Report of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) and the Fourth Asia-Pacific Forestry Week (APFW 2019)

Abstract

The Twenty-eighth session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission (APFC) was held from 17 to 21 June 2019 in Incheon, Republic of Korea. The main theme of the session was “Forests for peace and well-being”. It was attended by approximately 200 participants, including delegates from four United Nations (UN) organizations, 22 member countries and 22 regional and international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. The Commission was convened as the core event of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week 2019, which attracted more than 2000 participants and included 100 events organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and partner organizations. APFC recognized the important contributions forests can make to peace-building and people’s well-being. It highlighted the need for governments, key stakeholders and FAO to continue to advance work in a number of areas, including regional and national capacity-building on conflict management and dispute resolution; forest and landscape restoration; community forests, trade and markets; impacts of technological advances on forests and forestry; biodiversity; supporting the implementation of key recommendations coming from the Third Asia-Pacific Forest Sector Outlook Study (APFSOS III); and forests and climate change. The outcomes of the deliberation are summarized in this information note.