Asia-Pacific Program

Since 2009, US Forest Service has been working in Bangladesh in partnership with USAID to address critical issues in natural resource management.  We have a long term partnership with the Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) to provide capacity building opportunities and technical assistance to support forest mapping and remote sensing initiatives. Most notably, through the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development and in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the USFS managed the SilvaCarbon Bangladesh program which provided technical assistance to support the development of a sustainable national forest inventory system for Bangladesh. Other areas of focus for joint partnerships have included improved forest management through building geospatial capacity, carbon pool estimation, forest infrastructure development, and forest planning.

Starting in 2019 US Forest Service in partnership and with funding from USAID Bangladesh, began implementing the 'Community Partnerships to Strengthen Sustainable Development' (Compass) program. Compass will address natural resource management challenges in Bangladesh through establishing a youth conservation corps, strengthening community capacity and promoting public participation, providing direct technical support to Bangladesh Forest Department, and strengthening the capacity of academic and research institutions in natural resource management and resilience.

The U.S. Forest Service has been collaborating with Bhutan on forest management since 2004. In 2008, Bhutan adopted a new constitution that mandated “a minimum of sixty percent of Bhutan’s total land shall be maintained under forest cover for all time.” The purpose of this mandate was to ensure conservation of natural resources and prevent degradation of the ecosystem. With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Forest Service works with Bhutan to help them achieve this goal, through capacity building and technical assistance related to forest management, fire control, forest carbon inventory, and different approaches to address climate change through sustainable forest management.

With support from USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance support, the U.S. Forest Service also builds disaster response capacity in Bhutan through partnerships with the Department of Disaster Management within Bhutan’s Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs.  The U.S. Forest Service has conducted Incident Command System (ICS) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) trainings since 2012, and in 2017 Bhutan’s Prime Minister mandated ICS as the national standard disaster management system.  Capacity building trainings have targeted Bhutanese officials at all levels of government to include fire, police, search and rescue, civil servants, municipal planners, as well as civil society organizations. 

Since 2013, USFS has worked in Cambodia with support from USAID's Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA) and USAID/Cambodia, and in close collaboration with the Royal Government of Cambodia, on field training and data collection to measure carbon stocks in Cambodian mangroves and flooded forests around Tonle Sap.  In collaboration with the US Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs’ Global Programs and Policy Office (INL/GPP), USFS launched a program in October 2017 to develop and institutionalize a Standardized Ranger Training Program in Cambodia.  USFS continues working on the Ranger Training program and other efforts related to sustainable natural resource management with support from USAID/Cambodia. Additionally, USFS has partnered with Wildlife Conservation Society for years to better understand wildlife trafficking issues in Cambodia and support community-based management of natural fisheries along the Sre Ambel River.

The U.S. Forest Service has collaborated with counterparts in China for more than 20 years. U.S. and Chinese forests share similar species and landscapes as well as common threats and challenges, which creates opportunities for mutually beneficial information exchange and technical cooperation in areas such as forest health and invasive species. U.S. Forest Service engagement has taken various forms over the years; long-term cooperation between the two countries has fostered innovative solutions to pressing natural resource issues and has resulted in productive partnerships.

In recent years, the U.S. Forest Service has collaborated with the Chinese National Forest and Grassland Administration (former State Forestry Administration) in areas such as natural resource policy and economics, forest carbon measuring, adaptive silvaculture, nature-based tourism, best management practices, combating illegal logging, and sustainable forest use.

Other important partners include the Chinese Academy of Forestry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Forestry and Parks; international non-government organizations including the International Crane Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and The Nature Conservancy; and U.S.-based research partners Mississippi State University and The Memphis Zoo.

India plays a leadership role for natural resources in the Asian-Pacific region. It is the world's largest democracy and the seventh largest country in the world with an estimated population of 1.3 billion people. Over the past 40 years, the U.S. Forest Service has collaborated with India on watershed management, wildlife conservation, and improving forest health and productivity. India has been a pioneer in community forestry, inspiring many nations, from neighboring Nepal to the United States, to reconsider how forest management systems can succeed with genuine local control. Furthermore, with exceptionally high animal and plant biodiversity, India is a high global priority for nature conservation. For these reasons, technical cooperation between the U.S. and India is not only mutually beneficial, but also globally beneficial.

The U.S. Forest Service is currently partnering with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support continued scientific and technical exchange with the Government of India and other counterparts in the forestry sector. Recent collaborations with the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change have included workshops on remote sensing, ecosystem monitoring, and forest inventory and carbon estimations, as well as an assessment of institutional and organizational capacity to implement the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism in India.

Since 2004, with support from USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, the U.S. Forest Service has conducted disaster risk reduction (DRR) programs in the form of Incident Command System trainings.  These enduring trainings have created robust partnerships with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)—one of the world’s largest standing humanitarian response forces.  Ongoing DRR programs will continue to include Incident Response System (IRS) and EOC training and will leverage India’s vast disaster response capacity as a regional leader within South Asia.  

