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APAFRI is a chapter of International Union of Forest Research Organizations

ASIA PACIFIC ASSOCIATION OF FORESTRY

RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS

MINUTES FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sunday, 4 October 2009

Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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CONTENTS

Minutes of Fifth General Assembly 5

Annex I List of participants of the Fifth General Assembly 13 Annex II The Approved Agenda 21

Annex III Minutes of the Fourth General Assembly 25

Annex IV Matters Arising from the Minutes of Fourth General Assembly 37

Annex V Chairperson‟s Report 41

Attachment 1: Minutes of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Executive Committee Meetings 47

Attachment 2: Financial Reports 79

Annex VI APAFRI Executive Committee Members 2009–2012 83


THE FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

ASIA PACIFIC ASSOCIATION OF FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS

4 October 2009 Hotel Istana

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

MINUTES OF


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FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

4 October 2009 Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. INTRODUCTION

The Fifth General Assembly of the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) was held on 4 October 2009. A list of participants who attended the meeting is attached as Annex I.

Opening Remarks Mr Sarath Fernando, Chairman of the current Executive Committee, welcomed all the participants, especially representatives of member institutions, and called upon them to participate actively and to contribute inputs for the further development of APAFRI. The Chairman thanked the current Executive Committee, of which all members were present at this General Assembly: Dr Putera Parthama of FORDA Indonesia (the Vice-chair), Dato‟ Dr Abd Latif Mohmod of Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) (the Immediate Past Chair), and members: Prof Simon Saulei of Forest Research Institute Papua New Guinea (PNG FRI), Dr Xiao Wenfa of Research Institute of Forest Ecology Environment and Protection (RIFEEP) China, Dr Park JungHwan of Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Dr Leocadio Sebastian of Bioversity International, Dr CN Pandey of Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), and Assoc. Prof Awang Noor Abd Ghani of University Putra Malaysia (UPM). He then invited the official representatives of the member institutions present at this General Assembly to introduce one by one themselves. He was extremely pleased to note that there were representatives from 31 member institutions present at this General Assembly. This was the biggest General Assembly attendance in APAFRI‟s history! He also welcomed all the others who were present as observers. The Chairman reported that the membership of APAFRI had reached 64 institutional members and seven affiliate/individual members. However, only about 40 of these members were actively involved in APAFRI activities over the years. He concluded his opening remarks by thanking all who have made this General Assembly possible, and also the funding agencies which had supported APAFRI all these years.

2. AGENDA ITEM 2.1: ADOPTION OF AGENDA

The adoption of agenda was proposed by Dr Leocadio Sebastian from the Bioversity International (BI) and seconded by Dr Aida Baja-Lapis of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB). The approved agenda of the meeting is per Annex II.

3. AGENDA ITEM 2.2: APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Chairman requested all present to go through the rather voluminous document and propose the acceptance of the minutes of the past General Assembly. As there were no queries, the minutes of the Fourth General Assembly was accepted unanimously. The accepted minutes of the Fourth General Assembly is as per Annex III.

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4. AGENDA ITEM 2.3: MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

The Chairman pointed out that the matters arising from the minutes of the Fourth General Assembly are as listed on Page 47 of the Agenda and Supporting Documents (Annex IV). The amendments proposed and approved during the Fourth General Assembly have received endorsement from the Malaysian Registrar of Society (since APAFRI is registered in Malaysia) and incorporated into the new edition of the Constitution. Copies of this new edition have been distributed to all member institutions, as well as uploaded onto APAFRI‟s website (www.apafri.org) since early 2007. Additional copies were also given out to all present at this General Assembly.

5. AGENDA ITEM 2.4: CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

The Chairman presented the General Assembly with the report that outlines the activities and programmes for the past three years. During the three-year period, the Executive Committee has met four times. The last meeting, the Sixteenth was held in the morning of 4 October 2009. The minutes of these Executive Committee meetings were appended together in the report (Annex V). The Chairman invited comments/remarks from the member representatives on the activities as summarized in the report. The Executive Secretary had supplemented the summary with a PowerPoint presentation, highlighting a number of high profile activities during the past years. On the issue of APAFRI Semi-annually Newsletters, it was decided that subsequent issues will again be printed in hard copies as many still like to have printed copies. The Executive Secretary then continued to discuss the financial report (appended in Annex V). He explained to the General Assembly that the retained balance had grown slightly mainly due to contributions from a few agencies for organizing activities. The General Assembly was informed that membership fee collected have been kept in fixed deposits and interest earned used to fund activities. Some small earnings were also derived from sales of publications. Members were also informed that APAFRI has a tradition of providing financial support of up to US$3000 per activity organized by member institutions. To a query why incomes in 2006 and 2007 were less than expenses, the General Assembly was informed that APAFRI accounts are on „cash-basis‟ and recorded only cash transactions. Promised contributions, expected earnings and committed expenses were not captured in these accounts. In addition, very often monies received in a year may be required to pay for expenses incurred in subsequent years. There were some discussions about membership fee collections, and many present at the General Assembly had suggested that the members be given the option of paying the membership fees for a number of years in a single lump sum.

Before moving on to the next agenda, the Chairman thanked the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI); the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF); the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM); The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Forest Service; the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO); the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); and all the other agencies, for their financial as well as in-kind contributions to APAFRI.

6. AGENDA ITEM 2.5: Other Businesses

Bioversity International (BI) moved a motion of inserting the following into Clause 1 of Article XII: “If the member institution hosting the Secretariat has not been elected a member of the Executive Committee, this member institution shall be made an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.”

