Korea-Central America, Strengthening Climate Change and Forest Restoration Response through 'Forest Cooperation'

Park Eun-sik, International Forest Cooperation Officer at the Korea Forest Service, is introducing the achievements of his visit to Central American countries on the 9th at the Government Complex Daejeon. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Forest cooperation between South Korea and Central American countries is being strengthened. The focus of forest cooperation is on responding to climate change and forest restoration.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 9th that at the end of last month, it dispatched a delegation to the northern Central American region (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) and the South American region (Peru) to lay the foundation for strengthening forest cooperation with Central American countries.

The delegation was divided into a business trip team led by Korea Forest Service Commissioner Choi Byung-am (January 20?28, Peru and Honduras) and a preliminary feasibility study team for Official Development Assistance (ODA) (January 18?28, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras), each visiting Central American countries.

The achievements gained through the delegation’s visit to Central American countries include ▲ signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on forest cooperation with El Salvador and Guatemala ▲ consultations on promoting ODA projects for three northern Central American countries including Honduras ▲ discussions on utilizing the trust fund of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) ▲ strengthening Korea-Peru cooperation for climate change response and Amazon restoration ▲ encouraging participation in the 15th World Forestry Congress (WFC).

First, following the signing of an MOU on forest cooperation with Honduras during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties held in November last year, the recent delegation visits resulted in signing MOUs with El Salvador (January 18) and Guatemala (January 21), thereby establishing a stable foundation for promoting ODA projects in the three Central American countries.

These countries belong to the “dry corridor” and suffer from severe droughts, heavy rains, floods, and forest fires caused by climate change.

In this regard, the Korea Forest Service and the respective countries plan to share awareness of the importance of forest restoration and sustainable forest management in places like Honduras and mutually cooperate in promoting ODA projects.

The delegation (study team) visited all three northern Central American countries to conduct on-site inspections of planned project locations and carry out preliminary feasibility studies. In particular, they assessed the current status of regions vulnerable to climate change and conducted interviews with local residents and officials.

During the visit, Commissioner Choi Byung-am met with Dante Mossi, President of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), on the 25th, emphasizing the importance of developing forest sector projects in Central American countries and requesting interest and support.

Additionally, on the 21st, the delegation visited the Peru Forest Service and signed a Korea-Peru Forest Cooperation MOU to promote cooperation projects such as climate change response and Amazon restoration. Including Peru, the Korea Forest Service has established bilateral cooperation relationships with 37 countries worldwide to date.

During the Central America visit, Commissioner Choi requested the forest commissioners of Peru and Honduras to participate and present at the ministerial forum of the 15th World Forestry Congress. Both commissioners responded that they would “positively consider” the request. The World Forestry Congress is scheduled to be held at COEX, Seoul, from May 2 to 6 this year.

Meanwhile, the delegation’s visit was promoted as a follow-up measure to the Korea-US summit held in May last year. At that time, President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden pledged in the joint summit statement that “Korea will increase its financial contribution for development cooperation with the northern Central American triangle countries to $220 million from 2021 to 2024” and “expand green cooperation with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.