On April 2^nd, representatives and stakeholders from the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Forestry Bureau from the provinces of Fujian, Henan, Guangxi and Hainan, as well as national and provincial specialists gathered in Beijing to participate in the 3^rd Annual Advisory Committee Meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) project on “Sustainable Forest Management to Enhance the resilience of Forests to Climate Change”.

"The convening of this project advisory committee meeting provides an important platform for all the stakeholders to discuss the annual workplan in details, both operationally and technically,” stressed Dr. Vincent Martin, Representative of FAO China in his opening speech.

He also highlighted that after more than two years of hard work and close cooperation among partners, the project has made significant progress, including the setting of preliminary draft guidelines in areas such as national sustainable forest management, the development of carbon sequestration and forest certification; as well as the preparatory work for establishing demonstration sites on sustainable forest management, carbon storage, and biodiversity conservation.

During the following sessions, delegates from the four provinces and executing agencies had in-depth exchanges and discussions on how to strengthen institutional, policy and regulatory framework for the implementation of sustainable forest management from national to local level, creating a basis for enhanced biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. They also agreed on the annual workplan, including preparations for the upcoming mid-term review, as well as a budget for 2019.

According to the plan set and the results of the meeting, more field activities (e.g. forest restoration and rehabilitation, afforestation of rare tree species, and forest pest management and controls) will be carried out in forest farms this year. The project management committee will pay more attention to the coordinated management of the project, strengthen technical input, and ensure the expected outputs and outcomes will be delivered on time.

The project on “Sustainable Forest Management to Enhance the resilience of Forests to Climate Change” is a grant project funded by GEF and co-implemented by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and FAO.  From 2017 to 2023, it will be  implemented in 16 forest farms in Fujian, Henan, Guangxi and Hainan provinces, wchile GEF provides $7.15 million grant; the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the project provinces provide joint financing of $48 million for the project.

This is the largest GEF project that FAO is managing in China in terms of budget and the number of GEF focal areas covered, namely sustainable forest management, biodiversity and climate change. The project will not only bring added value in creating many environmental benefits in China, but also contribute to realizing several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by the United Nations.

For more information on this GEF project, please visit the project website: http://www.pmcgef.cn