June 9-11, 2010, 23rd APFC Session convened in Thimphu, Bhutan, with around 150 participants including representatives from 29 APFC member countries and more than 20 international organizations involved in an exciting array of events and discussions on topics concerning forest management and forestry in the region.
Themed with “Forests-our heritage, our future”, the Session comprised a mix of plenary sessions, in-session seminars, partners' events and the Head of Forestry Dialogue, aiming to report and discuss state of forestry in the Asia-Pacific region, to share information on biodiversity-related issues and progress in improving forest law enforcement and governance. The 1stHead of Forestry Dialogue held during the Session offered a unique opportunity to discuss climate change and financing SFM, with experiences on preparing for REDD, and policies and practices shared. The arrangement of the next Session was then discussed and China was agreed to host the 24th APFC Session and the 2nd Asia-Pacific Forestry Week in the 2nd half of 2011.
APFNet representative was invited to present APFNet on-going work and progress on the open forum followed by discussion, and to participate in a side event focusing on “Innovative Forestry Financing Mechanism in Asia-Pacific”. Informal discussion on the margin was held with representatives from Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, the Philippines, US and other organizations, generating broad interest in participation in and cooperation on APFNet activities, including scholarship program, symposium on forest management in Great Mekong Sub-region, Regional Forest College Dean Meeting and pilot projects.
2011 will be the International Year of Forests (IYF), and several events, such as the 2nd Ministerial Meeting on Forests of ASEAN and China, and the 1st annual Meeting of APFNet were identified as celebrations of IYF in the coming year.