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The amended Clause 1 of Article XII will read as: “The Executive Committee shall comprise a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and six members elected at the General Assembly from among the members by ballot of all member institutions. The immediate Past Chairperson shall continue as an ordinary member for another term. In the event that the Chairperson has been elected for a second term, the Immediate Past Chairperson shall continue as an ordinary member for a second term. If the member institution hosting the Secretariat has not been elected a member of the Executive Committee, this member institution shall be made an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee.” Implication: This proposed amendment will improve the functioning of the Association and its Secretariat by having better coordination and greater participation in the decision making. Decision: CIFOR proposed, seconded by IFES, that the proposed amendment to Article XII be adopted. The Executive Secretary explained that since APAFRI has registered with the Registrar of Society Malaysia, the amendment will need to be forwarded to the Registrar of Society Malaysia and will be in force thereafter.

ITC proposed that profiles of member institutions be maintained. The APAFRI‟s website has such a compilation of member institutions profiles. The Secretariat will take appropriate actions to update these profiles. The General Assembly was also informed of a Directory of Asia Pacific Forestry Researchers maintained by APAFRI, which was initiated in 2004 with funding from USDA-FS. Currently the Directory has over 800 entries, which is still far from complete. Continuous efforts have been taken to increase the awareness of this Directory and invite more entries. Dr Efransjah of CIFOR stressed that APAFRI must continuously reminding itself of maintaining its relevancy to the forestry research fraternities, particularly to those in the Asia Pacific region. This would then attract more institutions to join APAFRI, as well as contribute to some assurance of continuous support from the donor agencies. There were some discussions about improving communication and information dissemination. The General Assembly had been informed that information and announcements of activities were typically posted on APAFRI website. Emails were then sent to all members and colleagues on APAFRI‟s mailing list, directing them to browse the website for more details. Briefs were also typically sent out as attachments to these emails. The mailing list has been continuously updated and expanded. The General Assembly supported the suggestion from Dr Alfredo Rabena of UNP, that communication between the Secretariat and member institutions be further strengthened by having the emails be sent to a focal point or nominated official representative of the member institution, and he/she shall forward to his/her other colleagues. Dr Park JungHwan (Korea FRI) informed the General Assembly about the upcoming IUFRO World Congress in August 2010 in Seoul, Korea. He suggested that this would be a golden opportunity for APAFRI to further uplift its profile, and would like to see activities/events supported/organized by APAFRI including putting up a display booth during this once-in-five-year premier global forestry research event. The General Assembly was informed that the Secretariat has already received at least three enquiries on the possibility of jointly organizing technical sessions/side events on the topics of forest genetic resources, wood processing and forest invasive species. The Secretariat would step up the discussions and also actively looking for sponsors.

7. AGENDA ITEM 3.1: DISSOLVING OF CURRENT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Chairman explained that, in accordance with Article XII of the constitution, Executive Committee members who have already served two terms would not be eligible for re-election. The current EC members are:

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Chairperson Mr Sarath Fernando FD, Sri Lanka Vice Chairperson Dr Nur Masripatin FORDA, Indonesia Immediate Past Chairperson

Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Mohd Ali / Dato‟ Dr Abd Latif Mohmod

FRIM, Malaysia

Members (up to 6) Dr.Xiao Wenfa RIF*, CAF, China Dr Park JungHwang KFRI*, Korea Prof Dr Mohd Hamami Sahri

/Assoc. Prof Dr Awang Noor Abd Ghani UPM, Malaysia

Dr Percy Sajise / Dr Leocadio Sebastian

Bioversity International

Dr CN Pandey IPIRTI, India Mr Nalish Sam / Mr Roy Banka

/Prof Simon Saulei FRI, PNG

* not eligible for re-election He expressed his appreciation to the Executive Committee members for their contributions and support during the term of office. He then declared that the term of the present committee terminated and the committee dissolved. As a token of appreciation, he presented a pewter plaque to each one of them. A pewter plaque was also presented to the former Executive Secretary, Dr Daniel Baskaran, for his contributions to APAFRI.

8. AGENDA ITEM 3.2: ELECTION OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 2009–2012

When the General Assembly resumed after a brief coffee break, the current Executive Secretary, proceeded with the election of the new Executive Committee for 2009–2012. For the post of Chair of the Executive Committee, UPM nominated FRIM and the nomination was seconded by STA. Since there was no other nomination, the official representative of FRIM, Dato‟ Dr Abd Latif Mohmod shall serve as the Chair of the APAFRI Executive Committee 2009–2012. ICFRE was nominated by IFES to be the Vice-chair, and the nomination was seconded by ITC. As ICFRE was the only one nominated for this post, it was accepted that the official representative of ICFRE, Dr GS Rawat, shall serve as Vice-chair of the APAFRI Executive Committee 2009–2012. Two member institutions, RITF and FFPRI, were nominated to the position of Executive Committee Member representing the East Asian sub-region. Voting by show of hands elected FFPRI, which was represented by Dr Isamu Okochi. Three member institutions, UPM, FORDA and ERDB, were nominated for the position of Executive Committee Member representing the Southeast Asian sub-region. Dr Aida Baja-Lapis, representing ERDB, was elected from voting by show of hands. PNG FRI was the only nomination for the position of Executive Committee Member representing the Pacific sub-region. Prof Simon Saulei, representing PNG FRI shall therefore be the Executive Committee Member representing the Pacific sub-region in the APAFRI Executive Committee 2009–2012. Likewise, IFES was the only nomination for the position of Executive Committee Member representing the South Asian sub-region. Prof M Al Amin, representing IFES, shall then be a member of the APAFRI Executive Committee 2009–2012. There were four nominations, UPM, FORDA, BI and RITF, for the remaining two positions in the Executive Committee. Show of hands voted in RITF, represented by Dr Xu Daping; and FORDA, represented by Dr Putera Parthama.

