Third Regional Forum for People and Forests
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The Centre for People and Forests is conducting the "Third Regional Forum for People and Forests" today at the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel in Bangkok.
In the Asia-Pacific, unprecedented growth is having massive impacts on forests and local people. Demand for forest products and services is increasing. Conversion of natural forestlands for new commercial purposes, such as oil palm and rubber plantations, and mining and hydropower projects, persists – often through clear-cutting and burning that releases millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.
Meanwhile, more than 450 million people in Asia-Pacific continue to rely on their nearby forest resources for a wide array of livelihood products and services.
More than 100 representatives of governments, civil-society organisations, local communities, non-governmental organisations, academia, and international bodies from countries around the region are coming together in Bangkok to develop Joint Community Forestry Country Action Plans.
The action plans will seek to prioritise increasing forest area under community management; strengthen the active control of communities over their forests; and ensure that institutions are able to effectively implement community-forest laws in their country.
The Third Regional Forum for People and Forests is a joint event in collaboration with Thailand’s Royal Forest Department, RECOFTC – The Centre for People and Forests, the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation, the Asean Social Forestry Network, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
