ABOUT CHINA AND CEEC
COOPERATION IN FORESTRY
ABOUT CHINA AND CEEC
ABOUT
China and CEEC COOPERATION in Forestry is a short name for the comprehensive Mechanism for coordinating cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and CEE countries in the field of forestry. The mechanism will bring together the business communities and research endeavours of the CEEC countries and China to expand and enrich the cooperation in the field of forestry with the support of the respective political institutions. The mechanism is a part of a broader initiative to increase cooperation on all levels between CEEC countries and China.
VISION
Forests are of great importance for improving livelihood, promoting green growth, addressing climate change, protecting ecological safety, and promoting social and economic development. Forests offer habitats for animals and plants and play a major role in environmental services. Forests contribute to rural development and have social functions at the local, national and global levels. For best forest management practices it is vitally important to gain insight into the structure and development of natural forests. Therefore, forests reserves are reference sites for assessing the efficiency of close to nature forests.
China and Central and Eastern European Countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, N. Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia) shall therefore play their due role in promoting sustainable and multifunctional forest management, protecting wetlands and wildlife, developing a green economy and ecological culture, and make joint efforts to accomplish the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular the goal to sustainably manage forests according to the goals set in the Action plan.
BACKGROUND
In April 2012, Heads of Government of China and Central and Eastern European Countries (hereinafter referred to as “CEECs”) met at their 1st Meeting in Warsaw, Poland and reached broad consensus on strengthening cooperation between China and the Central and Eastern European Countries. Since then, China and the CEECs had been working closely to follow through on the proposed measures and advance cooperation in various fields with solid steps. And work produced initial results.
On 16 December 2014, the 3rd Meeting of Heads of Government of China and CEECs held in Belgrade, Serbia. The result of the meeting was the Belgrade Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (hereinafter referred to as the Belgrade Guidelines) The Belgrade Guidelines recognizes that China-CEEC cooperation has provided new driving force to China-CEEC traditional friendship, built a new platform for mutually beneficial cooperation and served as a new engine for deepening China-Europe relations for mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. In this respect the participants also supported cooperation and exchanges on protecting forest, wetland and wildlife, and on developing green economy and eco-culture and share experience of forestry development, with a view to increasing mutual understanding and promoting cooperation.
On 6 November 2015 in Beijing Mr Dejan Židan, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the Republic of Slovenia, and Mr Zhang Jianlong, Administrator of the State Forestry Administration of the People’s Republic of China signed the Memorandum of understanding on establishment of the Coordination Mechanism for the Cooperation in Forestry.
On 24 November 2015, the 4th Summit of China and CEECs formulated and issued the Suzhou Guidelines for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, which confirmed that the Participants support Slovenia in leading the efforts to establish a China-CEEC coordination mechanism for forestry cooperation and that the 1st China-CEEC High-Level Meeting on Cooperation in Forestry will be held in Slovenia in May 2016. It also issued the Medium-Term Agenda for Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries, which wrote that during 2015-2020, “the Participants will identify new channels of cooperation and encourage all-round exchanges in the forestry sector. The Participants support the establishment of a 16+1 coordination mechanism for forestry cooperation, and the China-CEEC High-level Meeting on Cooperation in Forestry will be organized alternately in China and one of the CEECs on a regular basis.”
On 24 May 2016 in Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia, the 1st China-CEEC High-Level Meeting on Cooperation in Forestry took place. At the HLM participants discussed and passed the Action Plan for the Cooperation within the Framework of the Coordination Mechanism for the Cooperation in Forestry between China and CEE Countries.
Thus, Slovenia formally took over management of the Coordination Mechanism for the Cooperation in Forestry between China and CEE Countries.
MISSION
China and CEECs play their due role in promoting sustainable and multifunctional forest management, protecting wetlands and wildlife, developing a green economy and ecological culture, and make joint efforts to accomplish the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular the goal to sustainably manage forests.
Under the slogan “new green syntheses”, the coordination mechanism for cooperation in forestry allows for the directed and integrated cooperation of international and domestic stakeholders from public and private forestry and forest-wood chain sector with the sectors of agriculture, food, the environment, education and tourism.
GOALS
Cooperation is implemented at three levels:
- Cooperation in the implementation of policies regarding sustainable and multifunctional forest management as well as green and circular economy. Forest management remains the responsibility of the competent authorities at the local, national, regional and global levels. Improper forest management entails complex and far-reaching consequences, and may pose economic and ecological problems for each country. Through several workshops and conferences, and in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders, we intend to work towards the protection and preservation of the many functions of forests and forest ecosystems as a whole.
- Scientific research and pilot projects of mutual interest in sustainable forest management, green practices and high technologies, as well as education.
- Business and investment opportunities. The close cooperation of all interested stakeholders from the public and private sectors will facilitate:
- the promotion of high-tech wood-based products;
- the opening of new business opportunities for the wood-processing industry, forest-wood equipment, and promotion of innovation for modernisation in the woodworking industry.
- ensuring the competitiveness of forest-based value chain,
- joint participation in fairs in CEE countries and China.
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