Forests Asia Summit 2014

The Summit will see Ministers from across Southeast Asia join CEOs, civil society leaders, development experts and the world’s top scientists in Jakarta to share research, experiences and other insights on how the region’s forests and landscapes can be better managed in the pursuit of new green-growth pathways for development.

Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most dynamic regions. Its economy is growing rapidly but it faces major policy challenges: poverty and inequality, unsustainable land use, falling biodiversity, food insecurity and climate change. Against this backdrop, there are moves to adopt green-growth approaches, taking steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sustainably manage forests. Still, more needs to be done. Agricultural expansion across Southeast Asia threatens the world’s third-largest tropical forest. And unsustainable land-use change has made the region one of the world’s largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Summit – organized by the Center for International Forestry Research and co-hosted by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry – is expected to attract more than 1,000 leading stakeholders from across Southeast Asia and globally. More than 15 leading regional and international organizations are hosting sessions.

Speakers will focus on REDD+ policies and implementation. They will assess the links between the mitigation initiative and the broader shift toward green growth, as well as on-the-ground experiences with low emission pathways and sharing livelihood benefits. Sessions will explore regional opportunities for adaptation, such as strengthening mangrove ecosystems.

Among the 70 speakers are Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Peru Environment Minister and President of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s COP20 meeting in Lima in December, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Franky Widjaja, CEO of Golden Agri-Resources, and Dr. Andrea Bassi, one of the world’s top experts on green economy.

Mangroves for the Future will sponsor and host a technical panel session on the topic, "Managing mangrove forests for climate change mitigation and adaptation benefits." MFF's technical panel will tackle questions such as: 

1. What are institutional and policy challenges for sustainable mangrove management?

2. Can organic certification of silvo-fisheries products provide a viable approach for developing payments for ecosystem services (PES) opportunities in general, and Reducing Emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in particular? Can this be scaled up to make a difference at a landscape level? What are the potential issues of demand and supply that would need to be considered?

3. How can ecosystem-based management efforts like silvo-fisheries/mangrove polyculture bring climate change adaptation and mitigation benefits?

Registration is free for Government and UN officials, and subsidized for citizens of developing countries and students.

Visit: www.forestsasia.org