Otim Joseph first started planting trees to protect his mother and sisters from being raped.
Growing up amid a civil war, he watched as the Ugandan army cut down swathes of forest to make it easier to hunt rebel Lord’s Resistance Army soldiers – with devastating consequences for local women and girls.“ This meant that women had to walk to bushland, in some cases up to 10 kilometres away from their own communities, to collect firewood. This is when they would be raped.” In his early 20s, Otim began collecting seeds from native trees to restore the forests on the post-war landscapes. He then started a nursery that now has more than 400,000 seedlings. Read Otim’s full story here.
At the Global Landscapes Forum in Warsaw, Otim was one of 10 Youth speakers, sharing his inspirational story with an audience of 200.
We have asked Otim about his experiences in Warsaw, speaking at the first Global Landscapes Forum and observing the UN climate negotiations.
Q: You were a speaker at the Global Landscapes Forum’s Youth Session. What did you take back from the event?
Otim: The Global Landscapes Forum has given me a deeper understanding of the landscapes approach – and some inspiration on how I could use it for my work. During my interactions with the post-war community in Uganda, I have witnessed a lot of conflicts between people working in agriculture and those caring about forestry. For example, new families are settling in a Government Central Forest Reserve I am managing. To cultivate gardens and plant their crops, they are cutting down trees. Population numbers are increasing, but land size is stagnant. So far, I have been ignoring these problems, but I realized that if we want to fight climate change, we have to take a landscapes approach.
Listening to my fellow speakers, I also saw that young people need to play a big role in this fight. We are ready – but we also need mentorship from our seniors.
Q: Do you think that the decisions taken at COP 19 in Warsaw will help the fight against climate change on the ground?
Otim: I understand that one of the few positive outcomes of the Warsaw talks was the agreement on rules for financing projects that reduce deforestation in developing countries under REDD+. Along with this, there was the pledge by the United States, Britain and Norway to contribute USD 280 Million to a World Bank forest fund. This is great news! The money can make a real difference – but only if measures to curb corruption are also implemented in developing countries that will receive the money…I am also a little pessimistic about the chances for young thought leaders to access this funding.
Q: What do you think are the main obstacles for young leaders in using these opportunities?
Otim: In Uganda, for example, we have so many unemployed agricultural, forestry and agro-forestry professionals with great potential to make a positive difference in their communities and globally. Unfortunately, they are not given the opportunities to practice the skills and knowledge that they acquired in university. In this setting, even a small internship would make a difference. But 20 years of war has installed a sense of dependency in many.
Q: So what needs to be done for these young professionals in land use sectors?
Interestingly, a woman who works for the World Agroforestry Institute (ICRAF) asked me in Warsaw what I would do if she gave me 6,000 Dollar. I told her that there are already so many professional agronomists and foresters in post-war northern Uganda. As much as they are educated, they are also ignorant and stuck in their old ways. We need to install confidence in young professionals so that real change can happen. With the money, I could fund a six-months internship program for ten unemployed young people at the National Forestry Authority. This would then enable us to open a new commercial tree nursery – raising more money for more internships.
What needs to happen to include young people in climate and development talks? Join the Dialogue.
