85. The Commission was informed of the third and fourth meetings of the APFC Executive Committee, held respectively in Bangkok, Thailand, 19-20 December 2006, and Hua Hin, Thailand, 30-31 August 2007.
86. The Executive Committee had made suggestions to help ensure that the twenty-second session of APFC would constitute the major regional forestry event in 2008, to attract broader and higher-level participation, to strive for a smaller number of high-priority recommendations, and to organize the first Asia-Pacific Forestry Week in 2008.
87. The Commission was informed of the APFC auto-evaluation which aimed to assess APFC’s strengths and weaknesses, provide suggestions for enhancing performance, and assess its effectiveness in producing tangible outcomes.
88. The auto-evaluation highlighted the need for APFC to engage more with non-forestry sectors, the private sector and civil society in implementing activities, and that although effectiveness in addressing issues has varied, APFC publications and discussions on key forestry issues have been influential.
89. The auto-evaluation recommended reducing the number of session recommendations to those of highest priority, to strengthen monitoring and evaluation, to enhance member country participation, and to continue efforts to engage NGOs and the private sector in the sessions and activities.
90. The Commission considered proposed changes to APFC Rules of Procedure and Terms of Reference for the APFC Executive Committee on the basis of Secretariat Note FO:APFC/2008/12.3. The Commission adopted the proposed Terms of Reference for the APFC Executive Committee (Appendix D) and the proposed changes to the APFC Rules of Procedure by general acclamation (see Appendix E for the adopted Rules of Procedure).
91. The Commission welcomed a report on the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Forest Rehabilitation, endorsed at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in September 2007, in Sydney, Australia. The network will address challenges on forests and climate change, and promote sustainable forest management in the region.
92. Recognizing the revised modalities of the United Nations Forum on Forests to facilitate enhanced linkages with regional forest-related organizations, and the desire to enhance input from regional forest-related organizations into the Multi-Year Program of Work agenda items to be discussed at the eighth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF8), the Commission endorsed a proposal that:
| (a) | commended FAO and the host country for their outstanding efforts in organizing the first Asia-Pacific Forestry Week as part of the twenty-second session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, which enabled enhanced dialogue among a broad range of stakeholders on regional and global forest-related issues; |
| (b) | requested FAO to submit the report from the twenty-second session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, including a summary of the outcomes relevant to the UNFF8 agenda items, to the UNFF Secretariat by October 2008; and |
| (c) | invited organizations participating in Asia-Pacific Forestry Week to submit relevant information to the UNFF Secretariat to complement the regional report provided by FAO. |
93. Recognizing the importance of professional forestry education in developing skills for sustainable forest management and forest policy analysis and development, the Commission welcomed the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Universities’ Forest Education Network and urged FAO and member countries to promote investment in forestry education and to support collaborative efforts such as this network.
