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Engagement in the Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation Symposium

The Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation Symposium, held on the 21st of June in Central Seoul, gave the HSF great insights into cooperation among the DPRK and South Korea in regard to forest restoration and bridging the ecological gap between North and South Korea.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation is delighted to have participated in the Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation Symposium. Our three interns, Mael Testud-Couedic, Marcel Thiel, and Magdalena Winkler accompanied Dr. Hyun-Ah Choi to the Symposium that offered a variety of different speakers and a discussion panel on the management and growth of inter-Korean ecological projects, in which Dr. Hyun-Ah Choi participated.

 

The keynote speaker, Mr. Colin Crooks, former British Ambassador to the DPRK and current Ambassador to the RoK, held an insightful presentation about his work in the DPRK in perfect Korean. In his speech, he explained that a lack of trees in the DPRK can make citizens more susceptible to floods and food crises, alongside the fact that the DPRK does not have the means to cope with extreme weather changes attributable to climate change. Flood prevention measures, green infrastructure, and “eco-friendly actions that put life first” were only some of the solutions he suggested as he urged the DPRK to open their borders with the aim of improving North Korea’s humanitarian situation.

 

Following his speech, the first session contained individual presentations by FAO’s Mr. Shengyao Tao and other notable speakers such as Baeg Seong-ho, Yoo Young-Baek, Park Jong-Chul, and Chung Ho-Young. Topics such as exchange cooperation between North Korea and China were addressed, and how this impacts the future of forestry cooperation between North and South Korea. Other points of dialogue included UN sanctions, changing Asia dynamics, and natural forms of pest control across the border. The symposium ended with a discussion panel.

 

The primary goal of the Inter-Korean Forest Cooperation Symposium was to take initiative into an eco-friendly way of unifying the two Koreas, whilst promoting and raising awareness about problems regarding deforestation and lack of sustainable or green infrastructure. We hope that the Korea Forest Service’s next symposium can let us engage in just as many thoughtful discussions.

 

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