Our mandate broadly encompasses management responsibility for all community forest lands within the Ward. In undertaking that responsibility we face some significant challenges: a) a lack of recognition of indigenous knowledge in forest conservation by the government; b) the encroachment and destruction of forest by other users: timbering, charcoal and push and pull with companies that want to mine; c) the need to appropriately diversify livelihoods to supplement pastoralism without undermining our cultural integrity; and, d) a lack of funds to support the management activities of the EFT.
To address these challenges we have undertaken a number of activites to date with the support of partners:
- developed a management plan for the forest lands
- begun the development of a tourist camp to generate revenue and showcase our culture
- document our traditional knowledge
In addition we have begun to develop connections with aboriginal communities in Canada through our partnership with the Kesho Trust. In May 2019, three representatives of the Enguserosambu Forest Trust visited First Nations on Vancouver Island and in Yukon during a two week tour through a project coordinated by the Kesho Trust and the University of Victoria and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.