Caretakers of the Earth – kids

Applause and more applause at the end of a play by junior students about the effects of human activity on the environment.

The story performed by students of the Ntabezwe Junior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape, South Africa portrays a rural farming community where some people have some degree of knowledge of the importance of forests and caring for the ecosystem. Rural communities in the country are led by traditional leaders called Chiefs.

One member of the community is seen burning a tree, and another clearing a piece of forest land for farming purposes. Both are at fault of destroying the ecosystem but neither one is aware. One of them eventually reports the other to the Chief. But it turns out both need to be educated. The assistant to the Chief then explains to the women about existing policies which regulate the protection of the environment.

The Restoration Generation

We are today’s youth. We live in the world you, the elders created.

Tomorrow, it is our turn to be the world’s custodians.

The world you are about to hand us, faces many challenges: climate change, soil degradation, sustainable and productive agriculture.

As you did not resolve these issues, we, today’s youth will have to. We want to give a better world to our children. Today, we want to prepare ourselves, with the knowledge and experience to create that better world.

Naturally, we were interested in the event ‘The Restoration Generation: Can Africa bring 100 million hectares degraded land into restoration by 2030?’.

Community bylaws improve landscape management

An artist’s impression of a Kapchorwa landscape.

Experience from Uganda shows that when villages and districts create regulations to manage forests and restoration, benefits flow.

Through collective awareness of land-management challenges at the grassroots level, governments and others are effectively coerced to make policy responses for the protection of land and natural resources in a landscape, benefiting humans and the environment. Furthermore, approaching these issues through a Landcare mindset is critical for sustainability.

Read more on the World Agroforestry Blog

“Working on Fire” Supports South African Youth

“South Africa’s youth must use this opportunity to expand their horizons and find a role for themselves in the future development of the forestry sector at home and beyond,” Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa told the 14^th World Forestry Congress. The “Working on Fire” (WoF) programme played a lead role at the opening of the Congress, showing how it is providing jobs for young men and women, as well as a critical community service.

A key theme of the conference is creating a sustainable future for forests and people. “Empowering women and youth in the forestry sector can create significant development opportunities and generate important spill over benefits,” Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Chair of the African Union said.  The WoF programme, run by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, employs 93% of youth from previously disadvantaged communities and trains them in integrated fire management skills. More than one third are female – the highest rate of female employment in any organisation.

Conectando al mundo y sus bosques.

FAO, IUFRO, INBAR, WRI, IIED, FSC, WWF, SGS, Working on Fire  y muchas organizaciones más se han reunido para compartir sus aprendizajes, sus éxitos y sobre todos los siguientes pasos en el trabajo que tienen en los bosques del mundo. 6 años han pasado desde el encuentro en Argentina ahora, el XIV Congreso Forestal Mundial es en Sudáfrica.

Bosques y personas: Invirtiendo en un un futuro sostenible. El lema del congreso nos expresa la relevancia que tienen los bosques para el mundo, para nuestro futuro.

Small Country, Big on Forestry Governance

Gorilla mother and child in Volcanoes National Park

By any standard, Rwanda is one of the smallest countries in the world with an area of only 26,338 square kilometers (10,169 square miles) according to the United Nations Statistics Division. According to 2015 figures, more than 12 million people call Rwanda home or 472.5 people per square kilometer – ranking it 24th amongst world nations for population density.

Los bosques de México en el Congreso Forestal Mundial

Bosque en la Sierra Juárez de Oaxaca.

México es un país que gusta a mucha gente. Con solo decir que vienes de este país las personas quieren practicar las palabras que saben del “español mexicano” pues incluso a los hispano hablantes les gustan nuestra forma de hablar.

Por eso no es de extrañar que a la sesión de México y sus experiencias en el manejo sustentable tuviera tan buena audiencia.