The Ninth Session of the Assembly of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), was held at the Secretariat and the Headquarters of AFoCO in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 25–26 October 2023. This Session of the Assembly held special significance, marking the first time it convened at the AFoCO Headquarters following an expansion of the Secretariat’s space to accommodate meetings.
The Assembly was physically and virtually attended by Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea (ROK), Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam as Parties, and Singapore as an Observer Country, and the Secretariat. Mongolia as a Party attended the Session virtually.
The 9th Session of the Assembly made significant decisions for the future. The Assembly endorsed the proposed Work Plan and Budget for 2024. The new organizational strategy (2024-2030) and a 10-year AFoCO Climate Action Plan was adopted.
The new strategy streamlined the organizational priority areas to (i) forest land restoration aond conservation, (ii) community and circular bioeconomy, and (iii) climate-forest disaster risk management, with cross-cutting themes of policies, capacity building, knowledge, and technology.
The enhanced governance and capacities in sustainable forest management at various level is expected to contribute to achieving national, regional and global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals.
The ninth session was held in the spirit of collaboration and mutual understanding, fostering a productive and harmonious atmosphere conducive to achieving shared goals and objectives.
