ASEAN-Korea Center to hold international youth workshop on forest

By Park Jin-hai

The ASEAN-Korea Centre, with the ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation, is holding an international workshop to raise awareness of the importance of forests.

The event began Monday and will continue until Aug. 18 under the theme “Youth in the Forefront of Forest Conservation in ASEAN and Korea.”

Some 100 students from Korea and ASEAN member states will participate in programs here for the first four days and in Indonesia for six days.

The annual event began in 2013.

“Turning the post-World War II wreckage into a green landscape, Korea is an unprecedented model example in forest recovery while the ASEAN region possesses 20 percent of global forest and is home to 40 percent of total biological species around the world,” a center spokeswoman said.

“Youths from the two regions will gather to gain firsthand experience of the success in Korea’s forest environment and also explore diverse educational and cultural activities of the Wanagama Forest, Indonesia’s representative case of forest conservation.”

The workshop will include team-building activities, lectures from forestry experts and visits to relevant sites such as the Korea Forest Research Institute, the ASEAN Secretariat, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Borobudur Temple and Prambanan Temple.

The ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation Agreement was closed in 2011 to intensify cooperation in green growth between ASEAN and Korea. In 2014, through the Joint Statement of the 2014 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit, capacity-building in forestry was agreed to for the well-being of the people of ASEAN member states and Korea.

The 2015 ASEAN-Korea Youth Network Workshop aims to provide an opportunity for future leaders to exchange views on environmental challenges to further strengthen the partnership among ASEAN and Korean youth.

In the latest event, some 70 students discussed the topic of sustainable water management in Korea and Vietnam.