The 2023 Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) Science and Technology Exchange Partnership (STEP) Program in collaboration with the Baekdudaegan National Arboretum (BDNA) titled “The Role of Arboretums in the Conservation of Forest Plant Biodiversity” was conducted on August 28-September 22, 2023 in the Republic of Korea. This was attended by four participants from AFoCO Member Parties – Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Philippines, and Timor Leste.
The said Training Program aims to share comprehensive knowledge, skills, and experiences for plant conservation and to strengthen global partnership and forest cooperation by improving the capability of the trainees by providing lectures and hands-on experiences related to forest biodiversity and R&D operation for arboreta and gardens. The training covers different topics such as establishment and operation of arboretum and gardens, classification of forest flora, seed and voucher specimen collection and management, seed viability test and propagation, tissue culture and other vegetative propagation methods, forest fire prevention, plant history and record management, and biodiversity conservation strategies as well as forest bio R&D commercialization and Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault (BGSV).
The different topics discussed and hands-on experiences are very significant since those will improve the abilities and skills of the trainees for more effective and efficient provision of technical assistance and services in terms of forest protection and biodiversity conservation. Likewise, the learning on forest fire prevention and suppression, and plant history and record management are also significant in terms of the protection, conservation, and maintenance of forests and plantations as well as the information and data management, respectively.
The STEP Trainees during the Hands-on Training on Seed Technology and Viability Test
The Hands-on Training on Macro-propagation Techniques
The 2023 AFoCO-BDNA STEP Education Training Program is indeed a very fruitful and successful technical endeavour. The sharing of comprehensive knowledge, skills, experiences, and expertise for plant conservation and to strengthen global partnership and forest cooperation among Asian countries is very timely, especially today that we are facing problems and threats on our forests and natural resources.
