Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Members Move to Strengthen Sustainable Forest Management

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministers responsible for forestry are calling for greater cooperation between their members to help curb deforestation and further biodiversity loss, as the region increases its fight against climate change and advances action for a sustainable future.

As noted in a press release issued on Thursday (8-25-22) by the 5th APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry, APEC economies account for more than 50% of the global forest areas, 60% of global wood products, and 80% of global trade in forest products.

APEC member economies have been working on their ambitious goal of increasing forest cover by at least 20 million hectares by 2020 across the region. Such a goal has been achieved and exceeded, as the forest cover in APEC increased by 27.9 million hectares between 2007 and 2020.

APEC ministers recognized that forests play an essential role in tackling climate change, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation, especially to the process of moving towards carbon neutrality and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, action is needed to maintain the forest cover and reverse forest loss, prevent forest degradation, and sustainably manage forests.