Ahead of next month's 2019 Korea-ASEAN Special Summit, high level officials of South Korea and ASEAN member states gathered earlier today to promote cooperation in forestry.
Our Hong Yoo reports.
Prosperity and Peace is what the ministers have gathered to achieve through forest cooperation.
Forest ministers from all 10 ASEAN member states and South Korea got together in Seoul on Thursday to share the progress made through cooperative projects.
"Many forests in ASEAN countries are getting destroyed by farming, urban development, and wildfires.
South Korea is a country that is widely known for its success on reviving devastated forests.
We want to share that experience and work together in fighting against deforestation."
Under the slogan "Our Forests for Prosperity and Peace", both sides emphasized the need to improve forest management in border areas where it is not always obvious who is responsible.
They agreed to come up with effective measures on transnational cooperation in sustainable forest and land management including wildfire management.
Such forest management projects can also result in job creation and eco-tourism.
Ministers and high-level officials in forestry agreed to promote the various cooperative activities in forestry with the active participation of stakeholders.
And some business arrangements were shared during the meeting.
"We received two projects. First one is the Integrated Pest and Disease Management in Teak Plantations in Bago Yoma Region of Myanmar. Second one is the Establishment of Model Forest through Livelihood Improvement of Forest-dependent Communities.
So these two projects are very important for us because they are designed to contribute to the SDGs and other international commitments."
South Korea and ASEAN plan to continue their green journey together toward prosperity and peace.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.