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The new Executive Committee of the Association for 2009–2012 elected by the Fifth General Assembly is per Annex VI.

9. AGENDA ITEM 3.3: APPOINTMENT OF INTERNAL AUDITORS 2009–2012 Dr Efransjah of CIFOR and Assoc. Prof Dr Awang Noor Abd Ghani of UPM were unanimously elected to be the Internal Auditors 2009–2012.

10. ADDRESS BY INCOMING CHAIRMAN

Dato‟ Dr Abd Latif Mohmod thanked the members present for electing FRIM as the Chair of APAFRI Executive Committee 2009–2012. As Director General of FRIM, he promised, with the endorsement from the governing board: the Malaysian Forestry Research and Development Board and FRIM‟s top management, to continue hosting and further strengthening the APAFRI Secretariat. In so doing, he would strive to uplift the recognition of APAFRI‟s contributions by the Malaysian Government, as well as the Governments in the Asia and Pacific region. He stressed the importance of collaboration and cooperation among all member institutions in APAFRI‟s future activities. He would welcome positive criticisms and remarks to assist him in improving the performance of APAFRI in the next three years. Last but not least, he also thanked the past Chairmen: former Director General Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Mohd Ali of FRIM and Mr Sarath Fernando, Conservator General of Forests Sri Lanka, for their contributions in moulding APAFRI to its present status of a highly respected premier regional network for forestry research. Concluding his address, he announced that he would retain Dr Sim Heok-Choh to continue serving as Executive Secretary of APAFRI.

11. CLOSING BY EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Dr Sim Heok-Choh, the Executive Secretary, thanked all present for making this General Assembly a very successful and fruitful gathering of members. He also thanked the new Chairman for having the confidence in retaining him as the Executive Secretary of APAFRI, and looking forward to work closely with the new Executive Committee. He further pledged to continuously improving the services that the Secretariat could provide to the members.

With these notes, he declared the Fifth General Assembly of APAFRI adjourned.






ANNEX I

ATTENDANCE

AT THE FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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ATTENDANCE AT THE FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 4 October 2009

Hotel Istana Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

001 PNG-FRI Prof Simon Saulei Papua New Guinea Forest Research Institute P.O. Box 314, LAE 411, Morobe Province Papua New Guinea Tel: 675 472 4188/675 472 0408 Fax: 675 472 4357 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] 002 CIFOR Dr. Efransjah Center for International Forestry Research P.O. Box 6596 JKPWB, Jakarta 10065 Indonesia Tel: 62 251 622 622 Fax: 62 251 622 100 Email: [email protected] 004 IPIRTI Dr. C.N. Pandey Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute Post Bag No. 2273, Tumkur Road, Bangalore – 560 022 India Tel: 91 80 28394341 (D)/ 28394231-32-33 (G) Fax: 91 80 28396361 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] 006 FFPRI Dr. Isamu Okochi Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687 Japan Tel: 81 29 829 8102 Fax: 81 29 873 3795 Email: [email protected] 007 FSIV Dr. Nguyen Hoang Nghia Forest Sciences Institute of Viet Nam Dong Ngac, Tu Liem, Ha Noi Viet Nam Tel: 84 4 838 9031/9923 Fax: 84 4 838 9722 Email: [email protected] 008 ITC Dr. H D Kulkarni ITC Limited-PSPD, Sarapaka-507 128 Khammam District, Andhra Pradesh India Tel: 91 40 27846566 Handphone: 09849496020 Fax: 91 40 27842997 Email: [email protected]

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009 ICFRE Dr GS Rawat Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education Dehradun, Uttarakhand India Tel: 91-135-2759382 Fax: 91-135-2757775 Email: [email protected] 010 UPM Dr. Awang Noor Abd Ghani Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Malaysia Tel: 603 89467171 Fax: 603 89432514 Email: [email protected] 011 FRIM Dato' Dr Abd Latif Mohmod Forest Research Institute Malaysia 52109 Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Malaysia Tel: 603 62797822 Fax 603 62804624 Email: [email protected] 015 ERDB Dr Aida Baja-Lapis Ecosystems Research & Development Bureau College 4031, Laguna Philippines Tel: 639182898345 Fax: 63495362850 Email: [email protected] 016 TFRI Dr. Lin Kuo-chuan Taiwan Forestry Research Institute 53 Nanhai Road, Taipei Taiwan Tel: 886 2 2303 9978 Fax: 886 2 2337 8532 Email: [email protected] 017 NTU Prof Wang Ya-Nan School of Forestry and Resource Conservation National Taiwan University No 1 Sec. 4 Roosevelt Road, Taipei 106 Taiwan Tel: 886 49 2642181 Fax: 886 49 2641184 Email: [email protected] 018 IFES Prof Dr M Al Amin Institute of Forestry & Environmental Sciences Chittagong University, 4331 Chittagong Bangladesh Tel: 8801819820184 Fax: 88031726310 Email: [email protected]

