South Korea, together with the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, will launch an international organization on forest cooperation that will help fight deforestation and climate change, the country’s forest authority said Monday.

The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization will officially be launched early next month, following a two-day forest ministers’ meeting in Seoul from next Wednesday.

“The AFoCO with 11 member countries will be further expanded into an international organization to include other Northeast and Central Asian countries,” the Korea Forest Service said in a press release.

Through the AFoCO, Seoul will help prevent deforestation in Southeast Asian countries while also offering its technology and fund to help make new woodland there. South Korea will shoulder 90 percent of funds and expenses of the AFoCO, according to the KFS.

Such arrangements and objectives of the AFoCO will be finalized in an agreement to be signed by South Korea’s Minister of Forest Service Lee Don-koo and his counterparts from the 10 ASEAN countries at the end of their Aug. 29-30 meeting here, it said.

“Through the AFoCO, South Korea seeks to offer its afforestation technologies, along with various personnel and technological support, to the ASEAN countries that are suffering from serious forest denudation,” Lee told reporters.

“The country will also bolster its forest diplomacy, starting with the Korea-ASEAN forest ministers’ meeting.” 

(Yonhap News)