Taiwan signs on to APEC sustainable forestry statement

2017/11/06

Taiwan and 17 other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies jointly issued the Seoul Statement during the 4th APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry, which took place Oct. 30-31 in the South Korean capital.
 
 The Seoul Statement outlines eight aspirations including increasing forest cover by at least 20 million hectares by 2020 in the Asia-Pacific region; combating illegal logging by establishing and implementing effective policies; promoting trade in legally harvested forest products and revitalizing forest-dependent communities.
 
 Forestry Bureau Director-General Lin Hwa-ching, who headed the Taiwan delegation, said the Republic of China (Taiwan) government is committed to the restoration, protection and sustainable management of the nation’s forests.
 
 Lin, in his capacity as head of the Forestry Bureau under the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture, delivered two speeches during the meeting, highlighting Taiwan’s efforts in increasing forest coverage and plans for the future of the nation’s forestry industry.
 
 In his first report, Lin revealed that Taiwan had a total 2.197 million hectares of forests in 2015. This equates to nearly 61 percent of the island’s total land area and represents an increase of some 80,000 hectares over the past two decades.
 
 The director-general said Taiwan is continuing afforestation efforts along the nation’s coastlines as well as in areas prone to landslides, both of which face increasing threats from the effects of climate change. Afforestation involves introducing trees to areas not previously home to forests.
 
 Lin also discussed the Green Network Establishment Project for National Ecology Protection, an initiative scheduled to get underway in 2018. The program comprises efforts to foster the growth of new forests that will link high-elevation and coastal ecosystems, he said.
 
 In his second report, Lin announced that Taiwan has set objectives of guaranteeing zero forest loss as well as promoting sustainable forest management in line with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. He also outlined initiatives such as establishing economic policies to support village livelihoods and developing the forestry industry, including ecotourism, in local townships.
 
 During the conference, Lin also took part in discussions with counterparts from Australia, Japan, South Korea and the U.S., aiming to boost collaboration and exchanges in areas spanning endangered species conservation; illegal logging and the timber trade; national forest resources inventory and data compilation; as well as timber legality verification systems.
 
 The first biennial APEC forestry ministerial meeting was held in 2011 in Beijing, with subsequent editions staged in Cusco, Peru and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=6&post=124344)