Roundtable
Suggestions for Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation

This event, which was held at the Paju Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation Center, held to find ways to cooperate between South and North Korea, began with a brief self-introduction by participants. Afterward, Park Kwang-Seo, Korea Forest Service Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation team, shared the progress of inter-Korean forest cooperation and their projects. Dr. Choi Hyun-Ah, a senior researcher at HSF Korea, conduct the meeting.  Five speakers from the Forest Management Strategic Institute, National Institute of Forest Science, and Gyeonggi Province Peace Cooperation Bureau, and HSF Korea office reviewed the outcome of Kim Jong-un’s Forest restoration policy and shared ways to modernizing the nursery and the forest management system in North Korea. In particular, Cho Young-Chul, an official of Gyeonggi Province Peace and Cooperation Bureau, shared the results of inter-Korean forest cooperation in Gyeonggi Province and shared their experience to get exemption from sanctions against North Korea. Finally, Dr. Bernhard Seliger, the representative of HSF Korea, explained the possibility of online exchanges with North Korea based on the experience of hosting an online seminar with North Korean Forest experts on last August 5 and the EU project in 2018

After presentations, the discussions from the floor continued. Each participant, as an expert in inter-Korean forest cooperation, shared opinions on the possibility and method of forest cooperation in North Korea at this time of COVID 19 pandemic and climate crises. The next day, on the 20th, a small group of participants gathered at the HSF Korea office to discuss ways to validate the accuracy of analyzing forest areas utilizing satellite imagery. Through this roundtable event, participants were able to resolve their curiosity about each other’s fields and once again strengthen their commitment to inter-Korean forest cooperation.