Next Gen Voice: Taking Responsibility for Protecting Our Heritage

35 African and North American Next Gen’s are converging in Mozambique in July for the 2015 Lost Mountain Next Gen Symposium. From June 18th- September 15th, we will be sharing their voices, thoughts, ideas and passions in our Next Gen Voice Blogs. To us, a Next Gen is any young person who pursues their passions for driving positive change, exploring this great planet, forming new connections, and creating lasting impact. They are students and young professionals working on the hard issues of our time with big dreams about our global future. In this entry, Next Gen student Gerson considers the journey ahead and ponders the priority of conservation, “To me, exploring and conserving nature is like moving a chess piece: the victory depends on the way of thinking.”

Everything has a value. But the value of a dollar bill can have a different meaning when viewed from different perspectives or applied in different contexts. Sometimes, we have something to buy and sometimes we have nothing to buy.

Just as anyone would attribute a degree of importance to one dollar, saying it would buy this or that for consumption, I would question: is it possible to buy a mild climate, clean air, spring water? In what market? What is the trade currency? What value do we put on it?

Humans have produced profound changes in our habitat – much more than any animal species. These changes have often been in one direction that veers away from the natural capacity for regeneration of ecosystems. We have acted in our own interests in short term and have not considered the long term implications.

For example, we do not consider the long term environmental costs of a large, polluting industrial facility that we think we need because of a consumer demand that exists for the facility’s product in our society. But we don’t look ahead to think of the long term impact. Does the factory’s pollution contribute to climate change? Does that contribute to natural disasters? Would those disasters impact us in a significant way? Would we have to rebuild from scratch? Are we turning into slavery of our own needs?

I believe this is the perfect time to find new platforms and to raise awareness of environmental conservation. We need to put value on our ecosystems – even if there is no monetary value we can compare it to.

As I wait for the first moment of this adventure, my spirit is captivated by an even greater enthusiasm for those questions – questions that make me invest time in looking for new perspectives. To me, exploring and conserving nature is like moving a chess piece: the victory depends on the way of thinking. Join us now as we journey to Gorongosa National Park between July 11 and 21 and see what will happen at The 2015 Lost Mountain Next Gen Symposium.

Change starts now. We can make a difference by thinking globally while acting sustainably.

Gerson Timbissa is a Masters candidate in Rural Engineering at Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo. He is passionate about agro-ecology, environmental conservation and is one of 35 Next Gen students helping to propel Lost Mountain forwards.

Opening Photo: Sharing the Lost Mountain with over 900 school children in Maputo during the Inauguration of Biofund Mozambique. Photo by Majka Burhardt.