SEOUL South Korea -- Merging traditional music, dance, and breathtaking audio-visual display with children singing about their wish for a world where they can sing and play together again, the XV World Forestry Congress kicked off on 2 May 2022 showing an “imagination inspired by nature, arts and culture.” Over 12,000 representatives from governments, international organisations, youth, civil society, and the private sector discussed ways to restore the world’s forest ecosystems in the five-day XV World Forestry Congress, with the theme Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests.

No less than South Korea President Moon Jae-in welcomed the participants from all over the globe. Together with the Minister of the Korea Forest Service H.E. Byeong-am Choi, Pres. Moon recounted the degraded state of the Korean forests post-war, but has since planted and grown more than 10 billion trees and continues to commit to ecosystem restoration.

ASEAN’s 10-10-10 initiative

Despite occupying a mere three per cent of the world’s total land area, the ASEAN region harbours over 200 million hectares of forests that serve as critical habitats to a wide variety of plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. Lush and healthy forest ecosystems also provide services that are essential to the development and survival of more than 650 million people in the region.

Thus, the XV WFC provides a crucial opportunity for the ASEAN in participating in the global discussions that will determine the future of forestry, particularly in the context of recovery and resilience-building through restoring degraded ecosystems. Specifically, the Congress serves as a venue for the ASEAN to forge vital networks and partnerships and promote various conservation and restoration initiatives, such as the ASEAN Green Initiative or the AGI. 

As part of its congress participation, the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity’s (ACB) exhibit featured the AGI, which aims to give recognition to outstanding forest ecosystem restoration efforts in the region. Dubbed as the 10-10-10 initiative, the AGI encourages the growing and nurturing of at least 10 million native trees, across the 10 ASEAN Member States in a span of 10 years. Nominations for AGI are still open and the ACB is actively looking for networks and linkages among the AMS and even beyond to further promote the 10-10-10 initiative.

Strengthening synergies for the region’s forests

The XV WFC presented opportunities for the ASEAN to reinvigorate its partnerships beyond the region.

In a side event, the ASEAN-KOREA Environmental Cooperation Project (AKECOP) shared notable achievements from two decades of restoration and sustainable management of degraded forest ecosystems in the ASEAN region.

“Dialogue partners such as the Republic of Korea, continue to be vital in ensuring regional innovative approaches to the sustainable management of healthy and productive forest ecosystems,” ACB Executive Director Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim remarked, underscoring the collaboration between the ACB and AKECOP.

From 2000 to 2018, the ACB worked with the ASEAN-Korea Environmental Cooperation Project (AKECOP) on the restoration of degraded forest ecosystems in Southeast Asian tropical regions. The project provided support for research, capacity building, and sharing of scientific and technical information in the region. The ACB and AKECOP also jointly organised a Short-term Training Course on Tropical Ecosystem Resilience and Services for the ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP) personnel in 2014.

In promoting the active contribution of nature-based solutions in climate change adaptation, the ACB also discussed possible areas of collaboration with the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO). In particular, the two intergovernmental organisations are exploring collaborations under the AGI.

Meanwhile, emerging discussions on ecosystem restoration urge ‘new inspiring and hopeful narratives’ in forestry communications. The ASEAN, as a region rich in forest innovation and knowledge, brought to the fore key lessons and insights. As part of the panel on a sub-theme session on strengthening communication and education, Head of Communication and Public Affairs Mr. Earl Paulo Diaz called for an innovative approach to forestry communication. He emphasised that through communications that allow users to think, say, and feel, the public outside the forestry sector can become active ambassadors of forests.

Concluding the congress, the Seoul Forest Declaration focused on how these vital ecosystems help combat the multiple crises humanity faces, including climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, hunger, and poverty. The Declaration will be transmitted to the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as to the next Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“The outcomes of the historic World Forestry Congress align with the ASEAN’s emphasis on conserving and restoring important ecosystems that are crucial in building towards a resilient region,” said Dr. Lim. “Through the AGI, the ASEAN region is committed to contributing to ecosystem restoration and building a green and healthy future for forests and people.”

The ACB’s WFC participation was supported by the Federal Government of Germany through the Institutional Strengthening of the Biodiversity Sector in the ASEAN II, a joint project by the ACB and GIZ. (ACB)