By Marita Moaje
MANILA – Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders have formally backed a regional push to plant trees, rehabilitate damaged ecosystems and protect primary forests.
Adopted on Nov. 12 and issued Sunday at the opening of the 49th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits in Pasay City, the Leaders’ Declaration on the One Billion Trees Growing Initiative brings together Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
“Recognizing that forests are vital assets that sustain biodiversity, support livelihoods, enhance ecosystem services, and contribute significantly to climate change mitigation as major carbon sinks,” the declaration read.
The declaration commends the ASEAN One Billion Trees Growing Initiative as a regional effort aimed at promoting tree planting, forest restoration, and sustainable forest management across member states.
Rather than imposing rigid, top-down mandates, the agreement relies on a flexible framework tailored to each country’s specific capacity where member states pledged to “contribute to the initiative through voluntary tree-growing efforts, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable land management practices, in accordance with their national circumstances, national laws, domestic policies, capacities and development priorities.”
Looking beyond simple tree planting, leaders agreed to target high-value, vulnerable environments and prioritize native flora.
They also committed to “promote the restoration and rehabilitation of degraded forest landscapes, including mangroves, peatlands, watersheds, and other critical ecosystems, while encouraging the use of native and climate-resilient species.”
Moreover, the declaration emphasized the importance of protecting existing primary forests and aligning their reforestation work with each country’s broader climate goals, or the Nationally Determined Contributions of each ASEAN member state.
To ensure these conservation efforts last and to keep rural populations from being sidelined, the declaration ties forest management directly to local economic security.
Through the declaration, leaders acknowledged “the vital role of forests in supporting sustainable livelihoods, and the need to empower local communities and forest-dependent populations, through the creation of green jobs, capacity development and equitable access to forest resources to strengthen socio-economic resilience and enhance sustainable forest management.”
It also encourages knowledge-sharing, research collaboration, and the use of digital technologies to improve forest monitoring and transparency while ensuring sustainable forest management.
Modern tracking tools will be utilized to ensure the projects deliver measurable results and can scale across borders.
The ASEAN Secretariat and regional sectoral bodies will help member states share best practices and harmonize their national reforestation strategies.
Meanwhile, to mobilize sustainable funding, ASEAN leaders called on Dialogue Partners, international organizations, financial institutions, non-governmental organizations, and private companies to step in with sustainable financing and technical support. (PNA)
