The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Malaysia Office, in collaboration with Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and FRIM Inc., is conducting a Third-Country Training Programme (TCTP) on forest management and conservation for African countries from 5-16 October 2026.
The programme, titled “Forest Management and Conservation for African Countries,” is being hosted by FRIM Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), at its facilities in Selangor.
Ten government officials from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are participating in the two-week programme, which aims to strengthen technical and institutional capacity in sustainable forest management and conservation through the sharing of Malaysian and Japanese expertise.
The programme comes as African countries face increasing pressure on forest resources from competing land uses, including agriculture, mining, energy development, livestock production and human settlements. Sustainable management of forest resources is also closely linked to biodiversity conservation, climate action and the provision of ecosystem services.
Training sessions cover a range of areas, including sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, forest carbon management, climate finance and carbon market readiness, forest plantation management, community-based forest management and forest landscape restoration.
A dedicated session on geospatial technologies for forest monitoring and sustainable forest management will be held on 13 October. The session will feature a Japanese forestry and afforestation expert from Rakuno Gakuen University in Hokkaido, Japan.
The programme also includes the preparation of country reports and action plans, providing participants with an opportunity to consider how the knowledge gained during the training can be applied to forest management challenges in their respective countries.
FRIM, established in 1926, is a Malaysian research institution specialising in forestry and forest-related research, development, conservation and commercialisation. Its experience in forest management and conservation forms the basis of the Malaysian component of the training programme.
FRIM was designated a National Heritage Site, while FRIM Forest Park Selangor was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2025. The institute has increasingly been involved in international cooperation and capacity-building activities in forestry.
The TCTP is supported by JICA as part of its technical cooperation activities. Under the programme, a developing country hosts participants from other developing countries to share relevant experience, knowledge and technical expertise. Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has implemented the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP) since 1980, while Malaysia and JICA have jointly conducted TCTPs since 1992.
