GOYANG, 18 October 2015 – The Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to the establishment of a wider regional organization devoted to forest conservation and reforestation by participating in the ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation (AFoCo) Forest Week 2015 on 12-16 October 2015 in Goyang in Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongchang in Gangwon Province.

Manuel Gerochi, Undersecretary for Policy and Planning and Foreign Assisted Projects at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), led the eight-member Philippine delegation, including an official from the Philippine Embassy, at the meeting hosted by the Seoul-based regional organization. Over 100 delegates from ASEAN member-states and host South Korea attended an event that was themed for the first time on “Mobilizing Forest and People Together for Greener Asia”. The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (UN-FAO), International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) also sent delegations. In welcome remarks during the Opening Ceremony, AFoCo Executive Director Dr. Hadisusanto Pasaribu expressed hopes that the AFoCo Forest Week would advance sustainable forest management in Asia and provide a venue for enhanced networking and information-sharing to bolster the capacity of its member states to address challenges in the field. In his keynote speech, Dr. Tint Lwin Thaung, Executive Director of the Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), emphasized that scaling up community involvement in forest conservation and reforestation would be critical in the pursuit of a green economy and a greener future for the Asian region. During the event, the Philippines joined other AFoCo member countries in reaffirming their commitment to intensify forestry cooperation in the Asian region so that the vision of a “Green Asia” could be realized. The AFoCo Forest Week concluded with the attendance of all delegations in the 6th International Wildland Fire Conference (IWFC) on 15-16 October 2015 at the Alpensia Resort in Pyeongchang. This culminating activity focused on enhancing international cooperation in the management and prevention of forest fires. Since its inception, AFoCo has served as a regional cooperation mechanism for fostering forestry cooperation between ASEAN member states and South Korea (known formally at the Republic of Korea or ROK), following the entry into force of the Agreement between Member States of ASEAN and ROK on Forest Cooperation on 5 August 2012. At present, the AFoCo Secretariat based in Seoul is actively pursuing regional strategic actions on deforestation, reforestation and forest rehabilitation with the aim of contributing to the promotion of a green economy and a sustainable environment in AFoCo member countries. – END–