On 5 June 2013, the Third Meeting of the APFNet Interim Steering Committee opened in Kunming, Yunnan province, China. The members of the Interim Steering Committee, including China, Australia, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Thailand, FAO/RAP, TNC and ITTO, sent representatives to the meeting.

Madame Yin Hong, chair of the Interim Steering Committee and Vice Minister of the State Forestry Administration of China, addressed the opening. She stated, since the establishment of the Interim Steering Committee, the members of the Interim Steering Committee fulfilled its functions according to the principle of multiple participation, negotiation on equal basis and broad consensus. Many important suggestions and comments put forward by the Interim Steering Committee members have been incorporated into the development process of APFNet. At last, she expressed her hope that the representatives this time can provide valuable inputs to align the operation of APFNet with the international practices.

Mr. Qu Guilin, Executive Director of APFNet, introduced the progress achieved in 2012 and the plan for 2013. Representatives then reviewed the Draft Plan for Establishing the Initial Board of APFNet, the Rules of Regulations of APFNet Project Appraisal Panel, and the Staff Regulations of APFNet Secretariat. They agreed that APFNet should establish a Board as the decision making body and generally agreed with the nomination and appointment procedures; they suggested revising the rules of procedure of the APFNet Project Appraisal Panel; useful inputs were incorporated in the Staff Regulations to make APFNet follow practices of international organizations. It was agreed that the Secretariat will summarize all the comments and reflect in the revised documents, and the next session of the Interim Steering Committee would be convened in the first quarter of 2014 and Thailand proposed that they welcomed the venue come to Thailand next time.

During the discussion, the representatives praised that, in line with the APFNet Strategic Plan 2011-2015, APFNet has made a lot progress in institutional development, demonstration projects, capacity building, information sharing and partnerships development. Mr. Patrick Durst, member of the Interim Steering Committee, pointed out that APFNet’s effort in 2012 was notable, especially the capacity building program, which has received favorable effects. Cooperation was also conducted with FAO/RAP on the policy short course and further cooperation will be explored.

Established in 2011, the Interim Steering Committee of APFNet is the technical consultancy body of APFNet and convenes its session once a year to review the work report and work plan of APFNet and provide recommendations for APFNet development.