KFS Discusses Wood Use and the Agricultural and Forestry Satellite with New Zealand

― 11th Korea&New Zealand Forestry Cooperative Committee Convened on the 17th ―


The Korea Forest Service (KFS), led by Minister PARK Eunsik, announced on the 17th that the 11th Korea―New Zealand Forestry Cooperative Committee was held online. NAM Song Hee, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau of the KFS, and Sam Keenan, Head of Te Uru Rakau - New Zealand Forest Service, attended as head delegates.

New Zealand is an advanced forestry country that achieves sustainable wood production, and also a key timber trading partner, ranking first in Korea’s log imports as of 2025. Since signing the Arrangement Regarding Cooperation in the Field of Forestry in 1997, the two sides have held biennial Forestry Cooperative Committee meetings for policy- and research-based cooperation.

At this year’s meeting, the two sides shared measures to promote the legal harvest and trade of timber, as well as strategies to expand forest bioenergy, in support of sustainable wood use for carbon neutrality. The two sides also discussed cooperation on forest monitoring using advanced ICT technologies, including the agricultural and forestry satellite, to effectively respond to forest disasters driven by the climate crisis, and exchanged views on forest policies, international forest cooperation, and forest fire response.

Director General NAM stated, “This meeting provided an opportunity to strengthen bilateral forest cooperation with New Zealand, a major wood-producing country, including discussions on stable wood trade and the use of advanced technologies such as the agricultural and forestry satellite.”