On 3 April 2024, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project titled: Establishment of ASEAN-Korea Garden in Lao PDR (AFoCO/043/2024) was signed between the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) and the Department of Forestry (DoF), Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery (MAF) of Lao PDR in Vientiane Capital.
The project aims to promote forest and biodiversity conservation for a healthy human wellbeing by establishing a garden within the government complex of Vientiane. The project will work towards increasing public awareness on forest biodiversity conservation, and developing a tourist market linkage and a sustainble financing plan for the ASEAN-Korea garden in the long run.
During the MoU signing ceremony, both sides exchanged congratulatory remarks, emphasizing the importance of the garden as a starting point in enhancing forest education and raising public awareness as well as increasing the wellbeing of the people of Lao through a green space available in the capital city. The MoU signing was also followed by the Project Inception Meeting (PIM) for the relevant stakeholders and staffs to review and approve the multi-year work and budget plan of the project.
The project will begin with the development of the master plan/design of the garden, in close cooperation with the Korean landscape architect experts from Yeoleum, where two experts have already conducted the first preliminary site survey prior to the conduct of the PIM. Hence, during the PIM, the meeting discussed tehnical matters such as the entrance of the garden, the depth of the water during rainy season, the list of tree species that needs to be conserved and promoted at the same time within the garden, and any other details of the landscape and environment that the experts should consider when developing the design of the garden.
