This hybrid workshop brought together representatives from all 11 ASEAN Member States, along with Indonesian national forestry officials, to facilitate the exchange of experiences, progress, innovative approaches, and best practices in implementing the ASEAN Guiding Principles for Effective Social Forestry Legal Frameworks at the national level.

The workshop was also joined by Dr. Dian Sukmajaya, S.Hut., M.Sc., M.S.E., Senior Officer, Forestry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry Division, ASEAN Secretariat, and Dr. Markus Octavianus Susatyo, Director of Social Forestry Management Directorate, Ministry of Forestry Indonesia.

"ASEAN emphasised the importance of advancing sustainable forest management and social forestry development through stronger legal and policy frameworks, enhanced institutional capacity, sustainable community livelihoods, and regional knowledge sharing. These priorities aim to strengthen forest governance, support climate and biodiversity goals, and ensure meaningful participation of local communities in the sustainable management of forest resources. Social forestry has a potential role to support the implementation of ASEAN One Billion Trees Growing Initiatives and promotion of the NbS/EbA across the region,” said Dr. Dian Sukmajaya, S.Hut., M.Sc., M.S.E., Senior Officer Forestry of Food Agriculture and Forestry Division, ASEAN Secretariat.

The AGP, co-developed by ClientEarth and RECOFTC Indonesia with AWG-SF in 2019, provides a shared regional framework to enable and strengthen the legal and institutional environment for social forestry across Southeast Asia. The goal is to ensure Indigenous Peoples and local communities have more effective access to social forestry schemes and the opportunity to participate in sustainable forest management.

This year’s edition is a continuation of the success of a series of capacity-building initiatives that ClientEarth and RECOFTC Indonesia have supported since 2019, including a 2024 regional workshop that identified priority actions for national-level implementation, and a 2025 national training programme for Indonesian forest agencies.

The 2025 national training programmes engaged Regional Social Forestry offices, provincial and district Forest Agencies, and Forest Management Units to strengthen institutional capacity and address systemic and procedural challenges in the social forestry permitting process. With the programmes grounded in the AGP framework, participating officials will be better positioned to translate regional commitments and national policies into practical implementation.

“ASEAN's mission in social forest management is crucial for our people who live in the forest areas and nearby. As ASEAN member states, we remain committed to jointly promoting and supporting sustainable social forest management under the ASEAN cooperation on Forestry. This strengthens social forestry cooperation through improved legal frameworks, greater community participation, recognition of traditional land tenure rights, and increased adoption of agroforestry systems to support livelihoods, food security, and climate resilience in our region. Therefore, the ASEAN Regional Knowledge Sharing Principles for Effective Community Forest Law Frameworks (AGP) are a key guideline to further drive cooperation in ASEAN's social forest management,” said Ms. Prattana Meesincharoen, AWG-SF Focal Point for Thailand, the Royal Forest Department of Thailand.

Over two days, representatives from each ASEAN Member State presented on the successes and challenges of social forestry implementation in their respective countries, followed by discussions on shared lessons and opportunities for regional cooperation. Government representatives were also invited to share usable models, regulatory updates, and practical challenges, moving the discussion beyond theory and anchoring it in concrete, replicable solutions.

"What we’ve learned through Indonesia’s experience implementing the AGP is that the practical, sometimes procedural challenges officials face on the ground are exactly what this workshop was designed to share. No single country has all the answers, and that’s the point of coming together," said Azam Hawari, Lawyer, Food, Oceans, Land Use (FOLU) Japan and Southeast Asia at ClientEarth.

“I am very grateful that representatives from most ASEAN Member States joined this workshop. Although each country has different political systems, cultures, and socio-economic contexts, we all share the same goal. Community forestry contributes to environmental sustainability, economic prosperity, and social equity. Let us turn this shared commitment into action and continue working together for stronger communities and healthier forests across ASEAN,” stated Gamma Galudra, Country Director of RECOFTC Indonesia.

The workshop concluded with reflections from the ASEAN Secretariat on how the shared lessons can support continued national-level implementation of the AGP across the region.