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021 FD SL Mr. Sarath Fernando Forestry Department P.O. Box 3, Battaramulla, Colombo Sri Lanka Tel: 94 11 2866616 Fax: 94 11 2866633 Email: [email protected], [email protected] 024 FD Fiji Mrs. Sanjana Devi Lal Forestry Department P.O. Box 2218, Govt. Bldgs, Suva Fiji Tel: 679 3322311/3322389 Fax: 679 3320380 Email: [email protected] 025 KFRI Dr Park Jung-Hwan Korea Forest Research Institute 207 Cheongyangni-2 dong dongdaemun-gu Seoul, 130-712 Korea Tel: 82 2 961 2562 Fax: 82 2 961 2589 Email: [email protected] 027 UPLB Dr Enrique L. Tolentino Jr College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños College, Laguna 4031 Philippines Tel: 63 49 5362557 Fax: 63 49 5365314 Email: [email protected] 029 RIF CAF Dr Jiang Zeping Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 People‟s Republic of China Tel: 86 10 62888862 Fax: 86 10 62872015 Email: [email protected] 031 KU Assoc Prof Uthaiwan Sangwanit Kasetsart University 50 Phahonyothin Road, Lat Yao Subdistrict, Jatujak District, Bangkok 10900 Thailand Tel: 66-2-579-0176 ext. 520 Mobile tel. 66-81-726-1867 Fax: 66-2-942-8107 Email: [email protected] 036 JIRCAS Dr Tadao Gotoh Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Sciences 1-1, Ohwashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8686 Japan Tel: 81 29 838 6309 Fax: 81 29 838 6654 Email: [email protected]

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039 FA Cambodia Chann Sophal Forestry Administration Forestry Research, Education and Wildlife Institute 40 Preah Norodom Blvd, Phnom Penh 12205 Cambodia Tel: 855 23 214651 Fax: 855 23 212201 Email: [email protected] 040 FORDA Dr Putera Parthama Forestry Research and Development Agency Ministry of Forestry Gedung Manggala Wanabakti, Block 1, 4th Floor Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta 10270 Indonesia Tel: 62 21 573 7945/0398/4333 Fax: 62 21 572 0189 Email: [email protected] 041 SFRI Dr RK Pandey State Forest Research Institute Polipathar, Jabalpur 482 008 India Tel: 91 761 2666529, 2669035 Fax: 91 761 2661304 Email: [email protected] 043 STA Dr. Peter C.S. Kho Sarawak Timber Association 11th Floor, Wisma STA 26 Jalan Datuk Abang Abdul Rahim 93450 Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia Tel: 6082 332222 Fax: 6082 487888 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] 046 NLU Dr. Pham Trinh Hung Faculty of Forestry Nonglam University of Ho Chi Minh City Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City Viet Nam Tel: 848 838963352 Fax: 848 838960713 Email: [email protected] 049 UNP Dr Alfredo Rabena University of Northern Philippines UNP,Tamag, Vigan City, Ilocos Sur 2700 Philippines Tel: 0917 202 7696 Fax: 63 77 722 2810 Email: [email protected]

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053 GMU Dr Sapto Indrioko Faculty of Forestry, Gajah Mada University Yogyakarta 55281 Indonesia Tel: 62-274-512102 Fax: 62-274-550541 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] 056 RITF Dr Xu Daping Research Institute of Tropical Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry Longdong, Guangzhou 510520 China Tel: 86 20 87033463 Fax: 86 20 87031622 Email: [email protected] 060 BI Dr. Leocadio Sebastian Asia, the Pacific and Oceania Region (APO) Bioversity International Regional Office for Asia, the Pacific and Oceania P.O. Box 236, UPM Post Office, Serdang 43400, Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia Tel: 603 8942 3891 Fax: 603 8948 7655 Email: [email protected] 063 FRC Laos Mr Somphachan Vongphasouran Forest Research Centre Phonethong Village, Nasaythong District Vientiane Capital PO Box: 7174 Laos PDR Tel: 856 30 5257894 Fax: 856 21 770093, 21 770074 Email: [email protected] 064 RIFEEP Dr. Xiao Wenfa Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry, Wanshou Shan Beijing 100091 People's Republic of China Tel: 86 10 62888688 Fax: 86 10 62884972 Email: [email protected] Observers Dr. Simmathiri Appanah Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 39 Phra Athit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand Tel: 66 2 6974136 Fax: 66 2 6974445 Email: [email protected]

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Dr Susumu Kurinobu Forestry and Forest Product Research Institute Forest Tree Breeding Center 3809-1 Ishi, Juo, Hitachi, Ibaraki 319-1301 Japan Tel: 81 294 397000 Fax: 81 294 397352 Email: [email protected] Prof Dr Mohd Hamami Sahri Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Malaysia Tel: 603 89467171 Fax: 603 89432514 Email: [email protected] Mr Cenon Padolina Forests &Trees Programme Land Resources Division Secretariat of the Pacific Community Suva, Fiji Email: [email protected] Mr Oudara Souvananvong United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 00100 Rome, Italy Tel: 39 0657054750 Fax: 39 0657055137 Email: [email protected]






ANNEX II

THE APPROVED AGENDA

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THE ASIA PACIFIC ASSOCIATION OF

FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS

FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 4 October 2009

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1400–1800

PROGRAMME

1.0 Opening Remarks: Mr Sarath Fernando

2.0 Agenda for Discussion

2.1 Adoption of Agenda 2.2 Approval of the Minutes of the Fourth General Assembly 2.3 Matters Arising from the Minutes 2.4 Chairperson‟s Report 2.5 Other Businesses

3.0 Dissolving of Current Executive Committee and Electing the New Committee

3.1 Presentation of Tokens of Appreciation to Current Members of Executive Committee

3.2 Election of New Executive Committee 3.3 Appointment of Internal Auditors

4.0 Address by Incoming Chairperson 5.0 Closing Remarks






ANNEX III

MINUTES OF

THE FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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Fourth General Assembly 31 July 2006

Hotel Dynasty, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

1. INTRODUCTION

The Fourth General Assembly of the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) was held on 31July 2006. A list of participants who attended the meeting is attached as Annex III.A.

