Claudio Castro will be pitching an idea or recommendation at the youth session on the GLF theme ‘forests, agriculture, mountains and land use in the new climate regime’.
Learn more about the GLF youth session here! If you will be attending COP20 in Lima, build you professional skills and knowledge by attending the youth masterclasses.
I grew up in Costa Rica, a small Central American country with beautiful natural scenery; since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by mountains and coasts. I became an agronomist because I like to be outdoors and in the charming rural setting. I am also very interested in working towards finding solutions to the big challenges that humanity faces in regards to feeding its growing population.
I’m interested in ecological farm management methods. According to the general global consensus, natural resources degradation is limiting the capacity of the ecosystems to provide food, clothing and energy. As a professional in the domain of agricultural science, I am partially responsible for contributing to this degradation and I am equally responsible to come up with solutions.
There’s no single way of how to approach the land use in a changing climate. It’s an integrated chain, where food and energy production is defined by the trade and consumption patterns. Forests conservation and the reduction of the deforestation must be achieved. The way we use the biodiversity, soil and water resources will define the well being and society’s future.
In the short term, case studies and sharing successful experiences can be important for the decision making. There is a ocean of information available to stakeholders working with climate change adaptation and mitigation. I believe that a significant opportunities lie in obtaining this information and transforming it so that this knowledge becomes accessible to decision makers, farmers, business man, etc.
Major efforts are necessary to involve the agriculture sector in the climate change negotiations, which are conventionally attended by the ministerial departments that deal with foreign affairs and the environment. Farming, fisheries and forest management are all sectors that are to the impacts of climate change, and they are also contributors of the greenhouse gases emissions, so its crucial that these topics be addressed in Lima.
The role of youth in this process is breaking the passivity. Technological, political and business solutions need to be created, a large niche has been opened.
This belongs to a blog series profiling youth and leadership in landscapes. Tell us your youth story – submit blogs to landscapes.youth@gmail.com.
