The Preparatory Meeting of Establishing APFNet Steering Committee was convened in Rome, on 3 October 2010, before the 20th Session of Committee of Forestry (COFO), for an in-depth discussion on the institutional development and governance of APFNet.

During the meeting, representatives from China, the United States, Australia, UNFF and FAO reviewed the draft APFNet strategic plan for the next 5 years, and discussed the necessity of guiding the future development of APFNet with a steering committee to be established. Participants underscored that the operational model and governance structure of APFNet must be clarified, and pointed out that APFNet’s priorities must be identified to avoid duplication and to add value to the regional forest management.

It was agreed that the proposed APFNet steering committee would be set up, and a case study on regional/international organizations would be conducted with a focus on governance models to help identify a suitable one to sustain APFNet. A second draft strategic plan would also be developed based on the previous expert reviews and this meeting discussion. The meeting also concluded with a second round of dialogue on APFNet governance and its niche to be started on the margin of UNFF9 Session in January 2011 with more multi-stake holders in a wider range to be involved and to provide inputs.