A Congolese delegation is greeted by Korea Forest Service officials during their visit to the KFS Central Forest Disaster Control Center in Daejeon on Thursday. Fourth from right is KFS Deputy Minister Lee Mi-ra, and to her right is Toirambe Bamoninga Benjamin, secretary-general of Congo’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development. (KFS)
A Congolese delegation is greeted by Korea Forest Service officials during their visit to the KFS Central Forest Disaster Control Center in Daejeon on Thursday. Fourth from right is KFS Deputy Minister Lee Mi-ra, and to her right is Toirambe Bamoninga Benjamin, secretary-general of Congo’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development. (KFS)

The Korea Forest Service has hosted a two-week invitational training program for a 12-member Congolese delegation, the government agency said Sunday.

The delegation, led by Toirambe Bamoninga Benjamin, secretary-general of Congo's Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, included government officials, civil society representatives and academics.

The program, which ran from Aug. 25 to Sept. 5, was part of the “Integrated Climate Change Response Project through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) in Haut-Uele Province, the Democratic Republic of Congo,” jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Program and the Korea International Cooperation Agency under an agreement between the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization and UNDP.

During their visit to KFS headquarters on Thursday, the delegation was briefed on Korea’s reforestation success after the Korean War and its advanced forest disaster response system.

The agency also shared its overseas REDD+ projects contributing to Nationally Determined Contribution goals, while discussing ways to strengthen global forestry cooperation.

At the Forest Disaster Control Center, the group observed the Forest Fire Situation Control System and firefighting helicopter operations, along with the 24/7 disaster response system for fires, landslides and pest outbreaks.

They also visited the AFoCO Secretariat, the National Institute of Forest Science, the Korea National Arboretum and the Central Regional Office of the Forest Service, where they were introduced to predictive modeling, ICT-based command systems and smart forestry technologies such as thermal imaging cameras.

“The advanced monitoring systems using AI-based ICT platforms and the command system for immediate response were highly impressive,” said Toirambe. “Korea’s experience will serve as an invaluable reference in strengthening our disaster response capacity.”

“With forest disasters worsening due to climate change, international cooperation is essential,” added KFS Deputy Minister Lee Mira. “The KFS will continue to deepen cooperation with the Democratic Republic of Congo and jointly address climate change.”

By Lee Kwon-hyung (kwonhl@heraldcorp.com)

Chung Hye-lim (hyelimchung@heraldcorp.com)


hyelimchung@heraldcorp.com