Beyond selfies: African youth vow to restore the continent’s landscapes

Addressing challenges

Youth delegates at Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) training face degradation challenges at home that limit their future and that of their country. GLF/Salina Abraham
8 September 2018
Landscape News Editor

By Cathy Watson, chief of program development at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi. 

Over 60 youth from a dozen African countries gathered at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi on Aug. 27-28. Aged 18 to 35, they ranged from students to farmers to leaders of non-governmental organizations, small start-ups and rural enterprises. But they shared one goal — getting “restoration ready.”

Part of a program called “Scaling up Youth Action to Restore Africa’s Degraded Lands” run by the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and the GLF Youth in Landscapes Initiative, the young people were at ICRAF for practical training on the science that underpins restoration and how to approach it.

“Guided by top scientists, this accelerator provides training on restoration principles and good practices,” explained Salina Abraham, 23, the GLF youth coordinator. “We want them to take those science concepts and link them together to spark a movement in their community.”

Read more about the training program on ICRAF’s Agroforestry World blog. Click here.

Follow Cathy Watson on Twitter.


Leave a Reply