Korea to help Southeast Asia expand forests

By Lee Hyo-sik

Korea will provide financial and other assistance to Southeast Asian nations to help them preserve and expand forested areas, Lee Don-koo, Minister of the Korea Forest Service, said Thursday. Lee also pledged to share Korea’s expertise on low-carbon, green growth technologies with its Asian partners.

In a keynote speech marking the opening of the two-day Special Korea-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Forestry, Lee said Asia’s fourth largest economy will extend its official development aid (ODA) programs for ASEAN member states to help them conserve forests and achieve sustainable growth.

ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The two-day meeting was held at the Shilla Hotel in downtown Seoul on Aug. 29 and 30.

``The 10 ASEAN members, accounting for 40 percent of Asia’s forested areas and biological species, are the key players in global efforts to conserve biological diversity and mitigate climate change,’’ Lee said. ``This meeting and the launch of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) will be stepping stones into increased forest cooperation across Asia.’’

The meeting was aimed at discussing concrete measures of the Korea-ASEAN Forestry Cooperation Agreement, which came into effect on Aug. 5, and promoting cooperation on forestation and enhancing growth in Asia.

The ASEAN region is home to about 20 percent of the total forested area on the planet, but poverty and the need for economic development has driven many developing ASEAN nations to be dependent on trees and forest resources, causing rapid deforestation and land degradation in large swaths of the region.

To help reverse the trend, forestry ministers adopted a joint statement Thursday, pledging to promote regional green growth and unite behind the prospective launch of a first-ever Asian forest organization.

Korea and the ASEAN members vowed to strengthen cooperation in action-oriented field activities and promote capacity building and livelihood of forest-dependent communities in the context of sustainable forest management, forest conservation and addressing the adverse impact of climate change, among others.

Lester Brown, a renowned U.S. environmental analyst and president of the Washington-based Earth Policy Institute, commended Korea’s efforts to spearhead the Asian initiative, by sending a letter saying ``I’m confident Korea is well-prepared to take the initiative.’’

He also said Korea is in many ways a reforestation model for the rest of the world, despite the devastating the 1950-53 Korea War, forests today cover 65 percent of the country.

AFoCO, the first international body dealing with forest issues in Asia, will be set up in early September. A secretariat office will open in Seoul and a decision-making body for AFoCO, the governing council, is expected to elect its first executive director in the coming weeks.

The Korean government took the initiative in creating AFoCO when President Lee Myung-bak proposed the notion during the Korea-ASEAN commemorative summit in Jeju Island in June 2009.

After a series of high-level dialogues, the agreement on forestry cooperation was signed on the sidelines of the 14th Korea-ASEAN summit in Bali in November 2011, providing official approval to the launch of the AFoCO.