The Seoul Action Plan for Urban Forests and Trees (UFTs) adopted at the second Asia-Pacific Urban Forestry Meeting in Seoul this month aims to provide a framework for countries and cities to adopt urban and forests and green infrastructure to support a sustainable future and good quality of life.

The action plan is also an instrument for coordinating the signatory cities, nations, and institutions’ policies.

The Seoul Action Plan’s outcomes will have different timeframes relative to feasibility, importance and urgency.

The seven goals were categorized into seven themes: greener, cleaner, cooler, healthier, more cultured, more biodiverse, and wealthier.

They also come with action plans and identify key players, time frames and even funding methods.

Some of the key goals are as follows:

1. Greener cities: To increase the canopy cover in cities by at least 10 percent by 2027

2. Cleaner Cities (Air pollution): To include the contribution of UFTs in strategies for the reduction and removal of air pollutants in regional and national air quality by 2020

3. Cooler cities: To prepare a regional framework for support and incentives for the creation and sustainable management of urban forests and other green infrastructure components aimed at climate-change adaptation and mitigation by 2020

4. Healthier cities: To incorporate the role of UFTs as a positive component of human health and well-being into national public health plans by 2020

5. More cultured cities: To prepare by 2020 a reference framework for the designation and inventory of trees and forests of sociocultural significance in and around Asia-Pacific cities

6. More biodiverse cities: To promote the conservation of natural heritage in urban areas by 2020

7. Wealthier cities: To prepare by 2020 guidance framework and eco-eco-models adapted to Asia- Pacific cities for accounting the ecosystem services, benefits and savings derived by UFT and green spaces development (khnews@heraldcorp.com)