The XV World Forestry Congress featured a side event to highlight the strong collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Korea Forest Service (KFS), in the implementation of the Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM). The FLRM was established in 2014 with the intention of creating an agency that would play a leading role in forest and landscape restoration (FLR) at the national, regional and global levels. To initiate the session, Christophe Besacier, Team Leader and Senior Forestry Officer at FLRM, FAO, provided a brief overview of the group and how it functions.  

At this session, six countries that benefited from FLRM support were given the opportunity to present how KFS funding assisted them to scale up restoration efforts on the ground.  

In Lebanon, as presented by Chadi Mohanna, Directorate at the Ministry of Agriculture, a balance between restoring ecosystem services and maintaining productive land functions for agriculture, was achieved during the first phase of the project in the Kadisha Valley, the Shouf Biosphere Reserve and in El Mhaidthe. Such advancements were also met with a positive update to the Lebanese Forest Code, which will further aid restoration projects in the country. Phase two of the project will entail FLR programmes that work to achieve the Paris Agreement, and the Bonn Challenge’s national and regional initiatives.  

Cambodia, presented by Sophyra Sar, Forestry Specialist at FAO Cambodia, initially focused on improving the enabling environment and resource mobilization for sustainable financing of FLR. In 2020 innovative models were piloted to support restoration and sustainable management of forest ecosystems, all of which have aided the restoration of approximately 50 ha of degraded forest land in the region. An important outcome of the support provided was the establishment of an inclusive benefit-sharing mechanism to ensure forest-dependent communities would accrue both short-term and long-term benefits. 

Adama Doulkom, National Coordinator of the Great Green Wall initiative, of Burkina Faso, and Kimba Goubour, Project Assistant for Sustainable Land Management in the Sahel at FAO, of the Niger, described how the complementary nature of support received by KFS, the Fonds français pour l’environnement mondial (FFEM) and the International Climate Initiative (IKI) boosted support to FLR in the Sahel region. A video was launched to show the results of the locally led restoration efforts on the ground, and their impact on surrounding communities.  

Finally, Morocco, introduced by Ahlame Sghir, Cooperation Programme Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, discussed its four-pronged plan on how to approach forest restoration, including through spatial planning taking into account different land uses, redesigning relevant institutions, investing in the modernization of current mechanisms and ensuring the successful implementation of participatory approaches in existing organizations. Efforts in Morocco have also focused on research and restoration initiatives for the Maâmora Forest.  

The FLRM has further enhanced exposure for these national efforts through the use of various dissemination and knowledge products, including the release of issue 252 of Unasylva in Korean.  

In the first phase of its collaboration with KFS, the FLRM was able to mobilize financial resources to scale up restoration activities in 20 countries in various regions, and due to the success achieved, KFS approved a financial extension until 2025 to initiate the second phase of support. Closing remarks at the session given by KFS Director General Eun-Sik Park highlighted the various accomplishments of the FAO-KFS partnership under the project. KFS and FAO have worked together to develop and establish restoration in a manner that ensures projected growth and generates sustainable benefits for landscapes and people around the world. 

You can watch the recording of the session here. 

Sangick Lee (FAO) and Camila Mosier-Giovine (FAO)