At the sideline of APFNet’s 10th anniversary celebration, Sino-ASEAN Network of Forestry Research Institutes (SANFRI) was formally launched and the first network meeting was held on 28 March, 2018 in Beijing. Proposed by APFNet, the network aims to advance forestry research by facilitating collaboration among forestry research institutes to contribute to sustainable forest management in the region.
A platform to connect forestry research institutes and support young forestry researchers
The network will not only provide a platform where forestry research institutes exchange research trends and findings, but more importantly, is pinpointed by four on-the-ground actions. The target group is forestry scientists, especially young researchers among member forestry research institutes in ASEAN economies and China.
The four specific actions include APFNet Conference Attendance Support, APFNet Research Fellowship, APFNet Small Research Grant and Early Career Academics Forum.
The Steering Committee (SC) was formed and Dr. Wang Weibin, President of Yunnan Academy of Forestry (YAF) was elected as Chair of the SC. The SC meeting adopted SANFRI Framework and Strategic Guidelines of the four actions. The meeting also fully discussed operation of the specific actions, around questions like “Which fields of research does our support focus on?”, “Who do we support?”, and “Who selects applicants?”etc. APFNet secretariat noted important points that would be refined later, but in general, proposed actions were approved by the SC.
More communication to make SANFRI better
Apart from confirming SANFRI framework and operation guidelines, the SC meeting decided on areas for future collaboration, such as inventory of medicinal plants, wood technology, and species exchange of agarwood and macadamia. Dr. Wang Weibin, Chair of SANFRI concluded that “our network starts from small but we have a long-term goal, and every member institute’s contribution is indispensable. As the Chair of SANFRI and President of Yunnan Academy of Forestry, I sincerely hope the member research institutes can communicate more actively and explore more collaboration opportunities on the platform of this network.”
