The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,200 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 9 years to get that many views.
The AFoCo Secretariat launched the official website of the Agreement of ASEAN-Korea Forest Cooperation. You may find it at the url. http://www.afocosec.org/
It was the first time to convene all Ministers and relevant high profiles at the same venue in the history of forest and forestry sector in Asian region. In commemorative of the Entry into Force of the Agreement on ASEAN-Korea Forest Cooperation which was signed at the 13th ASEAN-ROK Summit on 11th of November, 2011, in Bali, Indonesia, the Ministers met at the Special Ministerial Meeting on Forestry (SMMF) on 30th August 2012 in Seoul, Korea and agreed to strengthen cooperative relations from now on in the spirit of ASEAN-ROK Forest Cooperation and to expedite the establishment of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization in two years since the entry into force of the AFoCo Agreement including other countries in Asian region. The Ministers announced the Ministerial Statement in result of the SMMF. 
In line with the Agreement the 1st Session of the Governing Council on 29th August 2012 at Shilla Hotel, Seoul, Korea. Council Members from all notified countries and other signatory countries except the Philippines attended and all agenda has been considered and approved by consensus. The GC agreed to hold a Inception Meeting in one ASEAN member states to finalize some remaining issues such as Regional Projects although the GC agreed them in principle. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar is considering to hold the Inception Meeting in consultation with relevant ministries and internal process.
ROK proposed a technical meeting to finalize some issues for the 1st Council Meeting as the Agreement has been entered into force on 8th August 2012. Also all signatory countries agreed to have the 1st session of the Governing Council of AFoCo Agreement on 28th August in Seoul, Korea, back to back with the Special Ministerial Meeting on Forest which was agreed at the High Level Workshop in February in Hanoi, Viet Nam.
Eventually the Agreement has been entered into force on 8th of August 2012 by notifications of ROK, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam as of 6th of July 2012. The ASEAN Secretariat informed all the signatory members the Entry into Force of the Agreement.
The International Workshop on the Development of Forest Cooperation between Central Asian countries and Republic of Korea was held in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan on 10-11 July 2012. This was organized by Seoul National University (SNU) in cooperation with the Forestry and Hunting Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Kazakhstan and was supported by the Korea Forest Service. This International Workshop aimed at exchanging forest status and national strategies on international issues such as climate change and biodiversity conservation in Central Asia, exploring opportunities to develop forest cooperation between Central Asian Countries and Republic of Korea, and introducing status and vision of Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) led by the Republic of Korea.
The International Workshop was participated by one representative from national forest administration and one representative from academic sector, in particular, from the countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russia and Mongolia. During the said Workshop, Dr. Yong-Ha Kim, Director General of the Korea Forest Service International Affairs Bureau gave his opening message while Dr. Yong Kwon Lee, Deputy Director of the same bureau presented on the “Sharing Experiences on Reforestation through Regional Cooperation and Establishment of AFoCO.”
Major topics of the Workshop concentrated around its goals, which include forestry and forest status in central Asia, national strategies on international forest issues, and opportunities for forest cooperation between the countries of central Asia and Republic of Korea.
The Korea Forest Service is glad to support this kind of activity to strengthen capacity building, public awareness and research and development in the forestry sector of central Asia. With the outcome of this Workshop, it is expected to have valuable means for bringing forward AFoCO, which includes Central Asian countries.
