Southeast Asia Urban Forestry Leaders Roundtable Held in Singapore

This inaugural gathering marked a major milestone for the Tree Cities of the World community — signaling a shift from recognition alone toward deeper regional connection, learning, and collective action.

Urban forestry leaders joined from Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, representing a wide range of urban contexts, governance systems, and environmental challenges. Through facilitated discussions, peer learning sessions, and collaborative workshops, participants explored key themes including policy and governance, community engagement, financing and maintenance, data and monitoring, and equity in access to green space.

As the first regional convening of its kind within the Tree Cities of the World Programme, the Southeast Asia Roundtable demonstrated the power of a global network to move beyond recognition and into a shared action. It laid the foundation for an ongoing regional community of practice and offered a model for how cities around the world can use the Tree Cities platform not only to celebrate success, but to collaborate, innovate, and accelerate impact together.