Name Mohamed Saket Age 56 Place of birth Tunisia Languages Arabic, French, English, Portugese

Job title
Forestry officer

"I’ve been working in forestry for over 30 years. It’s now my passion and part of my life, but I’m always learning something new. My work covers many countries and each one has different evolving challenges in terms of social and political contexts, ecology, climate and geography.

I attended university in the north of Tunisia and for my studies I had to be based in a forested area. I remember when I first went to a forest area I felt closed in and trapped; I wanted to leave but my friends stopped me. Then with time everything changed and I discovered what was there: the great source of life that seemed hidden to me at first.

I grew up in Tunisia in a region surrounded by nature, where people used the land to survive, for example through growing trees, raising livestock, conserving and using soil for diverse crops. I always had this connection with the land, and that’s probably what shaped my interest in this type of work.

My job at FAO is to contribute towards proper use of the forests. By protecting trees we protect the environment. Trees absorb carbon dioxide which would otherwise contribute to global warming.

My job is also to help countries carry out national inventories to assess what the forests have and the roles they play in the life of people. I introduce the countries to new methods of forest inventory and organise training. We can then help provide decision makers with sound information, in helping shape future policies.

It’s a worrying fact that most of the forests in developing countries are not covered by inventories, so governments don’t know what is happening to their resources.

For example I’ve just returned from Nicaragua, where I helped launch a project to assess the potential in forests and trees. The results of the project will help shape the national policies and address the poverty issues in the country. The inventory will include assessing the different tree species. In this way we can ensure those without commercial value are not cut.

Another project we helped with was in Honduras, where we supported research into what products the forest could give the local communities. The findings changed the previously held belief that the forest had a high timber stock, and the government’s forestry institution is adjusting its policy based on the new findings.

We can also arrange assessments to ensure that supplies of food sources such as fruits, herbs and spices are not put at risk by overuse."