Ministers from across the Asia Pacific countries will join leaders from the finance, corporate, civil societies and academia at the Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit 2016 to share insights on how the region is moving towards inclusive and sustainable forest management, in the era of new climate challenges and global development goals.
The three-day Summit, to be held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on 3-5 August, will be opened by Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Hj Ali bin Apong, the Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism for Brunei, followed by key note speakers as follows: Her Excellency Siti Nurbaya, the Minister of Environment and Forestry for Indonesia, The Hon Josh Frydenburg, Minister for the Environment and Energy, Australian Government, Mr Mark Burrows, the Vice-chairman of Investment Banking, Asia-Pacific at Credit Suisse.
They will be joined by more than 30 speakers including:
- Barber Cho, Secretary, Myanmar Forest Certification Committee
- Patrick Durst, Senior Forestry Officer for Asia and the Pacific, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Aida Greenbury, Managing Director, Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement, Asia Pulp & Paper
- Jack Hurd, Conservation Director, Asia-Pacific Region, The Nature Conservancy
- Chetan Kumar, Global Forest and Climate Change Program, IUCN
- Nur Masripatin, Director General for Climate Change Management, Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry
- Kushla Munro, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Environment, Government of Australia
- Thongsavanh Soulignamat, President, Lao Wood Processing Industry Association
- Stig Traavik, Norwegian Ambassador to Indonesia
- Sun Weina, Cambodia Community Forestry Project Manager
The Asia Pacific region, home to 4.4 billion or 60 per cent of the world's population, has seen rapid development that has put pressure on its forests eco-systems, leading to debates over responsible and sustainable forest development as more land makes way to feeding and housing the region's soaring population. Currently, only a quarter of this region's land mass is covered by rainforests.
* On climate change: How can we scale up financing for climate action, or measure emissions more effectively through forest monitoring systems?
* On the role of the private sector: How much farther can we take corporate conservation and restoration efforts? What social and environmental safeguards are needed to tackle deforestation, illegal logging and ensure supply chains are inclusive of smallholders?
* On restoration: With global and regional commitments in Africa and Latin America developing, how is the Asia-Pacific region faring on restoration initiatives?
* On community forestry: How are forest communities coping with the impact of development on their land? What can we learn from successful community forestry models across the region?
The Summit will provide a platform to address these concerns through panel discussions where speakers exchange insights and research on themes crucial to the conversation on forests and landscapes, building on the momentum of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit 2016 is the second of its kind, following a successful inaugural one in 2014, held in Sydney, Australia, which resulted in the formation of the Asia-Pacific Rainforest Partnership.
This year's Summit is hosted by the Government of Brunei Darussalam and supported by the Government of Australia, with CIFOR as science and engagement partner.
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