The 3rd Friends of Asia and Asian Forests (FAAF) Forum

Title: From Carbon to Co-Benefits: Rethinking Forest Investment in Asia

Date: 27 October 2025 10:30~17:20

Venue: DMC Hall, KBIZ DMC Tower, Seoul, Republic of Korea (2nd Floor)

Background

The Friends of Asia and Asian Forest (FAAF) serves as a regional platform to advance innovative financing and partnerships for sustainable forest management. Building on the outcomes of its previous editions, the 3rd FAAF Forum shifts the spotlight to the evolving landscape of carbon initiatives and the urgent need to broaden their scope.

While forest-based carbon projects have gained momentum, there is growing recognition that long-term success hinges on more than carbon alone. The next generation of climate solutions must emphasize co-benefits, such as biodiversity conservation, community empowerment, and sustainable land use while ensuring environmental integrity and social inclusion.

To support this broader vision, blended finance has emerged as a powerful tool to bridge the investment gap. By combining public, private, and philanthropic capital, it can de-risk investments, enhance project bankability, and channel funding toward high-integrity, community-rooted solutions.

Organized by the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), the 3rd FAAF Forum will bring together stakeholders from governments, financial institutions, technical experts, and grassroots practitioners. The Forum will facilitate dialogue, showcase scalable models, and foster partnerships that promote resilient landscapes and inclusive climate action—moving beyond carbon, toward people and nature.

Objectives

Advance investment strategies beyond carbon by integrating biodiversity conservation, community well-being, and sustainable land use as core outcomes of forest projects.
Promote blended finance as a key enabler to scale up inclusive and high-integrity investments in forests and landscapes across Asia.
Strengthen multi-stakeholder collaboration—linking governments, financial institutions, technical experts, and grassroots actors—to close the gap between finance and implementation.
Elevate the role of FAAF as a regional cooperation platform by establishing the FAAF Fund, fostering active participation, and expanding membership to accelerate climate-resilient and community-centered forest landscapes.

Expected Outcomes

Enhanced understanding of investment strategies beyond carbon, recognizing biodiversity conservation, community well-being, and sustainable land use as integral outcomes of forest projects.
Identified opportunities to scale up blended finance, including concrete pipelines of inclusive, high-integrity forest and landscape investments across AFoCO Member Countries.
Strengthened multi-stakeholder partnerships, linking governments, financial institutions, technical experts, and grassroots actors to close the gap between finance and implementation.
Clear strategic direction for FAAF’s future role, including the establishment of the FAAF Fund, expansion of membership, and consolidation as a regional platform for cooperation and investment in climate-resilient, community-centered forest landscapes.

Time	Program
Main Session (DMC Hall): 3rd FAAF Forum
10:30–10:35	Opening Remarks (5’)	Kook-Hyun MOON Co-chair, FAAF
10:35–10:45	Congratulatory Remarks (10’)	Mira LEE Vice Minister, Korea Forest Service Juliette BIAO Director, UNFF Secretariat (Video)
10:45–11:15	Keynote Speech I (15’) Catalyzing Investment Pathways for Nature-Positive Forests and Landscapes Keynote Speech II (15’) Forests and Climate Action: Mobilizing Global Partnerships	Dindo CAMPILAN Regional Director for Asia and Hub Director for Oceania, IUCN Pengyu LI Program Lead, Centre for Climate and Nature, World Economic Forum
11:15–11:20	Group Photo (5’)
11:20–11:40	FAAF Updates and Way Forward (20’)	Sunpil JIN Vice Executive Director, AFoCO Secretariat Ok Su LEE Head of the Sustainability & Climate Center, Kim & Chang (Head of FAAF Expert Group)
11:40–12:30	Panel Discussions (50’) Road to Greener Asia through PPP	Dindo CAMPILAN Regional Director for Asia and Hub Director for Oceania, IUCN Pengyu LI Program Lead, Centre for Climate and Nature, World Economic Forum Myounghwa HWANG Head of International Programs, Save the Children Korea Joanne SAWICKI Founder & CEO, Cerescom Ltd. Veronica KIM Vice President, Head of ESG Enabling Office, SK Securities Suho LEE Deputy Director, Green Climate Policy Division, Ministry of Economy and Finance, ROK
12:30–14:00	Luncheon
Special Session I (DMC Hall): Enabling Blended Finance for Forest and Landscape Restoration
14:00–16:00	Framing Synergies for Impact (10’): A Strategic Agenda for AFoCO’s Blended Finance Partnerships Stream 1: Catalyzing Global SDG Capital through Family Offices (55’) Journey of AFoCO × Artha Networks Inc. Blended Finance for Nature-based Solutions (15’) Leveraging Multilateral Climate Finance for Forest-Based Action in Asia (10’) Biochar for Impact: Empowering Communities, Restoring Forests (10’) Reverse Panel Discussion (20’) Stream 2: The Business Case for Forest-Positive Supply Chains (55’) Journey of AFoCO × MVL for Forestry Value Chain Improvement for Economics of mutuality (15’) Scaling Forest-Positive Sourcing: Lessons from Cocoa and Beyond (10’) From Risk to Resilience: Financing Smallholder Transitions thorough Innovation (10’) Reverse Panel Discussion (20’)	Moderator: Kwang KIM, AFoCO Senior Advisor Ken HYNES Co-Founder & CEO, Artha Networks Inc. Jyldyz GALIEVA Associate Director, European Bank of Reconstruction and Development Joanna YEO CEO & Founder, Arukah All Liam SHARKEY Director of Business Development, Mutual Value Labs (MVL), Economics of Mutuality Alliance Fay Fay CHOO Asia Cocoa Director, Mars Inc. Simon BALDWIN Senior Vice President APAC, SecondMuse All
16:00–16:30	Coffee Break
Special Session II (DMC Hall): Mobilizing Resources through Collaborative Platforms for Tree Planting
16:30–16:50	Connecting Climate Action with the Private Sector: Introduction of AFoCO ‘s CAMP (5’) 1t.org Platform for the Trillion Tree Community (10′) Financing Forests for the Future: The Mongolian Billion Tree Fund (5′)	Jiyeong JANG Assistant Program Officer, AFoCO Secretariat Pengyu LI Program Lead, Centre for Climate and Nature, World Economic Forum Bayarmaa BAYARBAATAR Executive Director, Billion Tree Fund
16:50–17:10	Discussion and Way Forward (20’)	Tongil KIM Director of Planning & Operations Division, AFoCO Secretariat Pengyu LI Program Lead, Centre for Climate and Nature, World Economic Forum Shagdarsuren ZUUNAI Chairman of Board, Billion Tree Gun Gun HIDAYAT Director of Center for Sustainable Forest Management Development, Ministry of Forestry
17:10–17:15	AFoCO-Billion Tree Fund MOU Signing Ceremony (5’)
17:15–17:20	Closing (5’)	Chongho PARK Co-chair, FAAF

