Organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), Asia Pacific Forestry Week brought together over 700 participants from governments, NGOs, research institutions, regional and international networks, UN agencies, the private sector, the media and the broader forestry community.
The theme for the event was “Forestry in a Changing World.”
CIFOR’s involvement included co-hosting two plenary sessions, launching a number of books, and promoting countless publications and other materials through its exhibition booth.
On Wednesday, 23 April, CIFOR - in conjunction with FAO - co-hosted a plenary session on Forests and Climate Change.
This event provided the platform for a range of experts, enthusiasts and decision makers to raise key issues in relation to climate change mitigation and adaptation. CIFOR’s Daniel Murdiyarso delivered one of two keynote presentations (‘Entering a Readiness Phase for Full REDD Implementation’) while Markku Kanninen moderated the panel session on Climate Change Mitigation and Bruno Locatelli was a panelist for the session on Adaptation.
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"We have long worked, not only within the confines of our discipline, but also far too often within the bounds of our respective national interests. . . Open dialogue and sincere efforts to collectively address the pressing issues of our time are more essential than ever. "
Jan Heino
Assistant
Director General,
FAO Forestry Department |
While a broad range of issues were discussed, there was general consensus that our window of opportunity to respond is small, and yet as crucial as ensuring the response is implemented promptly is ensuring that the response is designed properly. This means addressing issues from outside the forestry sector and ensuring that poverty alleviation is core to any strategy.
“Although poverty will not be totally alleviated by forests, the loss of forests will have disastrous and unprecedented impacts on poverty,” said Boone Kauffman, US Forest Service, in his keynote address on “The Vulnerability of Forests to Climate Change.”
In its capacity as host of the Secretariat of the Asia Forest Partnership (AFP), CIFOR also co-hosted the plenary dialogue on “Timber Trade, Forest Law Compliance and Governance.” This event was organised in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Department for International Development (DfID) and the Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia (MoF).
The event was moderated by Rico Hizon, BBC Asia Business and Finance Correspondent, who commenced proceedings by confidently proclaiming “WE WILL FIND THE SOLUTIONS!” He continued to foster an upbeat mood for the dialogue, which saw a broad cross-section of stakeholders engage in often lively discussions about policy solutions, industry incentives and practical on-the-ground initiatives that address concerns about forest governance and legal compliance.
“Markets are changing in ways that should encourage legal and sustainable forest management and trade,” said Dicky Simorangkir, Rare International, in his concluding remarks. “Governments can help this process by reviewing their charges and royalty structures to provide more direct incentives for legal and sustainable production practices, while there is an immediate need for credible verification of legality to help buyers and sellers determine what is legal and what is not,” he added.
On the afternoon of Thursday, 24 April, CIFOR launched two publications – Lessons from Forest Decentralization, by Carol Colfer, Ganga Dahal and Doris Capistrano; and Managing Forest Resources in a Decentralized Environment, by Petrus Gunarso, Titiek Setyawati, Terry Sunderland and Charlie Shackleton. On Saturday, 26 April, several staff participated in an event hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Poverty Reduction through Forestry Related Activities.
Story by Yani Saloh, CIFOR
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Asian Young Leaders Climate Forum
Class of 2008
Following the success of the inaugural Asian Young Leaders Climate Forum (AYLCF), held at CIFOR’s Bogor Headquarters in December 2007, the British Council recently held its second annual Project Management and Leadership Training, in West Java, Indonesia, from 24 to 29 August.
The event attracted 31 participants and 11 trainee facilitators representing 12 countries in the region, including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia Singapore and Thailand. The young leaders, who came from a wide range of professional and demographic backgrounds, were involved in a series of presentations, workshops and field trips designed to inspire and encourage genuine, action-based projects to address climate change issues in the Asia Pacific region.
Having presented their climate strategy to world leaders at the 2007 UNFCCC COP13 in Bali, a delegation of 2007 Asian Young Leaders attended Asia Pacific Forestry Week in Hanoi in April to continue their ambitious lobbying and networking efforts. |