News
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At their 31st Meeting on 10 November 2010 in Brunei Darussalam, the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) endorsed the ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Framework on Climate Change: Agriculture and Forestry Towards Food Security (AFCC). The goal of the AFCC is to contribute to food security through sustainable, efficient and effective use of land, forest, water and acquatic resources by minimizing the risks and impacts of and the contributions to climate change.
Forest policy including REDD and REDD+ is a main area under the AFCC. Forest monitoring is crucial to ensure that effective measures are identified and to sustain public support for payments under the REDD scheme. The Forest Monitoring for Action (FORMA) initiative of the Center for Global Development (CGD) might be of interest to ASEAN in this regard.
FORMA is designed to facilitate forest conservation by identifying where - and when - deforestation has occurred on a monthly basis. It can, thus , be used as a deforestation alarm system. This information makes it easier to know where to intervene to stop the spread of deforestation, and is intended to complement national forest monitoring programs and local forest conservation efforts. The first phase of the FORMA system shows the spread of deforestation in Indonesia from 2000 to October 2009, producing monthly time-lapse images from December 2005 to October 2009. In future phases, FORMA will be extended to other tropical forest countries.
For more information, see:
http://www.cgdev.org/section/initiatives/_active/forestmonitoringforactionforma
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An integrated framework which will facilitate ASEAN in responding to the global threat of climate change and food security is now ready for endorsement.
The ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Framework on Climate Change: Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry towards Food Security (AFCC) was finalised by the representatives of the Senior Officials Meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) at a workshop held from 10 to 11 September 2009. It will be submitted to the 31st Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in Brunei Darussalam in November 200
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The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) and RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests on 12 August 2009 shows a strong commitment of the two organizations to continue to work jointly to support social forestry development in Southeast Asia region.
2. Both ASFN and RECOFTC recognize that actively engaging local people in forest management is a vital ingredient for achieving sustainable forest management and reducing the number of poor people. Despite the increased attention to social/community forestry in ASEAN Member Countries, translating policies into real changes that make a significant contribution to people and forests alike continues to be a major challenge. Furthermore, the progress that has been made thus far is being affected, largely negatively, by new developments such as climate change, surging prices for food items and energy, the agro-fuel revolution, the collapse of international financial markets and impending water scarcity. By working together both ASFN and RECOFTC are in a strategic position to make real changes by addressing current and anticipated challenges systematically. Through this partnership ASFN and RECOFTC will promote policy and practices through an established information and communications system in strengthening the ASEAN Cooperation in Social Forestry.
3. The signing ceremony is done by Mr. Billy Hindra, the Chairperson of the ASFN Secretariat and Dr. Yam Malla, Executive Director of RECOFTC in Jakarta at the Ministry of Forestry Office, witnessed by the Secretary-General of MOFRI. Officials from the Center for International Cooperation and Center for Information and Statistics of MOFRI, the ASEAN Secretariat, ASFN Secretariat Officers and RECOFTC’s delegate also participated the ceremony.
4. Although the signing ceremony takes place today, the collaboration between ASFN and RECOFTC dates back to March 2005, during which RECOFTC supported the ASEAN Workshop on Social Forestry held in Madiun – East Java, Indonesia. Since then, RECOFTC had consistently provided supports such as in the First through the Third Meetings of ASFN held in Semarang-Central Java, Indonesia in April 2007, in Bangkok in August 2008, and in Subic, The Philippines in June 2009, respectively.
5. The Side Event held prior to the 3rd ASFN Meeting on 10 June 2009 in Subic on ‘Promoting Social Forestry Roles in Addressing Climate Change’ under the ASFN Partnership with SDC in Collaboration with RECOFTC had particularly marked strengthened collaboration between ASFN and RECOFTC. The signing of the MOU with broad scope of collaboration ranging from capacity building, public awareness raising, and knowledge management to promote social forestry in Southeast Asia, is a follow-up of the decision from the 3rd ASFN Meeting held on 11 – 13 June 2009 in Subic for the MOU to be signed, which was also reported to the 12th ASOF Meeting held on 25 – 27 June 2009 in Nay Pyi Thaw, Myanmar.
6. Founded on 8 August 1967, the Association of outheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The establishment of the ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) was deliberated during the ASEAN Workshop on Social Forestry held from 28 to 30 March 2005 in Madiun, Indonesia and endorsed during the Eighth Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Forestry (ASOF) in August 2005 in Cambodia.. ASFN is the first inter-governmental social forestry network in Southeast Asia. The main goal of ASFN is to promote policy and practices through an established information and communications system in strengthening the ASEAN cooperation in Social Forestry. ASFN’s role is to exchange experiences and share knowledge through various means to targeted audiences. Ultimate beneficiaries of its efforts are poor people living in and around forests by enhancing their involvement in sustainable forest management. For more information, visit http://www.asfnsec.org
7. RECOFTC holds a unique and important place in the world of forestry. It is the only international not-for-profit organization that specializes in capacity building for community forestry and devolved forest management. RECOFTC engages in strategic networks and effective partnerships with governments, nongovernment organizations, civil society, the private sector, local people, and research and educational institutes throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. With over 20 years of international experience and a dynamic approach to capacity building—involving research and analysis, demonstration sites, and training products—RECOFTC delivers innovative solutions
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Pattaya, Thailand, 14 April 2009. The ASEAN-Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) conference concluded on 12 April 2009 with strong commitments by Asian governments and international partners to coordinate enforcement efforts in a concerted effort to halt wildlife crime and habitat depletion.
The conference, “A Forgotten Crisis: Arresting Wildlife Depletion in Asia through Strengthened Regional Cooperation and Effective Partnerships” was held from 10 to 12 April 2009 in Pattaya, Thailand. Participants included government delegates, experts and representatives from 21 Asian countries including seven ASEAN Member States, 12 inter-governmental organisations and 29 non-governmental organisations.
At the conference, participants also made a call to action, with agreement on a new wildlife Manifesto, “Combating Wildlife Crime in Asia.”
The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, gave his full support to this effort of protecting wildlife and preserving invaluable biodiversity in the region. He commended the World Bank for its strong support to ASEAN-WEN to prevent and combat against the threat to the wildlife of ASEAN and Asia.
The conference was hosted by the Government of Thailand, and sponsored by the World Bank, ASEAN-WEN, the Save the Tiger Fund, TRAFFIC, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the FREELAND Foun
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Borneo Buletin, Wednesday 8 April 2009
By Edwin Eng & Azim Ghani
The Forestry Department yesterday held a Technical Discussion Session on Asean Criteria and Indicators for Legality of Timber and Chain of Custody Guidelines for Legal Timber and Sustainable Timber at the Kiulap Plaza Hotel.
The objective was to discuss and finalise the Asean Criteria and Indicators for Legality of Timber to be considered in the 8th Meeting of the working group on a Pan Asean Timber Certification Initiative and the Chain of Custody Guidelines for (i) Legal Timber and (ii) Sustainable Timber. -
Based on the kind and helpful feedback from many CHM users, the ASEAN Forest CHM has been refined. Beside the new look there are several new tools available, e.g. the 'watch this document' button in the Document Center or the 'watch this discussion' button in the Discussion Forum, which enables you to keep yourself updated on all developments on a particular issue.