Partners Dialogue

Title: Healthy Forests for Foods: Nourishing People, Sustaining the Planet

Date: 28 October 2025, 9:30-12:30

Venue: DMC Hall, KBIZ, Seoul, Republic of Korea

For Virtual Participants:

Meeting ID: 886 3023 5825

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88630235825

A dedicated Technical Session on “Forests and Foods” will be held during the 2025 AFoCO Week on 28 October. This session will provide an opportunity to explore the critical links between forests, food security, and nutrition, as well as to share country experiences from across the region. It will also aim to develop a set of recommendations to enhance the role of forests in supporting food security and sustainable agriculture.

Session description: The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March as the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012. This year, on 21 March 2025, the theme “Forests and Foods” was celebrated, underscoring the vital role of forests in ensuring food security, enhancing nutrition, and sustaining livelihoods. Forests, pillars of global food security and nutrition, are the livelihoods of millions of families. They provide essential foods such as fruits, seeds, roots and wild meat, fundamental resources for indigenous and rural communities. But its function goes far beyond. Forests are a vital source of energy, providing wood for cooking, playing a key role in agriculture by hosting pollinators and acting in soil enrichment, climate regulation and biodiversity conservation. Forests are indispensable to forest-dependent communities, particularly Indigenous Peoples, and play a crucial role in climate change mitigation through carbon storage.

Time	Program
Moderator: Sooyeon Laura JIN, Forestry Officer, FAO
Session 1
09:30–09:35	Welcome Remarks (5’)	FAO-Representative, Republic of Korea
09:35–09:45	Keynote Remarks (10’)	Ismail BELEN Chair of the United Nations Forum on Forests
09:45–09:50	Contribution of Forests to Food Security (5’)	Video
09:50–10:05	The Role of Forests in Asian and Pacific Food Systems (15’)	Sonya DEWI Regional Director of Asia, CIFOR-ICRAF
Session 2
10:05–10:20	Investments in Forests and Agriculture Nexus (15’)	Buyung HADI Senior Regional Technical Specialist, International Fund for Agricultural Developement
10:20–10:35	Investment in Food, Nutrition and Nature (15’)	Tomoko KATO Senior Food and Nutrition Specialist, ADB (virtual)
10:35–10:45	Q&A (10’)
10:45–11:00	Break (15’)
Session 3
11:00–11:15	Examples from Regions & Countries: Central Asia (15’)	Ekrem YAZICI Forestry Officer, FAO-SEC (virtual)
11:15–11:30	Examples from Regions & Countries: Guatemala (15’)	Wilson Delgado STUBBS International Cooperation Coordinator, Federación de Cooperativas de Alta Verapaza (FEDECOVERA) (virtual)
11:30–11:45	Examples from Regions & Countries: Papua New Guinea (15’)	Manon MISPIRATCEGUY Regional Coordinator, Federación de Cooperativas de Alta Verapaza (FEDECOVERA) (virtual)
11:45–12:05	Q&A (20’)
12:05–12:25	Interactive Recommendation List Drafting (20’)	Moderator: Kikang BAE Team Leader of Strategic Planning Team, AFoCO Speakers: AFoCO Member Countries
12:25–12:30	Closing Remarks (5’)	Chongho PARK Executive Director, AFoCO