Different contexts, common aspirations: investing in the next generation of tropical forest stewards
- 57 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Young people around the world may live in very different circumstances, but their aspirations are remarkably similar: dignity, opportunity, meaningful participation, decent work, quality education and a sustainable future.
These shared aspirations are at the heart of this year’s International Youth Day theme, “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations.” , recognizing that young people face different realities depending on where they live and circumstances they are in, while also highlighting challenges that transcend borders, including unequal access to education and employment, climate change, digital connectivity and social inclusion, amongst other matters. It calls for greater solidarity and investment in young people, particularly those facing the greatest barriers to life opportunities.
For tropical forests, investing in young people is especially important. They will be future forest managers, researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, designers and community leaders. Their skills, ideas and energy can support shaping sustainable forest economies and innovative approaches to inclusion, conservation and forest management.
ITTO has pioneered acknowledging these dynamics and promoted opportunities for young people for the past four decades.
ITTO Fellowship Programme
The clearest expression of ITTO’s long-standing commitment to youth development is the ITTO Fellowship
Programme, established in 1989.
The programme has successfully enabled more than 1,400 young and mid-career professionals from over 49 countries to pursue professional development opportunities, including training courses, study tours, international conferences, and postgraduate studies. More than 30% of fellowship recipients have been women.
The programme’s impact extends well beyond the fellowship itself. An assessment found that 82% of surveyed fellows had made moderate or very large contributions to reforestation and forest conservation in their home countries, while 88% reported improvements in the productivity or performance of their institutions. 42% said their fellowship-acquired knowledge and skills had influenced national forestry or environmental policy. More than 60% had obtained a relevant position or promotion after completing their fellowship.
These results illustrate why investing in people is an investment in forests.
The ITTO Fellowship Programme has enabled more than 1,400 young and mid-career professionals from over 49 countries to pursue professional development opportunities, including Ms Guadalupe Olvera Licona, a 2025–2026 ITTO Fellow from Mexico (pictured). © Guadalupe Olvera Licona
Creating opportunities through ITTO initiatives
ITTO’s support for young people takes many forms. Through field projects, training, research, innovation and opportunities to engage with local communities and industries, the Organization supports young people to develop skills while contributing their ideas to sustainable tropical forestry.
Turning sustainable wood into opportunity
In Indonesia, ITTO’s work to develop a sustainable domestic market for wood products has included activities to strengthen skills, innovation and the capacity of the wood sector. The project sought to promote sustainable wood use while encouraging new ideas and approaches to wood-product development.
In 2023, ITTO provided young entrepreneurs opportunities to gain practical experience and strengthen their skills through hands-on training, connecting education and technical expertise with opportunities in the wood sector.
“Starting from product innovation to improving skills, I have participated in several activities, including training, competitions, and funding programs”, said Muhammad Haikal, a young wood maker in Indonesia.
By providing young people opportunities to learn, experiment and develop their skills, initiatives such as these can improve the forest-based sector’s attractiveness to the younger generation while supporting innovation and sustainable use of forest resources.
“At first, we only had one tool (table saw), and we only used it to turn wood waste into flower pots. Then we started to innovate by making household and kitchen products, all of which are made from wood sourced from community forests”, Haikal added.
ITTO also supports activities that place young designers at the centre of sustainable wood innovation. In Viet Nam, for example, a furniture design competition engaged students and young designers in developing products made from sustainably produced wood, encouraging creativity and demonstrating how sustainable timber can be translated into contemporary, appealing designs. The initiative included students from architecture, design and other disciplines, with winning designs subsequently developed into furniture products.
Such initiatives demonstrate that youth engagement is not simply about preparing young people for existing jobs. It is also about giving them space to rethink how wood is designed, produced, marketed and used.
Across multiple initatives, ITTO has supported young entrepreneurs to gain practical experience, strengthen their skills and contribute to sustainable wood innovation. In Viet Nam, a furniture design competition supported through an ITTO-led project engaged students and young designers in developing products made from sustainably produced wood. © Tetra Yanuariadi/ITTO
Learning from forests and communities
In Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, ITTO-supported work brought together researchers, students and local communities to better understand the region’s tropical forests, biodiversity, environmental services and traditional knowledge.
The region has immense biocultural wealth, but its forests and associated traditional knowledge face pressures from land-use change, agriculture, industry, cattle ranching and tourism. The project has sought to generate research and recommendations while supporting sustainable livelihoods and raising public awareness about the importance of conserving tropical forests and traditional knowledge.
Students from disciplines including environmental sciences, intercultural development and management, applied geography and sustainable coastal management have gained hands-on experience by working with communities. Their activities included conducting surveys, using drones for environmental mapping and documenting traditional practices such as apiculture of stingless Mayan bees.
This approach provides young people more than technical experience. It empowers them to understand that sustainable forestry is ultimately about people as well as forests—and that solutions are stronger when they are developed together with the communities who depend on and care for these landscapes.
In Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, ITTO-supported work brought together researchers, students and local communities to better understand the region’s tropical forests, biodiversity, environmental services and traditional knowledge. © Gran Museo del Mu
Recognizing that youth development is part of a bigger picture
ITTO’s approach also recognizes that youth development cannot be separated from other dimensions of sustainable development.
In Togo, for example, ITTO partnered with Soka Gakkai to support forest landscape restoration while empowering rural women to improve their livelihoods and strengthen the resilience of local landscapes to climate change. The project provided training in nursery establishment, enrichment planting, agroforestry, food cropping and the production of wood and non-wood forest products.
The initiative illustrates the importance of taking a holistic approach to development. Gender, livelihoods, food security, education and environmental restoration are interconnected. When women have greater opportunities and resources, the benefits can extend beyond individual livelihoods to families and communities—including improvements in their children’s nutrition, schooling and health.
For young people, this broader perspective is equally important. Creating meaningful opportunities means looking beyond a single sector or skill and recognizing the social, economic and environmental conditions that enable young people to thrive.
“Many of us in the professional sphere fully appreciate that young people’s aspirations for opportunity, meaningful participation and a sustainable future should never be undervalued. ITTO’s experience shows that when we invest in young people, provide them the skills and opportunities they need, and connect them across generations and borders, they often develop into powerful agents of innovation and sustainable development in the forest and associated sectors,” said ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru.
As ITTO marks its 40th anniversary in 2026, its experience demonstrates that youth development is not a new priority, but a long-standing part of its work. From classrooms and workshops to forests and communities, from innovative wood products to research and restoration, young people are invited to actively contribute to the future of tropical forests.
Identifying and creating opportunities for them to learn, participate, innovate and lead - these are ITTO’s focus on turning these aspirations of the younger generation into achievements!
Comments