Capacity Building on Enhancing Resilience to Forest Fires and Local Livelihood and Market Linkages
May 4, 2022 — The 8.5 million USD AFoCO-AKCF (ASEAN Korea Cooperation Fund) project was officially launched on the occasion of the XV World Forestry Congress (WFC). The event was participated by AFoCO Secretariat, Non-Timber Products-Exchange Programme Asia (NTFP-EP), and CLMV Countries (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Viet Nam). The project implementing agencies are AFoCO and the NTFP-EP, and the participating countries for technical assessment are Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. In preparation for the project launch, AFoCO convened a series of virtual meetings with participating countries and NTFP-EP to prepare for the project’s inception. AFoCO also conducted site visits to participating countries to assess the proposed sites for forest fire monitoring centers and rehabilitation areas in the CLMV countries from January through April.
The launching ceremony marks the beginning of a regional initiative on the capacity building of ASEAN countries on the integrated management of forest fires for the conservation of natural resources, enhancement of local livelihood, and promotion of micro, small, and medium enterprises.
The project will aim to strengthen the institutional and technical capacities for the integrated management of forest fires through training programs and public awareness-raising activities. Participating organizations will be involved in the planning and implementation of regional activities based on consultations with experts and local communities. Training programs targeting government officers, researchers, experts in forestry and related fields, and local communities in CLMV countries, will be organized. In addition, capacity-building programs, such as regional workshops and/or training courses, will be arranged for invited officials from the ASEAN Member States. Lastly, an annual project management committee meeting will be organized for relevant stakeholders, including participating organizations, NTFP-EP, representatives from local governments, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the ASEAN Working Group on Social Forestry.
