ASEAN-Republic of Korea Cooperation on Forestry [Asian Forest Cooperation (AFoCo)]

7th Governing Council Meeting, 26 November 2015 (Photo source: AFoCo website)

The ASEAN-RoK Forest Cooperation (AFoCo) is a regional cooperation mechanism in the forest sector between ASEAN Member States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) which was initiated as the first step taken following ROK’s proposal for the establishment of the Asia Forest Cooperation (AFoCo). It was formalized by the “Agreement between the Governments of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Republic of Korea on Forest Cooperation” which entered into force on 5 August 2012 in which only six ASEAN member countries plus ROK were eligible to participate as full members. It aims to promote rehabilitation of degraded lands, promote sustainable forest management, and combat desertification. It also provides a platform for the AFoCo to broaden the scope to other Asian Countries. The AFoCO Agreement initially had a two-year term until 4 August 2014.

In March 2013, all eleven (11) ASEAN member countries were able to join fully in implementation activities. On 5 August 2014, the Instrument of Extension of the AFoCo Agreement entered into force. The AFoCo Agreement extended for 2 years until 4 August 2016 to support the implementation of on-going regional projects.

The Governing Council, represented by a senior official on forestry from each party, is the decision-making, coordinating, and implementing body of AFoCo. The Secretariat, based in Seoul, South Korea, assists the Governing Council in the implementation, coordination, monitoring and reporting of activities under AFoCo.