Opening Remarks Dato‟ Dr Abdul Razak Mohd Ali, Chairman of the current Executive Committee, welcomed all the participants, especially representatives of member institutions, and called upon them to participate actively and to contribute inputs for the further development of APAFRI. The Chairman thanked the current Executive Committee, of which all members were present at this General Assembly: Dr Ramon A. Razal, of University of Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) (the Vice-chair), and members: Prof Dr. Yusuf Sudo Hadi of Agriculture Institute of Bogor (IPB) Indonesia, Dr Russell Haines of Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Dr Xiao Wenfa of Research Institute of Forest Ecology Environment and Protection (RIFEEP) China, and Dr Park JungHwan of Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI). He then introduced, one by one, the official representatives of the member institutions present at this General Assembly. He was extremely pleased to note that there were representatives from three member institutions in the Pacific at this General Assembly: Nalish Sam from the Papua New Guinea Forest Research Institute (PNG-FRI), Inoke Wainiqolo from Forest Department of Fiji (FD-Fiji) and Nixon Denmark form the Forest Department of Solomon Islands (FD-SI). This is a record in APAFRI‟s history! He also welcomed all the others who were present as observers. The Chairman reported that the membership of APAFRI had reached 64 institutional members and seven affiliate/individual members. However, only about 40 of these members were actively involved in APAFRI activities over the years. He concluded his opening remarks by thanking all who have made this General Assembly possible, specifically to ACIAR for its financial contribution, and also the Secretariat of Pacific Community (SPC) for supporting the participation of members from the Pacific.

2. AGENDA ITEM 1: ADOPTION OF AGENDA

The adoption of agenda was proposed by Dr Percy Sajise from the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) and seconded by Dr Petrus Gunarso of the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

3. AGENDA ITEM 2: APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Chairman requested all present to go through the rather voluminous document and propose the acceptance of the minutes of the past General Assembly. As there were no queries, Mr. Sarath

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Fernando of the Forest Department of Sri Lanka (FD-SL) then proposed that the minutes of the Third General Assembly be accepted. His proposal was seconded by a number of those present.

4. AGENDA ITEM 3: MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

The Chairman pointed out that the matters arising from the minutes of the Third General Assembly are as listed on page 65 of the Agenda and Supporting Documents. The amendments proposed and approved during the Third General Assembly have received endorsement from the Malaysian Registrar of Society (since APAFRI is registered in Malaysia) and incorporated into the new edition of the Constitution. Copies of this new edition have been distributed to all member institutions, as well as uploaded onto APAFRI‟s website (www.apafri.org) since early 2004. Additional copies were also given out to all present at this General Assembly.

5. AGENDA ITEM 4: CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

The Chairman presented the General Assembly with the report that outlines the activities and programmes for the past three years. During the three-year period, the Executive Committee has met twice. The minutes of the Eleventh Executive Committee meeting on 9 August 2005 in Brisbane are appended together in the report. The Twelfth meeting was held in the morning of 31 July 2006, so its minutes could only be available later. He then continued to discuss the financial report. He explained to the assembly that the incomes had dropped fairly drastically because of the decrease in contributions, especially from traditional sources such as FAO, over the past three years. Incomes during 2005 had increased slightly as compared to 2004, because of a sizeable contribution from USDA to carry out a number of activities in 2005/6. To a question about the ITTO fund for the forest genetic project, the Chairman explained that ITTO project fund is managed by FRIM, as FRIM is the Executing Agency. APAFRI, together with IPGRI, are collaborating agencies in the project and would draw from the fund to carry out project related activities. As such the ITTO fund could not be reflected in the APAFRI accounts. Before moving on to the next agenda, the Chairman thanked USDA-Forest Service, ASEAN-Korea Environmental Cooperation Project (AKECOP), ACIAR, ITTO, FAO, FRIM, and all the other agencies, for their financial support to APAFRI.

6. AGENDA ITEM 5: AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION

The Chairman requested the Executive Secretary to brief the Assembly on the proposed amendments of the constitution. The Executive Secretary explained that two articles of the Constitution were to be amended with respect to new clauses and the implications. Details of the two proposed amendments to the constitution are as follows: a. Amendment to Article VII

The proposed amendment is to revise the membership subscriptions. Decision: The Chairman declared that the Executive Committee, during its 12

th Meeting in

the morning, had decided to withdraw this proposed amendment to Article VII, as this proposal to revise the subscriptions was deemed to be too premature at this stage.

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b. Amendment to Clause 1 of Article XII Insert the following into Clause 1 of Article XII: “In the event that the Chairperson has been elected for a second term, the Immediate Past Chairperson shall continue as an ordinary member for a second term.” The amended Clause 1 of Article XII will read as: “The Executive Committee shall comprise a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and six members elected at the General Assembly from among the members by ballot of all member institutions. The immediate Past Chairperson shall continue as an ordinary member for another term. In the event that the Chairperson has been elected for a second term, the Immediate Past Chairperson shall continue as an ordinary member for a second term.” Implication: This proposed amendment will improve the functioning of the Association by providing continuity and greater participation in the decision making. Decision: Dr. Percy Sajise proposed, seconded by Mr. Sarath Fernando, that the proposed amendment to Article XII be approved. The Chairman explained that since APAFRI has registered with the Registrar of Society Malaysia, the amendment will need to be forwarded to the Registrar of Society Malaysia and will be in force thereafter.

