The establishment of the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet), proposed by China and co-sponsored by Australia and the United States, was agreed by the 15th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in September 2007 in Sydney, Australia and was incorporated in the Sydney APEC Leaders’ Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean Development.

The network will provide a platform for APEC members to share best practices, conduct policy dialogue and carry out personnel training on forest rehabilitation and management. The proposed network will be an open regional international organization and promote and improve sustainable forest management and rehabilitation in the Asia-Pacific region through capacity-building, information-sharing, regional policy dialogues and pilot projects.