It was one of those days when Ylvi Çengaj was working intensively in the village of Rrenc in the southern part of Kosovo1 to establish forests with native seedlings in an abandoned area.

Contracted as a casual worker along with dozens of others by a forestry programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), he participated in planting 33 000 beech and spruce seedlings in the surrounding areas of his village in Dragash municipality.

“We are planting these trees for the future of our children,” Çengaj said. “Afforestation is very important to have cleaner air and to further develop tourism in this area.”

Looking after forests is one of Çengaj’s biggest concerns. His family uses wood for heating, as many other families in rural areas do. Çengaj and his fellow villagers are fully aware of the benefits of forests, and struggle to protect forests from illegal logging.