Seventh Session

Summary Record

The Seventh Session of the Assembly of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), as a regular session, was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan in hybrid from 26-27 October 2022. The Assembly was attended virtually by Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines; and attended physically by Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam as Parties, and Singapore as an Observer Country, and the Secretariat. Parties and Observers are collectively referred to as the Member Countries.

The Assembly adopted four decisions and endorsed two guidelines as listed in document A-22-7-INF.1.

Decisions

The Assembly of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO),

Having considered the appraisal and recommendations of the respective Project Appraisal Panel (PAP) and the endorsement of the final appraisal by the Project Appraisal Committee (PAC); and

Taking note of the summary of project proposals as contained in document A-22-7-7, hereby:
1. Approves the project proposal as below, subject to the compliance of remaining concerns as per comments and recommendations during project appraisal; and
  - Cambodia (PP-2021-KH-001)
    Advancing Restoration of native Agarwood – Aquilaria crassna and A. Malaccensis – for Sustainable Use and Management in Southwestern Cambodia
  - Mongolia (PP-2021-MN-001)
    Forest restoration demonstration through high-capacity tree nursery and capacity building in support to “1 Billion Tree” campaign in Mongolia
  - Philippines (PP-2021-PH-001)
    Forest Restoration using Philippine Threatened and Endemic Tree Species (PTES) in Bacon-Manito (BACMAN) Geothermal Reservation in Support to the Philippines’ Forestry Sector’s National Greening Program
2. Task the Secretariat to facilitate the necessary follow-up actions for project inception in due course.
D-45-VII-22R Approval of New Projects
The Assembly of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO),

Pursuant to Article 8 Paragraph 6(b) of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (Agreement);

Acknowledging the intensive works of the Executive Director Selection Committee to develop and conduct the procedures for the announcement, deliberation, and selection of the Executive Director;

Noting with appreciation the applications for the position of Executive Director;

Taking note of the recommendation of the Executive Director Selection Committee;

Decides to
1. Appoint Mr. Park Chongho as the Executive Director for a period of 2 years, beginning on 1 January 2023 in accordance with Paragraph 6 (b) of Article 8 and Paragraph 1 of Article 9 of the Agreement;
2. Task the Secretariat to take follow-up actions on the arrangement of the appointment including the appointment letter from the President of the Assembly and other legal arrangements as required;
3. Task the current Committee to conclude its activities; and
4. Reconstitute the Committee for the next round of Executive Director selection.
D-46-VII-22R Appointment of the Executive Director
The Assembly of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO),

Pursuant to Financial Regulation 2.5 Administration of the Administrative Account of AFoCO,

Recognizing the relevance of budget reallocation for operational expenditures in order to ensure more effective implementation of the 2022 Workplan in transition beyond the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic,

Approves the reallocation of USD 100,000 from the Budget Item A.1 Salaries and Benefits to
the Budget Item A.2 Official Travel of the 2022 administrative budget.