ACMECS Bioenergy 2015. Three Years of Effort Towards a Regional Bioenergy Network

Global change, including climate change, societal dynamics, economic challenges, environmental protection and the need to improve livelihoods and to reduce poverty have led to a situation where national solutions must be embedded in regional strategies. The ACMECS countries Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have a long tradition in collaboration across borders. Despite the cultural heterogeneity and different status of development, it can be a great advantage to address global challenges together. Biomass is seen as a promising resource for energy and industrial raw materials, but the challenge is that biomass production requires land and increased production can cause conflicts and environmental degradation. The increased demand for biomass in the recent years, coupled with the fact that the balance between domestic, regional and foreign demand for biomass is changing, requires careful attention. As a consequence of these developments, the Kasetsart Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Product Improvement Institute (KAPI) of the Kasetsart University, Thailand initiated a process to establish a regional bioenergy network. International experts, including members of the IUFRO Task Force "Sustainable Forest Biomass Network (SFBN)", have acknowledged the significant progress made over the last few years. This report is jointly published with the IUFRO Occasional Paper series, Vol. 31 (http://www.iufro.org/publications/series/occasional-papers/article/2016/04/20/occasional-paper-31-acmecs-bioenergy-2015-three-years-of-efforts-towards-a-regional-bioenergy-n/