Press release: Conference on ASEAN Economic Community and Its Inter-relationships with Community Livelihoods and Environment Conservation

June 1, 2015- Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar. The Union Minister of Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MOECAF)of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar H.E. U Win Tun will formally open the Conference on “ASEAN Economic Community and Its Inter-relationships with Community Livelihoods and Environment Conservation”in Inle Lake, Shan State, Myanmar on June 2.

Deputy Minister of MOECAF H.E. U Aye Myint Maung,the Chief Minister of Shan State H.E.U Sao Aung Myat, Director General of the Forest Department of the MOECAF Dr.Nyi Nyi Kyaw, Senior Advisor for Global Programme Climate Change (GPCC) Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Dr. Jurgen Blaser, Delegates from the ASEAN Member States (AMS), the Key Partners of ASFN, the ASFN Secretariat and ASEAN Secretariat also attend the Conference.

More than 200 Participants from ASEAN Countries including representatives from Government, Civil Society Organizations, Donor and Development Agencies, Private Sector and Academic/Research Institutions will attend the Conference.

Organized by the ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) and Partners, the three-day Conference which starts on June 1 aims to: (1) share lessons and experiences on social forestry particularly with respect to climate change, community livelihoods, and sustainable forest management;(2) promote social forestry policy and practices in forest conservation within broader landscape management; and (3) strengthen dialogue and facilitate concerted action among the AMS, civil society, private sector, academia and other stakeholders to enhance the roles and contributions of social forestry in addressing climate change, food security and in promoting a green and inclusive ASEAN Economic Community.

The first day of the Conference will showcase community forestry in Myanmar through Field Visits to areas in and around Inle Lake and Nyaung Shwe Township. Conference Participants will be provided the opportunity for exchanging ideas and experiences and crafting recommended priority actions for ASFN during their particpation in the Conference that has been designed in three Plenary Sessions, three Parallel Sessions, and also Break-out Group Discussion Sessions.The topics to be discussed in the Conference Sessions are:
Plenary Session 1: “ASEAN Economic Community and Social Forestry: Readiness and Potential Impacts and Opportunities”
Plenary Session 2: “Multifunctional Landscape Mosaic and the Promise of Social Forestry”
Plenary Session 3: “Ensuring Fair Benefits from Forest and Land Use and Incentive for Sustainable Practices”
Parallel Session 1: “Safeguards and Forest related Investment”
Parallel Session 2: “Community Based Livelihood and Conservation in Forest Landscape”
Parallel Session 3: “Management and Governance of Dynamic Forest Landscape”.

After the Conference, the Delegates from the ASEAN Member States will gather for the 9th ASFN Annual Meeting on June 4-5. The main agenda of Annual Meeting is to discuss 5-year Action Plan for ASFN for 2016-2020 & Priority Areas for 2016-2025 for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (FAF).

For more information regarding ASFN and ASFCC, please contact Ms Alfi Syakila, Communication and Knowledge Management Officer of ASFN Secretariat. Email: alfi.syakila@asfnsec.org

Notes for editors:

The ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) was established in 2005 to promote social forestry policy and practices in the region. ASFN aims to contribute to the goal of achieving food security and addressing climate change through sustainable, efficient and effective use of land, forest, water, and aquatic resources, byminimizing the risks and impacts of climate change. It has been contributing to the implementation of the ASEAN Multisectoral Framework on Climate Change: Agriculture and Forestry towards Food Security (AFCC), the Strategic Plan of Actions of the ASEAN Cooperation in Forestry, and the ASEAN Blueprints for ASEAN Community Building, particularly for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).

The ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry and Climate Change (ASFCC) is a Partnership Programme that aims to contribute to the ASEAN Mandate and Policy Framework through support for the ASFN and the ASEAN Multisectoral Framework on Climate Change towards Food Security (AFCC). With the support from the Swiss Government through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the ASFCC addresses interlinked issues of food security, poverty and climate change particularly in forested landscapes in Southeast Asia through Cooperation and Partnership Programmer activities with the ASEAN Member States (AMS)

The ASFCC Partners are: Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme Asia (NTFP EP), The Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC), the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).