Opening Remarks
Haruo Sawada(Director General, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute(FFPRI))

Opening Session

Opening Remarks
Haruo Sawada (Director General, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute1 (FFPRI))
Thank you very much for coming to our international seminar, in spite of a very busy season in thebeginning of the year.

I am very grateful for your participation.

called much attention around the world.

As you know, climate change issues haveSince last year, we have seen large-scale and long-standing forest

fires in the Amazon in Brazil, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, in Indonesia, and in Australia.
We have also seen droughts and floods of increasing frequency and intensity threatening the livelihoods ofpeople in many other parts of the world.

In developing countries, we are trying to reduce emissions caused

by deforestation and degradation by increasing carbon stock, enhancing forest conservation, and implementing
sustainable forest management through REDD+, as promoted by Article 5 of the Paris Agreement2.

Inaddition to climate change actions, REDD+ is expected to contribute to ecosystems, biodiversity, and poverty
alleviation in communities.

There is also an expectation for developing countries to move from a preparatory

stage to actual implementation.
The Paris Agreement is now being negotiated to agree on rules for possible implementation in 2020.
Substantial financing is required for the promotion of the forest-based solutions needed, however as you canexpect, official development assistance (ODA) and public financing have limitations.

Therefore, the market

mechanism implementation guidelines need to be agreed upon as quickly as possible for the full-fledged
implementation of REDD+, together with the private sector.
FFPRI set up the REDD Research and Development Center3 in 2010, with the support of the Forestry
Agency4, to promote public sector participation in the area of REDD and develop methods to efficiently
measure carbon stock in forests.

In addition to conducting analysis on economic and social impacts related

REDD+, it functions as a hub to connect researchers and engineers related to REDD+ efforts.

The private

sector, private companies, government organizations, research institutes, and all ministries and organizations
are asked to join forces for the development of REDD+ activities, for which, together with the Japan
International Cooperation Agency5 (JICA), the Japan Public-Private Platform for REDD+6 was set up topromote educational activities.
This year’s REDD+ international seminar is focusing on technological tools and guidance, as well as market
approaches and bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

We would like to report on the achievements we havebeen able to accomplish in the past 10 years at the REDD Research and Development Center.

At the sametime, we would also like to invite the experts to report on possible directions for more specific actions.
In the keynote presentations, we are going to have Ms. Malgorzata Buszko-Briggs, Programme Officer ofhttps://www.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/en/
https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf
3 http://redd.ffpri.affrc.go.jp/index_en.html
4 https://www.rinya.maff.go.jp/e/
5 https://www.jica.go.jp/english/
6 https://reddplus-platform.jp/index_en.html
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Opening Session
FAO7/UN-REDD8, give a talk about the overview and prospect of REDD+.

Next, we are going to have Dr.

Nyi Nyi Kyaw, the Director General of the Forest Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironmental Conservation 9 of Myanmar, give a talk about REDD+ for results-based payment andsupporting sustainable development in Myanmar.

In Session 1, we will hear about REDD+ tools, guidelines,and technologies.

In Session 2, we will hear about REDD+ voluntary cooperative approaches and results-based finances.

Before we conclude, I hope our discussions here can contribute to the Sustainable

Development Goals10 (SDGs) concerning global forest conservation and the betterment of social welfare, as
well as promote climate actions coming from the Paris Agreement.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the co-organizers, the International Tropical Timber
Organization11 (ITTO), JICA, and the Japan Public-Private Platform for REDD+, for organizing this seminar.
I would also like to thank the Forestry Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs12, the Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry13 (METI), the Ministry of the Environment14, the Japanese Forest Society15, the Remote
Sensing Society of Japan16, the Japan Society of Tropical Ecology17, the Japan Society of Forest Planning18,and all the participants in the audience.

With that, I would like to end my opening remarks.

much.

http://www.fao.org/home/en/
https://www.un-redd.org/
9 http://www.monrec.gov.mm/
10 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
11 https://www.itto.int/
12 https://www.mofa.go.jp/
13 https://www.meti.go.jp/english/
14 https://www.env.go.jp/en/index.html
15 https://www.forestry.jp/english/
16 https://www.rssj.or.jp/eng/
17 https://www.jaste.website/
18 https://www.forestplanning.jp/
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Thank you very