Asian Forest Cooperation Organization

Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (or AFoCO) is an intergovernmental organization in Asia aiming to strengthen regional forest cooperation by transforming proven technology and policies into concrete actions in the context of sustainable forest management to address the impact of climate change.

History

Background

The establishment of AFoCO was proposed by the Republic of Korea at the ASEAN–Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in 2009 at Jeju, Korea. The establishment of AFoCO was welcomed by all ASEAN Leaders.

ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation

Signing of the Agreement on ASEAN-ROK on Forest Cooperation

As the initial phase of AFoCO, a cooperation mechanism of ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation was formalized by the "Agreement between the Governments of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Republic of Korea on Forest Cooperation" which was signed at the occasion of the 14th ASEAN-ROK Summit on 18 November 2011 in Bali, Indonesia[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and entered into force on 5 August 2012. The ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation Secretariat, based in Seoul, has been operational since 1 September 2012.[9][10] AFoCo facilitates forest cooperation between ASEAN Member States and ROK focusing on action-oriented field activities while ensuring synergies and complementation of existing cooperation, regional and international organizations.[11][12][13] It also aims to broaden the scope to other Asian countries by providing a platform towards Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO). Following the entry into force of the Agreement on ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation on 5 August 2012,[14][15][16][17] the 1st Session of the Governing Council of the Agreement was held on 28 August 2012 back to back with the Special ASEAN-ROK Ministerial Meeting on Forestry held from 29–30 August 2012 to celebrate the partnership in forest sector and adopted the ministerial statement to build stronger foundation for forest cooperation.[18][19][20][21][22][23]

Objectives

The AFoCo aims to undertake projects and translate sound forest policies and proven technologies into action with a mission to rehabilitate degraded forest land and to prevent deforestation and forest degradation in the context of sustainable forest management as well as under the broader scope of addressing the impact of climate change. A dialogue for the establishment of Asian Forest Cooperation Organization under a multilateral arrangement will be initiated involving the ASEAN Member States, ROK and other prospective countries.

Institutional arrangement

Institutional arrangements is stipulated in the Agreement on the Establishment of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization.

  • Assembly, represented by a senior official on forestry from each party, is the decision making body of the AFoCO.
  • Secretariat based in Korea assists the Assembly in the implementation, coordination, monitoring and reporting of activities under AFoCO.

Activities

Areas of cooperation

Areas in which members co-operate stipulated in the Agreement include:

  • Promoting sustainable forest management
  • Addressing deforestation and forest degradation
  • Strengthening capacity-building, public awareness, and research and development in forest sector
  • Enhancing forest carbon stocks and supporting initiatives

AFoCo projects

AFoCo projects implement action-oriented field activities related to rehabilitation and conservation of forest resources, as well as capacity building. The projects are expected to serve as a model in addressing deforestation and land degradation in broader scope of Asia, and output long-term influence through capacity building programs. The projects could be categorized into individual and regional projects. The Individual projects are bilateral programs between each ASEAN Member State and ROK implemented on annual basis, concentrating on policy implementation, forest rehabilitation, and capacity building on community-level aiming to provide the most suitable developmental plan in the country’s forests, improve forest technologies and basic forest restoration abilities. Regional projects are developed at the regional or sub-regional level with several participating countries. These projects are expected to foster close cooperation among participating members and provide a model for future regional forest cooperation. Both individual and regional projects are interconnected as they are developed based on 4 main areas of cooperation: mitigation of climate change effects; conservation of biodiversity and eco-tourism; non-timber forest products development and renewable biomass energy; and human capacity development.

The following regional projects have been underway since the beginning of 2013.

  • Reclamation, Rehabilitation and Restoration of Degraded Forest Ecosystems (RRR-DFE) in Mekong Basin Countries
  • Reclamation, Rehabilitation and Restoration of Degraded Forest Ecosystems (RRR-DFE) in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore
  • Capacity Building on Improving Forest Resources Assessment and Enhancing the Involvement of Local Communities to address the Adverse Impact of Climate Change

The 3rd Session of the Governing Council of AFoCo approved 'AFoCo Landmark Program' as a long-term cooperative project for 10 years (2014-2023).[24]

References

  1. ↑ "ROK and ASEAN urge reinforced ties in economy, development, and green growth". Korea.net. November 21, 2011. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  2. ↑ "Advancing Forestry Cooperation in International Year of Forest 2011". Asean. November 18, 2011. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  3. ↑ "ASEAN, Republic of Korea Sign Asian Forest Cooperation Agreement - Sustainable Development Policy & Practice". Uncsd.iisd.org. November 18, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  4. ↑ Setneg (November 18, 2011). "ASEAN dan Korea Selatan". setneg.go.id. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  5. ↑ "Korea, Asean creating regional forest agency - Yahoo News Philippines". Ph.news.yahoo.com. December 2, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  6. ↑ "Menhut: AFoCo Dukung Upaya ASEAN Ciptakan Pengelolaan Hutan Berkelanjutan | Republika Online". Republika.co.id. November 18, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  7. ↑ "韓-아세안 산림협력조약 서명‥'AFoCO' 출범준비 : 네이버 뉴스" (in Korean). News.naver.com. November 18, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  8. ↑ "Press Releases : Prime Minister Yingluck attends the 14th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit in Bali - Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand". Mfa.go.th. November 18, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  9. ↑ "AFoCO to help development through green growth : 네이버 뉴스" (in Korean). News.naver.com. September 4, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  10. ↑ "Seoul-based AFoCO to open in Sept". Koreatimes.co.kr. August 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  11. ↑ "ASEAN-Republic of Korea Dialogue Relations". Asean.org. December 19, 2012. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  12. ↑ "Vietnam Business Forum - VCCI". Vccinews.com. June 28, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  13. ↑ "Brunei to document endemic plants | The Brunei Times". Bt.com.bn. October 8, 2011. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  14. ↑ "'AFoCO to help drive global green growth'". Koreaherald.com. August 12, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  15. ↑ "Korea works green growth with Asia to improve forests". Pukhtoonistan Gazette. August 8, 2012. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  16. ↑ "Call for close ties to protect forests in Asean – BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News | Largest English Daily In Borneo". Theborneopost.com. August 14, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  17. ↑ "ASEAN-ROK forest agreement to take effect on August 5". KFS. July 23, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  18. ↑ "Korea to help Southeast Asia expand forests". Koreatimes.co.kr. August 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  19. ↑ "Korean, ASEAN ministers to adopt joint declaration on forests". Koreaherald.com. August 29, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  20. ↑ "DENR inks MOU on sustainable forestry | Business, News, The Philippine Star". philstar.com. September 16, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  21. ↑ "Viet Nam Delegation attended ASEAN - ROK Ministerial Meeting on Forestry and related events in Seoul, Republic of Korea". Vietnamforestry.com. September 9, 2012. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  22. ↑ "The Special ASEAN And ASEAN-ROK Ministerial Meetings On Forestry". Industry.gov.bn. August 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  23. ↑ "News - ENB Mobile - IISD Reporting Services". Enb.iisd.mobi. August 30, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  24. ↑ http://www.afocosec.org/board/board_view.jsp?systemid=WWW&boardid=resource_03&seq=62
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