2nd Training in China – International Cooperation and Forestry in Northeast Asia
The training supported the North Korean forestry sector by introducing its representatives to best practice examples in China.
North Korea, once being covered extensively by forests, experiences a continuous decrease in forested areas beyond the natural regeneration rate. Between 1990 and 2015, almost 40 percent of the country´s forest area disappeared. The reasons for the dramatic development of the forest sector in North Korea were, besides the lack of food and energy, the lack of awareness in politics and administration for the significance of healthy forests. In recent years, a forestry campaign was announced and efforts have been taken to improve the situation. Since 2014, the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea carries out the project “Improvement of rural living conditions through healthy forests”, which is funded by the European Union. One of the objectives is to eliminate persistent technical and organizational deficiencies.
In order to achieve progress and to strengthen the North Korean forestry sector, HSF Korea conducts trainings in Mongolia and China for forestry experts from North Korea within the framework of the EU-funded project. After two trainings in Mongolia and one training in China, the final training was conducted in May 2017. A delegation with members of the Forest Management Research Institute (FMRI) and the Ministry of Land and Environment Protection (MoLEP) visited China for a training on comparative perspectives for afforestation.
Meetings with universities and organizations active in the field of forestry were held in Beijing. These meetings were held to provide an overview of reforestation efforts in the past, challenges and current efforts regarding nature conservation and rehabilitation in China. The meetings also served to strengthen institutional cooperation in the field of forestry.
During a meeting with John D. Liu and Kosima Weber Liu of the Environmental Education Media Project (EEMP) the experience and long term potential of integrated Landscape Restoration was further explored and deepened with the participants. A field visit to the Miyun Reservoir, one of the main drinking water sources for the capital city of Beijing was organized to show a successful process of national and international cooperation in long-term landscape restoration.
In the city of Yanji, the prefectural seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, which is located at the border to North Korea and Russia, the Yanbian University hosted the delegation. A one-day workshop introduced different topics of major importance in the region and related to forestry to the delegation, such as transboundary nature cooperation, the status of the ecosystem, land use and forest cover in Yanbian Prefecture. The delegation was also able to visit the different departments of the university. Subsequent field visits lead to forest tree nurseries near Yanji, where the forestry experts received an insight in seed and seedling production. Another field visit introduced the ecosystem of the Golden Triangle, the area directly located in-between the border with Russia and North Korea.
The training supported the North Korean forestry sector by introducing its representatives to best practice examples in China. Through the insights into the forestry sector in China, and in particular into institutions located near the Sino-Korean border, they were able to extend their knowledge and perspective about forestry in similar conditions. Additionally, through meetings with scientific institutions, the participants of the delegation were able to extend their network of contacts and to strengthen the internationalization of the North Korean forest sector.
You can read more about the activities of HSF Korea to support sustainable reforestation in North Korea and international cooperation for the benefit of people and nature on our website.