The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) participated in the 20th session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF20), held from May 6 to 10, 2025, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The annual gathering brought together governments, international organizations, and forest leaders to assess progress toward the Global Forest Goals and explore collaborative solutions to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and sustainable development challenges.
AFoCO’s delegation, led by Vice Executive Director Mr. Sunpil Jin, delivered a formal intervention during the plenary session. In his statement, Mr. Jin emphasized AFoCO’s commitment as a treaty-based intergovernmental organization representing 17 Asian countries to transform forest cooperation into impactful actions on the ground. He highlighted AFoCO’s work in implementing over 60 regional projects focused on forest restoration, climate resilience, and livelihood enhancement.
In particular, Mr. Jin celebrated the ongoing partnership with the UNFF Secretariat in establishing the Forest Pavilion at COP28 and expressed AFoCO’s strong support for continuing joint initiatives that elevate forests within the global climate discourse. He also introduced the Friends of Asia and Asian Forests (FAAF) initiative as a key platform to mobilize blended finance and facilitate public-private collaboration in the forestry sector. The upcoming FAAF Forum, to be held later this year in the Republic of Korea, was formally announced, with an open invitation extended to interested partners.
On May 9, AFoCO co-hosted a high-level side event titled “Scaling Up Integrated Landscape Approaches: Partnerships, Policies, and Finance” in collaboration with partners including ITTO, IUCN, FSC International, the National Forestry Agency of Mongolia, and the UNFF Secretariat. The event explored strategies to accelerate private sector investment in forests and promote sustainable financing mechanisms aligned with the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030.
The session featured keynote presentations by Dr. Juliette Biao, Director of the UNFF Secretariat; Dr. Kikang Bae, Team Leader at AFoCO; and Dr. Paula Prist from IUCN. Panelists including Ms. Sheam Satkuru (Executive Director, ITTO), Dr. Oyunsanaa Byambasuren (Director General, National Forestry Agency of Mongolia), and Mr. Matteo Francesco (FSC International) shared insights on enabling policy environments, innovative finance instruments, and opportunities to scale up forest restoration.
The side event concluded with closing remarks by Dr. Younghwan Kim, Director of the National Institute of Forest Science (NIFoS), reaffirming the need for cross-sectoral and cross-regional cooperation to mobilize capital and achieve lasting forest-based climate solutions.
AFoCO remains committed to strengthening regional and global cooperation, working hand in hand with its partners to implement the UN Strategic Plan for Forests and scale up the role of forests in building a sustainable and resilient future for all.