The tropical forests of Indonesia are globally significant for their stunning biodiversity and carbon richness. More than 80 million Indonesians are dependent on forest resources for their livelihoods. The U.S. Forest Service works with Indonesian partners to support climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and forest governance. Drawing on the agency’s unique expertise in wetlands, the U.S. Forest Service has collaborated with Indonesian stakeholders to improve scientific understanding and management practices of tropical peat lands and mangroves. These ecosystems, which can contain eight times the carbon density of a dry tropical forest, are vulnerable to land conversion for agriculture and development. To address these challenges, the U.S. Forest Service collaborated with the U.S. Department of State and the Indonesian National Council on Climate Change to establish the Indonesia Climate Change Center for national climate policy. Through the Center, U.S. Forest Service contributed to critical scientific questions related to peat lands, greenhouse gas accounting, and low emissions development strategies.  In a cross-cutting program, U.S. Forest Service supports the Indonesia One Map Initiative for official coordination and transparency of national geospatial information. U.S. Forest Service also works with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) forestry programs to enhance district-level spatial planning and local forest management in priority landscapes throughout the country. Going forward, U.S. Forest Service will continue to collaborate with USAID-Indonesia, the Ministry of Environment & Forestry of Indonesia, and other partners on One Map, forest landscape restoration, and national forest policy.

In addition to work on forestry issues, the U.S. Forest Service has also been collaborating with the Government of Indonesia on promoting best practices in emergency management. Thanks to a major training effort supported by USAID and their Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management and other response agencies in Indonesia are now using principles and processes from the U.S. Forest Service’s Incident Command System to guide their response during large scale disaster simulations and incidents.

In Lao PDR, U.S. Forest Service collaborates with stakeholders at local and national level to improve participatory management of natural resources, through supporting the development and implementation of village forest management plans. Currently, the focus is on Bokeo Province in northern Laos, where the U.S. Forest Service is engaged with two local non-governmental organizations working on improved livelihoods and sustainable communities.

With support from the USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the USFS has worked on disaster management capacity building programs in Malaysia since 2016.  USFS worked closely with Malaysia’s National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) to deliver a series of trainings on the Incident Command System, and by the end of 2019, the first batch of Malaysian Master Trainers graduated from the USFS ICS training program.  USFS will continue to deliver trainings on ICS to Malaysian students in 2020, and USFS will work with the Malaysian Master Trainers to deliver additional trainings on the Incident Command System in a training of trainers model throughout Malaysia.

The U.S. Forest Service has programs on disaster management capacity building as well as natural resource management in Mongolia.  In 2012, USFS conducted initial consultations with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of Mongolia to discuss the government’s interest in the Incident Command System (ICS) and other US disaster management systems.  Since 2012, USFS has delivered trainings on the Incident Command System and worked with NEMA to deliver exercises to practice ICS principals.

The collaboration between the USFS, the Wildlife Science & Conservation Center of Mongolia (WSCC), and the International Crane Foundation (ICF) has been ongoing since 2013.  USFS has provided technical support to WSCC and ICF on the conservation of the White-Naped Crane.  In 2019, USFS delivered a workshop to Mongolian participants on hydrological monitoring and how to deliver a stakeholder assessment in order to assist WSCC in their work to designate critical habitat for the White-Naped Crane as a protected area.

Through its partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, the U.S. Forest Service supports disaster risk reduction and response in Myanmar by providing technical expertise and capacity building to key Government of Myanmar partners and Civil Society Organizations. Since 2017, the U.S. Forest Service has also partnered with Wildlife Conservation Society to support community-based land management, with the goal of enhancing local livelihoods while sustaining critical forested lands. Additionally, U.S. Forest Service experts provide demand-driven technical assistance to Government of Myanmar partners in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State on topics such as sustainable timber production and safety of rural bridges and roads. Lastly, U.S. Forest Service engages key partners from Myanmar in international seminars to strengthen individual and institutional capacities to address challenges related to natural resource management.

Since 2009, the U.S. Forest Service has worked with Nepal providing technical assistance related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, watersheds, and biodiversity, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).   Freshwater biodiversity, water resource management, and climate change are critical issues in Nepal, a country with a large percentage of the population reliant on natural resources. Many people depend on water-based enterprises such as fishing and use power supplied by hydroelectricity. Sustainable water use is also necessary for agriculture and household use.   The U.S. Forest Service has worked with Nepalese researchers to develop a tool which uses environmental DNA to monitor the effects of planned dam construction and operations on freshwater biodiversity in the Karnali River Basin.  USFS has also provided technical assistance in capacity programs with Government of Nepal officials, private sector leaders, and the NGO community on environmentally sustainable low volume road engineering and hydroelectric development.  U.S. Forest Service technical assistance also focuses on managing healthy watersheds, trail construction, and developing recreation and ecotourism opportunities within Nepal’s Community Forests.

