The Philippines is hosting the three-day 10th Asean Social Forestry Network (ASFN) in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Ricardo L. Calderon, director of the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau (FMB), said the country’s hosting of this year’s ASFN meeting is part of an agreement among Asean members. The meeting kicked off on Tuesday.
“The Philippines was accorded the honor to host and chair this year’s ASFN meeting by Myanmar during the Ninth ASFN meeting held last year in Inle Lake, Shah State,” Calderon said in a statement.
Calderon added that ASFN is a government-driven social-forestry network in Southeast Asia with the main goal of strengthening Asean cooperation in social forestry through the sharing of information and knowledge.
He also said ASFN links government forestry policy-makers directly with network members from civil society, research organizations, academe, private sectors and experts of related fields.
“ASFN supports the development of the Asean community,” Calderon said.
Expected to attend the 10th Annual ASFN meeting are delegates from 10 Asean member-states, including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam to be headed by their respective Asean Senior Officials on Forestry (Asof)/ASFN leaders and focal points.
Representative of the implementing partners of ASFN, such as the Centre for People and Forests, Center for International Forestry Research, Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Program, World Agroforestry Center and the Southeast Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture are joining the meeting.
The agenda of the meeting include discussions on Asean cooperation in forestry, promoting policy and practice of social forestry, including reports by Asean member-states and implementing partners and development of strategic plan of action of ASFN to support Asean and global objectives.
The establishment of ASFN was endorsed by the Asof during their eighth Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in August 2005.