An International Symposium on APFNet Development was held on 28-29 August, 2009 in Jiujiang, China. The Symposium was jointly organized by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (MOF) and Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet), with support from the Jiujiang Municipal Government, with an aim to collect inspiring ideas and good suggestions for the future development of the APFNet.

The Symposium brought together nearly 40 participants from 8 APEC member economies, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Peru, Chinese Taipei, Viet Nam and the US, APEC Secretariat, FAO Regional Office for the Asia and the Pacific, TNC, AFP, CIFOR and WWF and Chinese Academy of Forestry (CAF) as well as APFNet Secretariat.

During the opening ceremony of the Symposium, Mr. WU Hailong, Director General of Department of International Organizations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Mr. QU Guilin, Director General of Department of International Cooperation, State Forestry Administration of China and Mr. Harvey Lee, Acting Director of Office of Ecology and Natural Resources Conservation, US Department of State made welcome addresses, recalled the rationale and background of the establishment of APFNet, and expressed appreciation of the work done and progress made by the APFNet to help mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable development in the region. They also appealed for wide participation and support from the APEC region to facilitate the APFNet to move forward with vitality.

During the opening ceremony of the Symposium, Mr. WU Hailong, Director General of Department of International Organizations and Conferences, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Mr. QU Guilin, Director General of Department of International Cooperation, State Forestry Administration of China and Mr. Harvey Lee, Acting Director of Office of Ecology and Natural Resources Conservation, US Department of State made welcome addresses, recalled the rationale and background of the establishment of APFNet, and expressed appreciation of the work done and progress made by the APFNet to help mitigating climate change and promoting sustainable development in the region. They also appealed for wide participation and support from the APEC region to facilitate the APFNet to move forward with vitality.

During the Symposium session, discussion was held with regards to the modalities of APFNet, the relationship with APEC, functions and roles of the Secretariat and APFNet activities as well as APFNet priority areas. The participants suggested the following main points:

● Landscape approach may be a good organizing principle to narrow down the focus areas identified in the APFNet launch meeting and the Framework Document as landscape theory pursues integrity and multiple functions of ecosystems, and that priority areas of the APFNet should embody national and regional needs and challenges to be considered, based on concept papers on APFNet development, jointly drafted by China, US and Australia.

● APFNet membership will focus on APEC member economies as first priority while keeping open to non-APEC economies, international organizations and the private sector, and expansion should be further promoted step by step, according to the consultations made so far.

● APFNet keeps a close link with APEC to make advantage of the organization while maximizing the flexibility of the APFNet.

● Capacity building should focus on policy making and implementation in the region.

● For the transitional period from 2009 to 2010, the Secretariat will be hosted by China and be responsible for the APFNet routine work. It was suggested that a steering committee be established soon, comprising China, US, Australia and a number of APEC economies.

On the margin of the Symposium, consultations on the possibility of implementing an APFNet pilot project in Indonesia were held among China, US and Indonesia. It was agreed that a consensus on project cooperation would be reached prior to October 2009, based on feasibility study and investigation by experts from the three parties.