500 tCO2e at €20–30/t)

€2,000–9,000

paid to owners (~10 mandate holders)

€800–4,500

contributed to the conservation fund