7. AGENDA ITEM 6: OTHER BUSINESSES

Dr Chao JT, Taiwan Forest Research Institute (TFRI), tabled a proposal seeking support from APAFRI to organize the IUFRO All Division 5 Conference scheduled for 2007 in Taiwan. The General Assembly decided that since APAFRI is a chapter of IUFRO, and the conference would be held in Asia and hosted by a member institution, APAFRI should provide as much assistance as possible towards the organizing of this conference. APAFRI Secretariat could serve as a promotion/announcement channel, and assist in disseminating information and distributing brochures regarding the conference to attract more participants to this conference. The General Assembly however decided that APAFRI would not contribute the USD30 000 requested. Instead the APAFRI Secretariat would support the participation of APAFRI members to this conference up to a maximum of USD3000, and also collaborate closely with the organizers to solicit funds from other donor agencies. Dr Percy Sajise, IPGRI, raised the issue of the location of the APAFRI Secretariat. He stressed the importance of having the Secretariat located permanently at a decided location, and not moving frequently, to eliminate the disruption of efficient and effective services provided to the members. He thus would like to propose that the APAFRI Secretariat shall remain in FRIM regardless of who would be elected Chairperson of APAFRI. The General Assembly unanimously approved this proposal. Dr Percy Sajise further moved the motion of getting FRIM‟s commitment to continue hosting the Secretariat regardless of who would be elected Chairperson. The current Chairman, Dato‟ Dr Abdul Razak, who is also the current Director General of FRIM, replied that he would need to table a proposal seeking approval from FRIM‟s Board to continue hosting the APAFRI Secretariat regardless of whether FRIM would be elected the chair of APAFRI.

8. AGENDA ITEM 7:ELECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Chairman explained that, in accordance with Article XII of the constitution, Executive Committee members who have already served two terms would not be eligible for re-election. The current EC members are:

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Chairman: Dato‟ Dr Abdul Razak Mohd Ali – FRIM Vice Chairman: Dr Ramon A. Razal – UPLB Members: Dr Russell Haines – ACIAR

Dr Yusuf Sudo Hadi – IPB Dr Xiao Wenfa – RIFEEP Dr Park Jung-Hwan – KFRI He expressed his appreciation to the Executive Committee members for their contributions and support during the term of office. He then declared that the term of the present committee terminated and the committee dissolved. As a token of appreciation, he presented a pewter plaque to each one of them. A pewter plaque was also presented to the Executive Secretary, Dr Daniel Baskaran, for his contributions to APAFRI. When the General Assembly resumed after a brief coffee break, the Immediate Past Chairman, Dato‟ Dr. Abdul Razak Mohd Ali, assumed the chair and proceeded with the election of the new Executive Committee for 2006–2009. There were two nominations for the post of Chairperson: 1. Mr. Sarath Fernando (FD-SL) – nominated by Dr Chao JT (TFRI) and seconded by Prof Dr

Hamami (UPM); and 2. Dr Kazuhiro Ishizuka (FFPRI) – nominated by Dr Muh Yusram (IPB) and seconded by Dr

Mahmud Sudin (UMS). However, Dr Ishizuka had subsequently decided to decline being nominated. Mr. Sarath Fernando therefore was unanimously declared the new Chairman for the APAFRI Executive Committee 2006–2009. Dr Nur Masripatin (FORDA) and Dr Waidi Sinun (RB-YS) were nominated for the post of Vice-chair. The General Assembly, by show of hands, elected Dr Nur Masripatin (FORDA) to be the Vice-chair of APAFRI Executive Committee 2006–2009. The General Assembly agreed with the suggestion that four of the six ordinary members of the Executive Committee shall be nominated to represent the four sub-regions, namely the East Asia, South East Asia, the Pacific and the South Asia. The remaining two ordinary members can be from any sub-regions. The followings were nominated for ordinary members:

Candidate Proposed by Dr Xiao Wenfa (RIFEEP) Mr. Nalish Sam (FRI-PNG) Dr Mohd Hamami Sahri (UPM) Dr CN Pandey (IPIRTI) Dr Park JungHwan (KFRI) Dr Percy Sajise (IPGRI)

Dr Lu Mengzhu (RIF) Dr Russell Haines (ACIAR) Dr Percy Sajise (IPGRI) Mr. Sarath Fernando (FD-SL) Dato‟ Dr Abdul Razak (FRIM) Mr. Sarath Fernando (FD-SL)

Dr Ramon Razal (UPLB) then proposed that the nomination be closed, and he was seconded by Dr Petrus Gunarso of CIFOR. The Chair then declared that the above six candidates have all been elected as ordinary members of the Executive Committee 2006–2009. Four candidates, Dr Mahmud Sudin (UMS), Dr Kazuhiro Ishizuka (FFPRI), Dr Peter Kho (STA) and Dr Petrus Gunarso (CIFOR), were nominated for the two positions of Internal Auditor. Dr Kazuhiro Ishizuka (FFPRI) and Dr Petrus Gunarso (CIFOR) were elected by show of hands to be the Internal Auditors, 2006–2009.

