The Korea Forest Service has started a tropical forest preservation project in Cambodia.

The Korean forest administration body held a briefing session to begin its "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries PLUS" (REDD+) project in Kampong Thom Province in the central region of the Southeast Asian country on April 29. Representatives from both Korea and Cambodia, including Chheng Kimsun, director of Cambodia's Forestry Administration, and Park Eun-sik, acting director general of the International Affairs Bureau at the Korea Forest Service, attended the event. They said they would cooperate on various preservation projects, restore damaged forests on 80,000 hectares of land and protect water resources.

"The REDD+ project is expected to help Korea strengthen its capabilities in securing overseas forest resources and in improving the lives of Cambodians, creating mutual benefits for both nations," said Park.



The REDD+ project is an international effort to preserve tropical forests which absorb greenhouse gases using developed nations' financial resources, considering the fact that deforestation in the tropics can be associated with an increase in greenhouse gases. The project was initiated as a result of the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2005 in order to prevent deforestation in tropical countries.

The Korea Forest Service first started the REDD+ project in the Kampar region on Sumatra Island in Indonesia in 2012. It later began this similar project in Cambodia. To restore the forest, the forest service is tapping its reforestation experience and its experience with the New Community Movement, the Saemaul Undong, a set of agricultural development policies in Korea from the 1970s and 1980s.



By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of the Korea Forest Service
jun2@korea.kr