Bogor, Indonesia, November 27- The Workshop on Forestry Human Resources Development in the Asia-Pacific Region was successfully concluded on November 27, in Bogor, Indonesia, with a consensus in principle on a practical plan to strengthen exchange in forestry human resources development and carry out actions on the ground.
Co-organized by APFNet and Forestry Extension and Human Resources Development Agency, Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, the Workshop addressed the emerging concerns and needs of regional economies in capacity building of forestry officials, a key aspect of forestry human resources Development, which is especially important for the whole forestry community to respond to the new global challenges. APFNet invited 45 representatives from 16 diverse regional developing economies and RECOFTC in Bogor for the three-day Workshop.
Mr Roger Steinhardt, the workshop consultant, was asked by APFNet to do a background paper and presented an overview of capacity building of forestry agencies (on-the-job training) to set a scene for participants. Participants were also quite interested and encouraged to find out the capacity building program of APFNet, especially its thematic training workshops and the scholarship programs. Comprehensive presentation of participants and outcome-oriented discussion were conducted on critical issues during the two-day indoor session, including, overview of forestry human resources of each economies, multifold challenges and opportunities, the most immediate needs of strengthening capacity for forestry agencies, etc.
Bearing in mind the importance of the human resource as a strategic resource for forestry development and a myriad of constraints of individual economy, participants explored short-term and long-term measures, and identified the most immediate and also the most realistic needs. They believed networking among training centers could be basis for carrying out joint actions in the future, and welcome the strong support from APFNet, as well as other international organizations and economies across the region, who have already done substantial work on the ground.
Therefore, the APFNet secretariat proposed to gather the efforts of each economy to establish a Dialogue on Forestry Human Resources Development in the region. Based on this, participants reached consensuses on actions to advance cooperation in strengthening capacity building forestry agencies in the region to spearhead forestry human resources development in the region. The actions are as follows:
Flesh out the terms of reference of the Dialogue on Forestry Human Resources Development in the Asia-Pacific Region, as a regional cooperative initiative to strengthen networking among training centers and human resources staff in forestry agencies in the region;
Circulate the terms of reference of the Dialogue among participating economies for ideas and proposals;
Lay down concrete plan of actions under the Dialogue for 2015;
Scale up APFNet exist capacity building program.
In the end, the State Academy of Forestry Administration (STAFA), State Administration of Forestry (SFA) of China, and Center for Forestry Education and Training, Ministry of Forestry and Environment of Indonesia, expressed their willingness to support the proposed initiative through various kinds of inputs and assistance.
On the third day of the Workshop, participants visited the Center for Forestry Education and Training, Ministry of Forestry and Environment of Indonesia, in Bogor.
The participating 16 economies are: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, PNG, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
