Closing Statement by Ariyuki Matsumoto
Deputy Director-General
Forestry Agency of Japan

on the occasion of
he First Meeting for the Promotion of Asia Forest Partnership

11 November 2002
Tokyo, Japan

Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my great honor to extend a statement at the closing of this First Meeting for the Promotion of Asia Forest Partnership.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to everyone in this hall for attending this Meeting from all over the world. It encourages me to know that so many countries, international organizations, organizations and individuals from civil society including NGOs and business entities, have shown their interest in and willingness for contributing to this initiative.

In the Preparatory Meeting held on 31 July this year at the same venue, I recall that participants present had intensive discussions with a common goal of achieving sustainable management of forests in Asia region, and concluded with a Type-2 document to be submitted for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held the following month.

Today's meeting was the first meeting of partners to discuss concrete measures for promoting this partnership. Through the presentations and discussions, our understandings on pressing issues faced by forest management in the region and on efforts made by all concerned in order to tackle those issues, and the strong will of partners present here to collaborate under the framework of Asia Forest Partnership to overcome those challenges, were reinforced.

Mr. Chairman,

Extensive efforts have been devoted in each country in Asia to promote sustainable forest management, and the international community including Japan has extended assistance to those efforts. Despite these efforts, however, there is little sign that the rates of deforestation and degradation of forests have declined.

Asia region is endowed with rich forests which provide wide range of benefits to our lives such as conservation of water and soil, prevention of natural disasters, sequestration of carbon, and conservation of biological diversity. Achievement of sustainable forest management in Asia is a matter of high interest for the international community as well, because of which all of us present here shall share our experience, information and the responsibility in taking concrete steps towards sustainable forest management.

In this regard, I, as one of the promoters of this partnership, would like to stress following three points, among others, in order to materialize the strong will of participants present here into a real step forward.

Firstly, all partners should actively incorporate the outcomes of this initiative into their own on-going efforts, and collaborate for mutually coordinating those efforts, in order to address urgent issues identified under Asia Forest Partnership. It is needless to reiterate how critical and urgent our tasks are, but we must also realize that the resources available to us are rather limited. We should, in this regard, utilize our existing frameworks as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Secondly, we should further enhance communication among participants and other interested parties and converge our expertise and wisdom in taking further concrete steps, building upon outcomes of the discussions of today. Asia Forest Partnership consists of various partners including governments, international organizations, and civil society, each of whom has unique backgrounds and expertise in enhancing sustainable forest management. This partnership can be seen as a "think tank" in this regard. I would like to express my expectation on the contribution of each partner and active roles played by, inter alia, international organizations specialized in forest and forestry, such as ITTO, FAO and CIFOR, and NGOs.

Thirdly, each partner should solicit any interested parties for participation in this partnership. Participation by broad range of stakeholders is a key to successfully promote our endeavors toward sustainable forest management, particularly that of civil society including NGOs and industry sector. I would like to take advantage of this occasion to request observer participants in this meeting to participate in Asia Forest Partnership.

Mr. Chairman and distinguished participants,

I believe that the points I mentioned would be of utmost importance for making Asia Forest Partnership one of the most successful Type-2 initiatives launched at WSSD. It would be my great pleasure if I could make any further contributions in pursuing these tasks.

Lastly, I would like to conclude my remarks by asking you for your continuous support to Asia Forest Partnership for achieving tangible outcomes, building upon the fruitful discussions of this First Meeting for the Promotion of Asia Forest Partnership.

Thank you very much for your kind attention.