The U.S. Forest Service partners with the Philippines to provide capacity building in forest management, forest monitoring, environmental law enforcement, and disaster response. The remaining forests in the Philippines harbor significant biodiversity and are sources of livelihoods for indigenous and other forest-dependent people. The government of the Philippines has demonstrated commitment to increasing forest cover through national level policies and has also engaged local communities in planning and implementation of forest management.  With funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), since 2009 the U.S. Forest Service has supported the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources in their efforts to improve forest monitoring, forest planning, and forest restoration through both national and local level trainings. Supported be the U.S. Department of State, The U.S. Forest Service is also helping to strengthen forest governance and environmental law enforcement efforts on the biodiversity rich island of Palawan by partnering with government and non-government organizations to enrich partnering and prosecutorial capacities. In addition, the U.S. Forest Service has supported conservation of the Philippine Eagle, a critically endangered species, through a grant and technical assistance to the Philippine Eagle Foundation for habitat conservation work. Finally, with funding support from the USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, the U.S. Forest Service has helped the Philippines adopt the Incident Command System through extensive training and technical support and continues to provide assistance to the Philippines Office of Civil Defense as they continuously strive to improve their disaster preparedness in the natural disaster prone country.

The U.S. Forest Service is providing training and technical support to the Thailand Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation to improve incident management and coordination during disasters through the use of the Incident Command System (ICS).  In 2011, the department identified ICS as an international best practice for incident management and initiated a robust training program to adopt and contextualize ICS for use in Thailand.  U.S. Forest Service trainers have assisted in the development of two groups of Thai ICS Master Trainers, who have subsequently spread ICS concepts around the country.  In addition, the U.S. Forest Service is providing support to the development of the Thailand Incident Management Assistance Team, which will serve as a resource to support Provincial and local governments during times of disaster.  This program has been supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.

With support from the USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the U.S. Forest Service has worked on disaster management capacity building programs in Timor-Leste since 2015.  The goal of the program is to contribute to the Government of Timor-Leste’s efforts to continuously improve disaster management response and coordination systems to more effectively respond to all kinds of incidents and disasters by providing robust training programs on the Incident Command System (ICS) and other NIMS concepts to a focal group of stakeholders.  The USFS launched a training program for the first batch of Master Trainers from Timor-Leste in 2015, and the first group graduated in 2018.  USFS launched training for the second batch of master trainers in 2019, and USFS continues to work with Timorese trainers to enhance their training skills so they can roll out training throughout Timor-Leste in a training of trainers model.

"The Republic of Vanuatu is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world. Its geographical location in the ‘ring of fire’ and the ‘cyclone belt’ area of the Pacific, and its archipelagic geological characteristics and wide distribution of a number of small islands, together with limited financial and technical capacity make Vanuatu particularly vulnerable to many different hazards…” (Source: Vanuatu Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Management, National Action Plan 2006-2016)

Since 2012 the Forest Service project has supported the Vanuatu government to increase the emergency response capacity of national and provincial actors (e.g. National Disaster Management Office (NDMOs)) and the international humanitarian community by using Incident Command System as an effective and efficient system in time of response to a major or small incident.

The U.S. Forest Service’s work in Vietnam consists of a range of program areas including biodiversity conservation, forest planning and restoration, Payment for Forest Environmental Services, forest inventory and analysis, ranger training and disaster management capacity building. With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Forest Service has established significant and productive partnerships with the Government of Vietnam and civil society stakeholders on a variety of natural resource topics.

Through a series of workshops, trainings, technical capacity exchanges, and in-depth knowledge-sharing, the U.S. Forest Service aims to strengthen the capacity of the Government of Vietnam to make informed decisions related to developing and implementing plans for sustainable forest management and Reduced Emissions through Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in support of its national strategies on climate change and green growth. The U.S. Forest Service activities have been supported by USAID Vietnam, the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, and the SilvaCarbon program, a U.S. Government initiative to support robust measuring and monitoring of forest and terrestrial carbon.

Across the Asia region, the U.S. Forest Service is working with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other key partners on climate change, biodiversity, and disaster management programs. On climate change topics, U.S. Forest Service is collaborating with USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia to better understand how various agricultural commodities are driving forest loss across Southeast Asia, with the goal of improving climate change mitigation strategies from the land sector. In addition, U.S. Forest Service co-implements a regional SilvaCarbon program to build capacity for measuring, monitoring, and reporting forest and terrestrial carbon. In biodiversity work, U.S. Forest Service supports local non-profit organizations in implementing grassroots conservation efforts. Finally, U.S. Forest Service provides technical assistance and training support to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to improve disaster management and coordination through regional cooperation.