After Korea Forest Service Minister Shin Won-sop signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia in 2013 to export Korea’s forest recreation and ecotourism models, the agency has been branching its business activities in the Southeast Asian nation.
“Indonesia has been one of our biggest partner nations in cooperating on forest resources such as afforestation investment, preserving tropical forests and forestry biomass,” he said.
“During the Korea-Indonesia forest cooperation committee meeting, held in Jakarta two years ago, the Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan requested exporting our forestry techniques, saying that he would like to develop an ecotourism space such as the Cheongtaesan Natural Recreation Forest in Indonesia.”
KFS has been continuously developing a variety of ways to use forest resource developing such projects as forests for natural recreation, forests for healing and mountain eco-villages.
With the MOU, they are to come up with a master plan to develop recreation and ecotourism centers in Indonesia’s forest preservation areas in Bali, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara and the “Sentul Eco-edu Model Forest” located near Jakarta.
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| Korea Forest Service Minister Shin Won-sop KFS |
There are also plans to bolster ties between the two countries’ national parks and recreational forests, as well as establishing business plans for local communities and holding seminars and workshops.
Shin said that the Sentul complex, 630 hectares large and a 40-minute drive away from Jakarta, was a key location for the two countries developing recreational forest areas.
“The Indonesian Forest Ministry, supported by the public and the Korea Forestry Service, will promote a forestry welfare model in Indonesia in the form of recreational forest and ecotourism,” he said.
They had already opened a 30-hectare “Eco-edu Forest” in Sentul complex in July 2013, as well as establishing a Korea-Indonesia Friendship Forest, an ecology research forest and eco-recreational forest.
“We also hope that this will be a foundation for Korean companies to enter Indonesia in developing the forestry business,” Shin added.
Korea and Indonesia have been cooperating in forestry since 1968 when a Korean company invested in Indonesia’s forest. The two countries have since held multiple rounds of meetings to obtain wood and develop forestry projects.
“Korean companies invested in a total of 700,000 hectares of forest plantations in Indonesia,” Shin said. “We established an MOU in 2006 and obtained 500,000 hectares to have a stable supply of timber and cope with climate change, and received 200,000 additional hectares in an MOU in 2009 for wood pellet production.”
He explained that through the cooperation Korea would be able to acquire timber resources it needs, while Indonesia can vitalize its investment, wood processing and wood pellet industries.
Shin added that the Korea-Indonesia Forest Center was established in October 2010 in order to help propel forestry projects between the two countries, as well as support investment in forestry resources related to climate change and finding new forestry business opportunities.
By Sang Youn-joo and Lee Kwon-hyung (sangyj@heraldcorp.com)(kwonhl@heraldcorp.com)
