The official launching ceremony of the “Demonstration of Sustainable Forest Management and Establishment of APFNet Training Base Project” was held in Wanzhangshan Forest Farm, Pu’er City, Yunnan Province on 15 May 2020. More than 60 representatives from APFNet, the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Administration, the local Pu’er and Simao governments, as well as the Pu’er and Simao Forestry and Grassland Bureau attended the event.

 
During the ceremony, Dr Lu De, the Executive Director of APFNet, explained that the goal of the APFNet Training Base is to build an information and communication platform for forestry officers across the Asia-Pacific region to exchange knowledge on sustainable forest management (SFM). Successful SFM models and best practices will be demonstrated through this platform, which will further promote the co-development of SFM across APFNet member economies, protect the natural environment and create beautiful landscapes. Mr Xu Zhijiang, the Division Head of the International Cooperation Office of the Yunnan Forest and Grassland Administration, stated that this project will empower Yunnan Province to build a cooperation centre for South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Deputy Mayor of Pu’er, Li Rong emphasized that the local government will make sure that all parties are consulted to ensure smooth implementation of the project and to complete all construction activities on time and promote SFM in Pu’er through implementation of this project.
 
More details were discussed amongst all parties before the launching ceremony. All representatives visited the project demonstration sites and reached agreement on the concept of the project design and how to assure high-quality implementation of the project.
 
       

 
The project is funded by APFNet, supervised by the Yunnan Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Pu’er and Simao Forestry and Grassland Bureau, and implemented by Wanzhangshan Forest Farm. This project has a duration of three years and is based on the successful implementation of a previous APFNet project – “Integrated Forest Ecosystem Management Planning and Demonstration Project in the Greater Mekong Subregion (Pu'er Project Site, P.R. China)”. After completion of this project, the main achievements will be the demonstration of successful experiences and best practices of forest management in subtropical and tropical regions through a centralized base, and the overall promotion of SFM in the Asia-Pacific region.