KFS Shares Forest Fire Response System and Policies with Chile

The Korea Forest Service (KFS), headed by Minister PARK Eunsik, announced on Oct. 23 that Korea's forest fire response policies were presented at the Korea-Chile seminar on forest fire prevention and response cooperation, organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Chile. Held over four days from Oct. 20 (local time) in Chile, the seminar was organized at the suggestion of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Chile and the Chilean Congress to strengthen Chile’s capacity for forest fire prevention and response. Chile has been a forestry cooperation partner of Korea since the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in the Field of Forestry in September 2012. This seminar provided an opportunity to broaden the scope of cooperation beyond areas such as forest resource development and biodiversity conservation to include forest disaster management. The KFS dispatched a forest fire expert to the seminar, held in Santiago, Chile, to introduce Korea’s forest fire prevention and response policies and systems to key policymakers and disaster management experts, including members of both chambers of the Chilean Congress, representatives of the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), and firefighters (BOMBEROS CHILE). LEE Hyunju, Director of the International Cooperation Division of the KFS, stated, "The KFS continues to expand forestry cooperation with countries across Latin America and the Caribbean in addressing climate change. We hope this seminar will further strengthen Chile’s forest fire response capacity and serve as an opportunity to extend Korea’s advanced forest fire prevention technologies and equipment across Latin America and the Caribbean."