2021 Annual Thematic Dialogue
“Roles of AFoCO in Unleashing the Full Potential of Forests to Meet Paris Climate Goals and Building Back Better and Greener from the COVID-19”
The 2021 session of the Annual Thematic Dialogue was organized on 25 October 2021, in conjunction with the 5th Session of the AFoCO Assembly. Under the theme of “Roles of AFoCO in Unleashing the Full Potential of Forests to Meet Paris Climate Goals and Building Back Better and Greener from the COVID-19”, a total of 82 forest experts, governmental officials, and diplomats from 13 Party members and 2 Observers joined the event and pursued the following objectives:
- Explore and discuss the potential roles of Asian forests and forest sector in global action on climate change and for a healthy and green recovery from COVID-19 pandemic;
- Collectively identify and priority actions to be delivered through AFoCO to make Asian forests more responsive to the global call for actions in addressing climate change and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
- Showcase best practices and future directions of AFoCO to potential partners and prepare the ground for cooperative activities.
Program
Opening & Introduction
Welcome Remarks
By Mr. Lobzang Dorji, President of the AFoCO Assembly
“AFoCO in the Triple Challenges Facing Asia and the Globe”
By Mr. Ricardo Calderon, Executive Director, AFoCO
Session 1. Roles of AFoCO in unleashing the full potential of forests to meet Paris climate goals and building back better and greener from COVID-19
Inspirational speech 1: “Making Asian forests and trees enhance resilience to climate change”
By Mr. Alexandre Meybeck, Senior Technical Advisor, CGIAR, CIFOR-ICRAF
Inspirational speech 2: “Lessons learned from the impact of COVID-19 on forest – why forests matter in post-COVID-19 recovery”
By Dr. Chandra Silori, Deputy Executive Director, RECOFTC, Thailand
Moderated open discussion By Dr. Park Misun, Associate Professor, Seoul National University
Session 2. Strategic reflections on selective outputs of 2021 Activities
“Assessment of AFoCO Project Impact and Best Practices” By Dr. Jürgen Blaser, Ord. Professor, Bern University of Applied Sciences
“UNFF16 AFoCO-NIFoS Joint Side Event: Improvement on the Global Forest Goals Implementation” By Dr. Lee Yeongjoo, Director, Planning and Budget Division, AFoCO
Moderated open discussion By Mr. Chencho Norbu, Senior Technical Advisor for AFoCO
Closing
Moderated open discussion
By Mr. Chencho Norbu, Senior Technical Advisor for AFoCO
Speakers
Documents
Background Discussion Paper
A background discussion paper was developed and circulated prior to the dialogue session in order for the participants to have more focused discussion. The paper contains thematic background study, presentation summaries, and guiding questions for discussion.
Outcome Report
The key messages and findings of the dialogue session will be compiled into a Dialogue Outcome Report by the year end. This publication will serve as a baseline for our future programming and planning.