(From left) – Shagdarsuren ZUNNAI, Chairman of Board, Billion Tree Fund; Dr. Chongho PARK, Executive Director, AFoCO
During the 3rd Friends of Asia and Asian Forests (FAAF) Forum held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, AFoCO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Billion Tree Fund, strengthening cooperation on forest restoration, green finance, and climate resilience in Mongolia.
The partnership supports Mongolia’s Billion Tree Initiative, a national campaign launched in 2022 to restore degraded lands and combat desertification through large-scale, community-driven reforestation. The Billion Tree Fund serves as the key financial mechanism behind this movement—powered by faith and governed by transparency, combining public finance, private SDG capital, and community participation to ensure that every hectare and every dollar are transparently accounted for.
Under the MOU, AFoCO and the Billion Tree Fund will collaborate to promote sustainable forest management, enhance carbon sequestration, and scale up restoration investments across Mongolia. The cooperation will also help develop innovative financial instruments that link ecological restoration with community livelihoods and corporate responsibility.
The Fund aims to plant approximately 5 million trees by 2027 and 100 million trees by 2030, milestones toward Mongolia’s long-term “Billion Tree” vision. The signing at the FAAF Forum symbolizes a shared commitment to advancing public–private partnerships for sustainable restoration, aligning national efforts with regional and global climate goals.
This MOU underscores AFoCO’s mission to connect governments, corporations, and communities in collective climate action—transforming restoration commitments into measurable results and a greener, more resilient future for Asia.
Contributed by Ms. Seoyeon Kim, Kookmin University (KMU); Mr. Jihu Hwang, Gyeongsang National University (GNU); Ms. Junwon Bae, Chungbuk National University (CBNU)