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SEARCA reports accomplishments of ASRF pilot phase at the 9th ASFN Annual Meeting and participates in the 6th ASEAN Social Forestry Network Conference in Myanmar

  • 9 June 2015

Dr. Bessie M. Burgos reporting on the accomplishments of the ASRF for the first year of implementation

SHAN STATE, Myanmar – Dr. Bessie Burgos, Program Head of SEARCA’s Research and Development Department reported on the accomplishments of the ASEAN Social Forestry Network Strategic Response Fund (ASRF) for its first year of implementation (April 2014 to May 2015) at the 9th Annual Meeting of the ASEAN Social Forestry Network (ASFN) in Myanmar held on 4-5 June 2015. The ASRF was launched at the 8th ASFN Annual Meeting in Kota Kinabalu in May 2014 and since then, has operated as a pilot small grants facility for social forestry in the ASEAN Region. The ASEAN Member States (AMS) present expressed their appreciation for the financial support that the ASRF has provided particularly to the projects that are currently being implemented and for the Proposal Development Assistance (PDA) activities.

The ASRF is a flexible funding mechanism intended to enable AMS Focal Points to quickly respond to emerging issues and challenges and articulate policy recommendations and directions on social forestry as it relates to climate change, food security, and poverty alleviation. SEARCA is the implementing partner of the ASRF, which is one of the new initiatives of the ASEAN-Swiss Partnership on Social Forestry (ASFCC) – Phase II with funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The SEARCA-ASRF Team at the Knowledge Fair of the 6th ASFN Conference at Inle Lake in MyanmarTo make the facility more responsive to the needs of its main recipients and to establish rapport among the ASFN Leaders and Focal Points, the SEARCA Team hosted a Welcome Dinner on 2 June 2014. The ASFN Leaders and Focal Points were treated to a brief video on the activities and meetings of the ASRF.

The Program Steering Committee Meeting (PSC), held within the auspices of the 9th Annual Meeting, discussed the future plans of the ASRF. Feedback was also provided by the PSC on how the facility can be improved.

In the 6th ASFN Conference, the SEARCA Team handled the breakout session “ASEAN Vision 2020 for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (FAF) and Social Forestry”, which was tasked to discuss how Social Forestry can be implemented to contribute more effectively to this Vision. Outputs from this breakout session formed part of the Conference Recommendations.

The SEARCA Team composed of Dr. Bessie M. Burgos, Ms. Carmen Nyhria Rogel, and Ms. Amy Lecciones joined the field visits at Inle Lake and the nearby communities to experience local culture and observe conservation practices. SEARCA also disseminated knowledge products during the Knowledge Fair at the ASFN Conference.

 

Representatives of the 6th ASFN Conference Organizing Team including SEARCA together with H.E. U Win Tun, Union Minister of Myanmar’s Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry and H.E. U Sao Aung Myat, Chief Minister of Shan State, Myanmar.

searca reports accomplishments of asrf pilot phase at the 9th asfn annual meeting and participates in the 6th asean social forestry network conference in myanmar 2

The ASRF-PSC meeting at the auspices of the 9th ASFN Annual Meeting on 4 June 2015 at Inle Lake, Myanmar

searca reports accomplishments of asrf pilot phase at the 9th asfn annual meeting and participates in the 6th asean social forestry network conference in myanmar 5

SEARCA Team facilitating Breakout Session 3 of the 6th ASFN Conference