Page 8 - Governing Congo Basin Forests in a Changing Climate • Olufunso Somorin

Acknowledgement
It’s been a long way down here! As a young boy growing up in the village, I used to idolize the idea of having one’s name on the cover of a book as the author. For every book I came across in the late 80s and early 90s, I would first read their biographies to understand the paths the authors had travelled in life and their motives for writing such books. As I grew older, I became too certain that I would write at least a book in my lifetime. What I did not imagine then was the first book would be my doctoral thesis. This thesis, this book, is an evidence of the childhood dream of a young boy who fought his way through the hardships of life to get ‘here’. That’s why I am grateful to my Maker and the Pillar that holds my life who kept these dreams alive and gave me the grace and strength to achieve them.
A thesis itself speaks to the relationships behind the writing process. For me, this thesis also represents my apprenticeship under one of the best minds I have come across – my promoter, Prof. Bas Arts. From a 3-month internship in October 2006 working on determinants of success or failure of the national forest programs in selected countries, to my MSc thesis on global policy architecture on REDD+ in 2008, and now to this PhD thesis. It’s been 8 years of learning for me. Thank you Bas for your guidance and patience with me. Sometimes I thought you were too tough on me but I realized you were just doing your job, I took your constructive criticisms in good faith. You taught me how to ask critical questions and the danger of conventional thinking.
To my co-promoter, Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, my words are not enough to express how grateful I am to you. You were (and still are), a teacher, a judge, a friend and a coach all combined in one person. You encouraged me along the way and always made me comfortable to talk about life, career, family, and of course the Congo Basin forest. You taught me that if best is possible then good is not enough. I know these skills will stay with me forever. I wish you well in your future endeavours.
This thesis would not have been possible without the unflinching support of Denis Sonwa, my co-promoter and former boss at CIFOR. You created a conducive environment for my ideas to thrive. You always reminded me of “the contexts of
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