For the sixth year running, the Global Landscapes Forum has selected a group of young environmental experts from more than 1,250 applicants to help deepen their impact. The new cohort hails from Cameroon, Uganda, Brazil, Indonesia and Peru.
The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF), a leading knowledge-led platform and community on sustainable land use, has selected five young experts from around the world to form its sixth cohort of Restoration Stewards. They are leading grassroots projects to restore mountains in Cameroon, wetlands in Uganda, drylands in Brazil, oceans in Indonesia and forests in Peru.
The Restoration Stewards program, run by the GLF and the Youth in Landscapes Initiative (YIL), supports a group of innovators each year between the ages of 18 and 35. In 2026, the program will help scale their initiatives by matching them with seasoned and young mentors fostering local and international networking opportunities. It will also provide each steward with a EUR 5,000 grant, tailored learning opportunities, participation in policy forums and global spotlighting.
“The Restoration Stewards program is grounded in a simple truth: young people around the world are already pushing the boundaries of what is possible in landscape stewardship, community leadership and ecosystem restoration. Our responsibility is to match their courage and creativity with resources, trust and care.” – Eirini Sakellari, Youth Program Coordinator at the Global Landscapes Forum.
Selected from over 1,250 applicants worldwide, the 2026 Restoration Stewards represent the power of youth acting with their communities for their landscapes as part of a global network:
Restore hope and dignity for future generations
Ndumbe Knollis Mokake is the 2026 Mountain Restoration Steward, from Cameroon.
A graduate in environmental geography, Ndumbe spearheads community-driven efforts to combat deforestation and address the climate crisis as the team lead of the Center for Agricultural Stewardship and Development (CASAD).
Growing up in Buea, he became inspired to restore land and pursue climate action and environmental justice after witnessing the impacts of the climate crisis and land degradation on smallholder farmers, families and internally displaced people at the foot of Mount Cameroon.
With CASAD, Ndumbe promotes sustainable, income-generating alternatives to reduce pressure on Mount Cameroon, whose communities have long depended on forest resources, timber extraction and unsustainable farming practices, while also facing exploitative middlemen, limited conservation awareness and ongoing civil unrest.
His team trains local residents, eco-volunteers, youth and internally displaced persons in organic farming, food processing and tree nursery establishment.
“I owe our mountain ecosystem a duty of change and envision a future where it breathes again, streams flow generously and young people choose restoration over depletion. Today, I’m not just planting trees and restoring mountain landscape but restoring hope and dignity for future generations.” – Ndumbe Knollis Mokake, 2025 Mountain Restoration Steward
Turn mining-destroyed lands into sources of life
Syliah Kagiiga is the 2026 Wetland Restoration Steward, from Uganda.
Syliah is a geoscientist and co-founder of SBE Aquafarm, a social venture transforming abandoned clay mining sites into productive aquaculture hubs. Having seen how clay mining degrades wetland ecosystems in Western Uganda, she embarked on land restoration, blending technical methods with community engagement.
Kagiiga trains community members in sustainable fish farming to strengthen food security and livelihoods and collaborates with local organizations to support long-term impact. She now aims to scale this approach across Uganda.
Through an integrated model that combines aquaculture and agroforestry, she and her team transform abandoned clay mining sites into productive ecosystems and a reference point for land rehabilitation policies.
They establish fishponds, restore native tree corridors, build market linkages for local products and foster opportunities for hundreds of families. Their community-led approach and combination of geoscience and social innovation bring local women and youth from affected households together with district fisheries officers, and village leaders.
“I envision communities where destroyed lands become sources of life again, where young people build dignified futures through restoration, where nature and people heal together, and where every abandoned pit becomes proof that devastation is never the final story.” – Syliah Kagiiga, 2026 Wetland Restoration Steward
Fellow 2026 Restoration Stewards
- Gusti Ayu Made Mirah Rismayanti, 2026 Ocean Restoration Steward, Indonesia: “Caring for the sea is about maintaining the balance of life. Through the project Nyawiang Segara, we work together with coastal communities to preserve nature, sustain livelihoods and foster sustainable togetherness.”
- Breno Cayabi, 2026 Dryland Restoration Steward, Brazil: “I want a future where the Earth is treated as part of us and not as a resource.”
- Lizet Mejía, 2026 Forest Restoration Steward, Peru: “Restoration led by young people means sowing the seeds of the future today: healing the Earth, strengthening communities and reconciling ourselves with the nature that sustains us.”