KOR-Honduras Sign 'REDD+' Memorandum of Understanding... "Cooperation on Greenhouse Gas Reduction"

South Korea and Honduras have agreed to mutually cooperate on greenhouse gas reduction.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 10th that on the 9th (local time), it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 'Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)' cooperation with the Honduran government in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

Nam Songhee, International Forest Cooperation Officer at the Korea Forest Service (second from the left), is taking a commemorative photo with local government officials after signing a Memorandum of Understanding for REDD+ cooperation in Honduras on the 9th. Photo by Korea Forest Service

Honduras has a forest area of 6.36 million hectares, accounting for 57% of its territory. In particular, as it belongs to the tropical rainforest, the forest growth rate is fast, and the carbon sequestration potential is large, so it is expected to significantly contribute to achieving the '2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)' for greenhouse gas reduction.

The REDD+ project refers to activities that prevent deforestation in developing countries and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable forest management. This project has the advantage of relatively lower costs compared to other greenhouse gas reduction projects and can absorb carbon from the atmosphere most rapidly by utilizing forests.

It also provides various public benefits such as improving the livelihoods of local residents and enhancing biodiversity through the protection of wildlife and genetic resources.

The United Nations (UN) also actively encourages the discovery and promotion of large-scale REDD+ projects targeting entire administrative units.

In line with international trends, the Korea Forest Service signed a REDD+ cooperation agreement at the sub-national level with the Lao government in 2023 and is currently promoting an international greenhouse gas reduction project targeting the entire 1.5 million hectares of Phongsaly Province in northern Laos. Honduras is the first country to promote a national-level REDD+ project targeting the entire territory.

On this day, Nam Song-hee, Director of International Forest Cooperation at the Korea Forest Service, met with Malcolm Stufkenz, Vice Minister of the Honduran Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Luis Edgardo Solis Lobo, Director of the Honduran Forest Conservation and Development Agency, to discuss the necessity of large-scale international afforestation projects to respond to the climate crisis and forest cooperation between the two countries.

Nam Song-hee, Director of International Forest Cooperation at the Korea Forest Service, said, "The signing of the MOU with Honduras will help protect the Central American tropical rainforest and natural ecosystems and contribute to the national economic development of Honduras by expanding cooperation with the local government."