Korea-Bhutan Expand Cooperation on Climate Change Response and Carbon Absorption

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 12th that Lim Sang-seop, head of the Korea Forest Service, met with Gem Tshering, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Bhutan, at the National Institute of Forest Science to discuss ways for the two countries to cooperate in responding to the climate change crisis and expanding carbon absorption.

Bhutan is a forested country located on the southern foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, with forests covering 70% of its territory. Recently, due to increased greenhouse gas emissions and rising average temperatures, glaciers in the Himalayas are melting, increasing the risk of forest disasters.

Lim Sang-seop, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service (right), and Gem Tshering, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Bhutan, are meeting on the 12th at the National Institute of Forest Science to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the forestry sector between the two countries. Photo by Korea Forest Service

In response, the Korea Forest Service signed a memorandum of understanding on international forest cooperation with Bhutan in 2022, establishing a mutual cooperation framework to strengthen climate change response and sustainable forest management.

By last year, five village forests and village enterprises based on forest products and four forest watershed villages with a total afforestation area of 10.6 hectares had been completed.

The Korea Forest Service also set a forest restoration plan covering 179 hectares (equivalent to 250 soccer fields) in six local areas in Bhutan by 2030. This is being promoted through the international cooperation project called the “Vulnerable Forest Ecosystem Restoration (SAFE) Initiative,” aimed at restoring forest ecosystems weakened by climate change and natural disasters.

Gem Tshering, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Bhutan, said, “We hope that the two countries will strengthen various technical cooperation and knowledge sharing in forest protection and restoration, as well as forest disaster response, to address climate change.”

Lim Sang-seop, head of the Korea Forest Service, responded, “Based on Korea’s successful experience in national land greening, the Korea Forest Service will actively share advanced forest management technologies with Bhutan to contribute to solving international environmental issues.”

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