Young Forest Champions: Indigenous and rural youth in action

On 15 October, during the 2025 World Food Forum (WFF) flagship event, the Forestry Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) hosted an engaging youth side event titled “Young Forest Champions: Indigenous and rural youth in action”, bringing together youth leaders, environmental activists and partners to discuss forest conservation and restoration.

The event aimed to amplify youth perspectives, share practical solutions and promote collaboration, reinforcing the role of young people as drivers of ecosystem restoration and sustainable land management.

The session opened with remarks from Julian Fox, from the FAO Forest Monitoring and Data Platforms team, who introduced the Young Forest Champions programme and highlighted mentorship opportunities and knowledge exchange for youth. The session then continued with the Champions sharing their stories.

Lizet Mayli, a Peruvian environmental engineer and climate activist, shared her experience restoring the Andean ecosystems and promoting women and youth leadership through citizen science tools for forest monitoring. She is collaborating with communities and municipalities to plant more than 5 000 Polylepis trees this year.

Duncan Katam from Kenya highlighted the cultural, ecological and economic value of forests, highlighting biodiversity conservation and youth engagement through school nurseries and tree planting. His programme propagates around 150, 000 indigenous seedlings annually, achieving more than 80 percent survival.

Elizabeth Maanda Sianga from Zambia underscored the power of social media in raise awareness and sharing Indigenous knowledge, as well as implement practical restoration and seed-sharing initiatives.

Gad Okodi from Uganda presented an approach that integrates forest restoration across universities and farms, strengthening data-driven decision-making and real-time monitoring.

Panel discussions highlighted the role of youth networks and global collaboration, featuring initiatives from the UN Decade Youth Task Force and the Mediterranean Youth Task Force, which provide mentorship and platforms for dialogue. Speakers emphasized the need to integrate restoration into education systems, make better use of local resources and connect young people to global efforts.

The event concluded with reflections from Sabin Lamichhane, from the WFF Youth Initiative, who stressed the importance of linking forests to agrifood systems and empowering youth to take action. The session reaffirmed that meaningful youth engagement and strong collaborative networks are essential to safeguard forests and build resilient, sustainable communities.