Organising Tree Seed Supply for National Forest and Landscape Restoration Targets: Experiences from Asia

South and Southeast Asian countries have set targets to restore tens of millions of hectares of degraded forests and landscapes during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration by 2030. Achieving these targets requires billions of tree seed and seedlings, but seed sources for native species are widely lacking after decades of forest loss and degradation.

Join us at this webinar on 15 March 2023 to hear how the region's countries are addressing tree seed shortages and developing seed supply, to meet diverse restoration objectives under a changing climate. Using quality, genetically diverse seed of native tree species in restoration also contributes importantly to the conservation of biodiversity and the species’ evolutionary potential.

 

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Agenda

Time Activity
14.45-15.00 Online meeting room opens
15.00-15.05 Welcome
Pin Kar Yong, Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI)
 
15.05-15.15 Presentation: Seed supply shortages constrain restoration targets
Riina Jalonen, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT
15.15-15.50 THEME: National programmes
Moderator: Pin Kar Yong
  Management of seed sources in Indonesia
Vivi Yuskianti, National Research and Innovation Agency, Indonesia
  China’s national network for seed production
Zheng Yongqi, Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry
  Scope and opportunities for organised tree seed supply in India
Rekha R Warrier, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, India
15.50-16.25 THEME: Seed production: good practices and technologies
Moderator: Rekha R Warrier
  Seed production program for forest restoration and commercial plantation establishment in Sri Lanka
K M A Bandara, Forest Department, Sri Lanka
  Seed Collection and Seedlings Production for Myanmar Reforestation and Rehabilitation Programme 
Mu Mu Aung, Forest Research Institute, Forest Department, Myanmar
  Germplasm conservation selected indigenous forest trees in the Mt Makiling Forest Reserve, Philippines
Lerma SJ Maldia, University of the Philippines Los Baños
16.25-16.55 THEME: Working with local communities
Moderator: Riina Jalonen
  Engaging communities to participate in conservation and management of endangered tree species in Lao PDR
Chaloun Bounithiphonh, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Lao PDR
  Improving seed supply system in Cambodia
Syneath Sreng, Institute of Forest and Wildlife Research and Development, Cambodia
16.55-17.00 Synthesis and closing
Riina Jalonen

 

Asia lacks an overarching regional programme to support forest and landscape restoration, unlike Latin America and Africa where countries are actively sharing experiences and mobilising public and private funding for restoration through the 20x20 and Afr100 Initiatives, respectively. The Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN) fills the gap when it comes to strengthening capacities to supply seeds for restoration needs. APFORGEN was established in 2003 and has 15 member countries across the region. It provides an unique platform for the region’s researchers and forestry experts to develop and share best practices and capacities for the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of forest and tree genetic resources.

The webinar is jointly organized by APFORGEN, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions, and supported by the UK Darwin Initiative, the National Institute for Forest Science of the Republic of Korea, and the CGIAR Research Initiative on Nature-Positive Solutions.

Read more about APFORGEN’s work on tree seed supply for restoration here.