The role and activities of NGOs in reforestation in the northeast Asian region

The goal of international cooperation is to promote sustainable forestry through diverse partnerships involving individuals, communities, industries, governments, institutions and organizations. Through advice, education and training, joint research and exchange of experiences, information and technical know-how, cooperation can bring together baseline information for the world’s community. In this way, developed countries and international forestry and forestry research organizations can assist developing countries to enhance dialogue, partnerships and interrelationships in forestry at a global level. NGOs also can play an intermediary role between government and the private sector. They are becoming increasingly important in facilitating the transfer of technology, for promoting public awareness and negotiating on international environment issues. Government support for NGOs has enabled the organizations to perform their work better and more efficiently. The establishment of the Northeast Asian Forest Forum (NEAFF) in Mongolia and China is timely and meaningful in the sense that the Mongolian and Chinese governments are working diligently to plant trees and combat desertification. The governments are no longer able to tolerate environmental degradation accumulated over the past several decades. NEAFF in Seoul fully supports the collaborative efforts between Korea, China and Mongolia, universities and research institutions in Korea, and international tree-planting NGOs in the international campaign to plant trees on bare lands and desert in China and Mongolia. Such efforts to expand projects in reforestation and combating desertification, especially within the two countries, will provide opportunities for neighbouring countries to expand their dialogue, as well as bridge differences, by addressing common environmental issues across these regions. A network is being developed, and part of this work is already in progress to promote synergies and comparative research on the forest ecosystems of northeast Asian countries. The key to a successful network is the coordination of activities by the participating countries.