<기사제목> Korea Forest Service and Korea Forestry Promotion Institute Support Local Forest Restoration in Guatemala

The Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute are supporting forest restoration in Guatemala.

On the 27th (local time), the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute held the "Korea-Guatemala Official Development Assistance (ODA) Project Launch Ceremony" in Guatemala City, the 28th announced.

On the 27th (local time), the 'Korea-Guatemala ODA Project Launch Ceremony' was held in Guatemala. Ambassador Kim Deuk-hwan to Guatemala introduced Korea's successful case of national land greening at the launch ceremony. Photo by Korea Forest Service

ODA refers to aid activities provided by donor countries with public interest purposes, offering financial resources to promote economic development or welfare improvement in developing countries.

Earlier, on the 14th, the Korea Forest Service, the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute, and the Guatemala Forest Service discussed specific project details and implementation plans to ecologically restore damaged forests in Guatemala and effectively respond to forest disasters such as wildfires and pests.

The subsequent launch ceremony was held to officially announce the start of the forest cooperation project between the two countries based on the discussions so far and to strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two nations.

Following the launch ceremony, the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute will promote afforestation and management for forest landscape restoration, restoration of wildfire and pest-damaged areas, establishment of nurseries for forest restoration, and consulting for the establishment of a forest education center in Guatemala until 2027.

The forest area in Guatemala is 3.53 million hectares, accounting for 33% of the entire national territory. In particular, the forests in Guatemala Department, Jalapa Department, and Jutiapa Department are regions with high value to be preserved as a livelihood means for indigenous communities and as forest resources.

However, in Guatemala, 20,000 hectares of forest are damaged annually due to forest land conversion, and problems such as desertification caused by wildfires and droughts are progressing, making sustainable management urgent.

Accordingly, through the ODA project, the Korea Forest Service plans to transfer Korea's forest restoration technology to Guatemala in cooperation with the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute and support forest restoration equipment such as seedling planters, wildfire suppression vehicles, and pest control equipment.

Nam Song-hee, International Forest Cooperation Officer of the Korea Forest Service, said, "We hope that Korea's globally recognized successful experience in forest greening will have a positive influence on the development of Guatemala's forest policies," and added, "The Korea Forest Service will continue to discover and promote ODA projects targeting Central American regions including Guatemala to take the lead in responding to the global climate crisis."

Meanwhile, the Korea Forest Service signed bilateral forest cooperation agreements with countries including Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala in 2021. Among them, Honduras and El Salvador started forest restoration projects last year, strengthening forest management capabilities such as restoring damaged forest areas and creating forests to prevent wildfire spread, and are currently conducting cooperative projects.

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