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9. ADDRESS BY INCOMING CHAIRMAN

Mr. Sarath Fernando thanked the members present for electing him as the Chairman of APAFRI Executive Committee 2006–2009. As one of the founding members, he was very pleased to note that after 10 years, APAFRI has grown to the present size and had become a matured organization that has attracted much attention at various international fora. He pledged to upkeep APAFRI‟s visibility as an effective and active network of forestry research agencies in the region. He urged all the Executive Committee members to assist him in guiding APAFRI Secretariat to continuously improve services to members and in the process to attract more forestry agencies to join as members of APAFRI. He also urged all members and their institutions to continue contributing to, and supporting, the activities of APAFRI. Contributions and support form the members are crucial to the smooth functioning of the Association. He also expressed his hope that the international and regional agencies and private companies that have been contributing to the activities of APAFRI over the past years, would continue to do so. Concluding his address, he announced that he would like Dr Daniel Baskaran to continue serving APAFRI as Executive Secretary.

10. CLOSING BY EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

Dr Daniel Baskaran, the Executive Secretary, thanked all present for making this General Assembly a very successful and fruitful gathering of members. He also thanked the new Chairman for having the confidence in the present Secretariat of APAFRI, and looking forward to work closely with the new Executive Committee. He further pledged to continuously improving the services that the Secretariat could provide to the members.

With these notes, he declared the Fourth General Assembly of APAFRI adjourned.

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Annex III.A

ATTENDANCE AT THE FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Mr. Nalish Sam Papua New Guinea Forest Research Institute (PNG-FRI) P.O. Box 314, LAE 411, Morobe Province Papua New Guinea Tel: 675 472 4188/675 472 0408 Fax: 675 472 6572 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Dr. Petrus Gunarso Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) P.O. Box 6596 JKPWB, Jakarta 10065 Indonesia Tel: 62 251 622 622 Fax: 62 251 622 100 Email: [email protected] Mr. C.N. Pandey Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI) Post Bag No. 2273, Tumkur Road, Bangalore – 560 022 India Tel: 91 80 28394341 (D)/ 28394231-32-33 (G) Fax: 91 80 28396361 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Mr. Nixon Denmark Forestry Department P.O. Box G24, Honiara Solomon Islands Tel: 677 24215 Fax: 677 24660 Email: [email protected] Dr. Kazuhiro Ishizuka Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) 1 Matsunosato, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8687 Japan Tel: 81 29 873 3423 Fax: 81 29 873 3795 Email: [email protected] Dr. Pham Quang Thu Forest Science Institute of Vietnam (FSIV) Dong Ngac - Tu Liem – Hanoi Vietnam Tel: 84 4 8362376 Fax: 84 4 8389722 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Dr. H.D. Kulkarni ITC Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division ITC Limited-PSPD, Sarapaka-507 128 Khammam District, Andhra Pradesh India Tel: 91 40 27846566 Hand-phone: 09849496020 Fax: 91 40 27842997 Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Mohd Hamami Sahri Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor Malaysia Tel: 603 89467171 Fax: 603 89432514 Email: [email protected]

Dato' Dr Abdul Razak Mohd Ali Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) 52109 Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Malaysia Tel: 603 62797822 Fax 603 62804624 Email: [email protected] Dr. Chao Jung-Tai Taiwan Forestry Research Institute (TFRI) 53 Nanhai Road, Taipei Taiwan Tel: 886 2 2375 9304 Fax: 886 2 2375 7469 Email: [email protected] Dr. Md Ashraful Haque Bangladesh Forest Research Institute (BFRI) P.O. Box 273, Sholashahar, Chittagong 4000 Bangladesh Tel: 880 31 681577 (Off)/681588 (Res) Fax: 880 31 681566 Email: [email protected] Mr. Sarath Fernando Forestry Department „Sampathpaya‟, Rajamalwatta Road, P.O. Box 3, Battaramulla, Colombo Sri Lanka Tel: 94 11 2866616 Fax: 94 11 2866633 Email: [email protected] Dr. Russell Haines Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) GPO Box 1571, Canberra ACT 2601 Australia Tel: 61 2 6217 0500 Fax: 61 2 6217 0501 Email: [email protected] Mr. Inoke Wainiqolo Department of Forestry, Ministry of Fisheries and Forestry P.O. Box 2218, Government Buildings, Suva Fiji Tel: 679 3301 611 Fax: 679 3318 692 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Dr. Park Jung-Hwan Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) 207 Cheongyangni-2 dong, dongdaemun-gu Seoul, 130-712 Korea Tel: 82 2 961 2562 Fax: 82 2 961 2589 Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Ramon A. Razal College of Forestry and Natural Resources University of the Philippines Los Banos, College Laguna 4031, P.O. Box 132 Philippines Tel: 63 49 536 3996 Fax: 63 49 536 3206 Email: [email protected] Dr. LU Mengzhu Research Institute of Forestry Chinese Academy of Forestry Beijing 100091 People‟s Republic of China Tel: 86 10 62888862 Fax: 86 10 62872015 Email: [email protected] Dr. Vijak Chimchome Kasetsart University 50 Phahonyothin Road, Lat Yao Sub-district, Bangkok 10900 Thailand Tel: 66 2 579 0170 Fax: 66 2 561 4246 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Mr. Jaffirin Lapongan Forest Research Centre, Sepilok Sabah Forestry Department P.O. Box 1407, 90715 Sandakan, Sabah Malaysia Tel: 6089 537178 Fax: 6089 531068 Email: [email protected] Dr. Nur Masripatin Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA) Gedung Manggala Wanabakti, Block 1 4th Floor Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta 10270 Indonesia Tel: 62 21 573 7945/0398/4333 Fax: 62 21 572 0189 Email: [email protected] Dr. Peter C.S. Kho Sarawak Timber Association (STA) 11th Floor, Wisma STA, 26 Jalan Datuk Abang Abdul Rahim 93450 Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia Tel: 6082 332222 Fax: 6082 487888 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Dr. Joseph Jawa Kendawang Sarawak Forest Department Wisma Sumber Alam, Jalan Stadium, Petra Jaya 93660 Kuching, Sarawak Malaysia Tel: 6082 319140 Fax: 6082 441240 Email: [email protected]

