Holds 9th Meeting of Korea-Mekong Forest Cooperation Committee
The Korea Forest Service held the 9th meeting of the Korea-Mekong Forest Cooperation Committee on Oct. 14 and discussed ways to strengthen forest cooperation to jointly respond to climate change with four countries in the Mekong region — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
The online meeting was attended by about 30 people from the five countries. The participants reviewed the committee’s activities and accomplishments in the past five years and discussed new forest cooperation projects proposed by the four Mekong region countries.
The proposed projects are community-based ecotourism and strengthening sustainable bamboo production and forest ecosystem services, both proposed by Cambodia; upgrading the Bangbieng residents-centered forest management model (Laos); the enhancement of community-based forest management (Myanmar); and the preservation and sustainable development of pterocarpus trees in hilly areas (Vietnam).
Hang Suntra, deputy director general of Forestry Administration of Cambodia, who also worked as a coordinator at the Korea-Mekong Forest Cooperation Center, announced in the conference that the center will not only implement Korea’s new southern policies but also diversify its functions to support the REDD+ Project to cope with climate change. REDD+ refers to a process moderated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which supports countries' efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.