Ever since the establishment of Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) at FAO, Douglas McGuire has been enthusiastically leading and coordinating global forest and landscape restoration activities to help countries restore degraded landscapes by identifying and implementing practices that restore a balance of the ecological, social and economic benefits of forests and trees within a broader pattern of land uses.

Kihyun Kim, the Director of Korea Forest Service (KFS), on behalf of the Minister of KFS, awarded an appreciation plaque to Douglas McGuire during the FLRM Fifth Advisory Group meeting, in recognition of Douglas's retirement and his service at FAO. Douglas has been working as an international forestry official for almost 30 years and has made significant achievements in international forestry, watershed management and conservation, and Mountain Partnership, in addition to the restoration of deforested areas. He retired from FAO at the end of October 2019.

KFS has been supporting the implementation of the FLRM since 2014, to contribute to the restoration work of the world's deforested lands, by sharing the Republic of Korea's success experience and skills of reforestation with developing countries. Douglas has been strongly supporting the role and contribution of KFS to the international communities, and also proactively involved in the work of forest and landscape restoration in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). KFS expressed a great appreciation to Douglas for his dedicated efforts in developing restoration work in DPRK and close cooperation with, not only KFS, but also other international partners to expand Forest and Landscape Restoration activities at a larger scale.

Songhee Nam (FAO)