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Dr. Waidi Sinun Yayasan Sabah Group Research and Development Division, Yayasan Sabah Group Level 12, Tun Mustapha Tower P.O. Box 11622, 88817 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia Tel: 6088 326300 (ext. 1468) Fax: 6088 326558 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Dr. Dang Dinh Boi Nonglam University of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly UAF) Linh Trung Ward, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Tel: 84 8 897 4606 / 888 9607 Fax: 84 8 896 1707 / 896 0713 Email: [email protected] Dr. Mahmud Sudin Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Locked Bag 2073, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia Tel: 6088 320000 ext. 8881/8880 Fax: 6088 435214 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Prof. Dr. Yusof Sudo Hadi Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University Jl. Lingkar Akademik, Kampus IPB Dermaga P.O. Box 168, Bogor 16001 Indonesia Tel: 62 251 621 677 Fax: 62 251 621 256 Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Dr. Percy E. Sajise International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) Regional Office for Asia, the Pacific and Oceania P.O. Box 236, UPM Post Office, Serdang 43400, Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia Tel: 603 8942 3891 Fax: 603 8948 7655 Email: [email protected] Dr. Xiao Wenfa Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection Chinese Academy of Forestry, Wanshou Shan Beijing 100091 People's Republic of China Tel: 86 10 62888688 Fax: 86 10 62884972 Email: [email protected] Dr. Ir. Muh. Yusram Massijaya, MS Bogor Agricultural University Jl. Lingkar Akademik, Kampus IPB Dermaga P.O. Box 168, Bogor 16001 Indonesia Tel: 62 251 621677 Fax: 62 251 621256 Email: [email protected]

34


Mr. Agus Tampubolon Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA), Ministry of Forestry Gedung Manggala Wanabakti, Block 1 4th Floor Jl. Gatot Subroto, Jakarta 10270 Indonesia Tel: 62 21 573 7945/0398/4333 Fax: 62 21 572 0189 Mr. S.N. Rao ITC Ltd., PSPD. Hydbad. 106, Sardar Patel Road Secunderabad – 500003 India Tel: 91 40 27846566 Email: [email protected] Prof. Dr. Aminuddin Mohamed Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) School of International Tropical Forestry (SPTA) Locked Bag 2073, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia Tel: 6088 320000 ext. 8881/8880 Fax: 6088 435214 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]






ANNEX IV

MATTERS ARISING FROM

THE MINUTES OF FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

37


Matters Arising from the Minutes of the Fourth General Assembly AGENDA ITEM 1: ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA

No matter arising AGENDA ITEM 2: APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE 3RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Amendments incorporated in the revised minutes. AGENDA ITEM 3: MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

No matter arising AGENDA ITEM 4: CHAIRMAN‟S REPORT

No matter arising

AGENDA ITEM 5: AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION Amendments to the Constitution had been submitted and approved by the Registrar of Society in Malaysia. Copies of the amended Constitution have been distributed and an electronic file has also been posted on APAFRI‟s official website (www.apafri.org) right after the previous General Assembly. Copies are also available during the Fifth General Assembly.

AGENDA ITEM 7: OTHER BUSINESS APAFRI contributed USD3000 to the IUFRO All Division 5 Conference, 29 Oct – 2 Nov 2007, for supporting APAFRI members to this conference, as approved during the Third General Assembly. Responding to request, APAFRI would contribute a maximum of USD3000 to an event organized by member institution. This has been a typical practice that APAFRI has adopted for the past many years. A proposal tabled by the Secretariat to the FRIM‟s Board for continuing hosting of APAFRI Secretariat regardless of whether FRIM holds the Chairmanship of APAFRI Executive Committee, had received the approval from FRIM‟s Board during its meeting on 15 Sep 2006.






ANNEX V

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT

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CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT With a vision to be recognized as a dynamic, strong and self-reliant forestry research association in the Asia Pacific region, APAFRI aims to promote and assist in the development of the regions‟ scientific research and development culture and capacity. I am please to report that over the past three years, your current Executive Committee has continued with important steps on the road to making APAFRI a self-reliant, regionally and internationally recognized organization. The followings summarized APAFRI‟s activities since the last General Assembly in July 2006. A. Conferences, Workshops and Project’s activities In Year 2006

1. Asia Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network Workshop on Early Warning Systems, 21–24 February 2006, Kerala, India. (APAFRI, USDA FS, Kerala Forest Research Institute, FAO).

2. APFORGEN All National Coordinators‟ Meeting and Workshop, 15–16 April 2006, Dehradun, India. (APAFRI & IPGRI)

3. Training workshop on forest biodiversity, 5–16 June 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (IPGRI, APAFRI & FRIM)

4. Conference on Urban Forestry, 6–8 June 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (FRIM & APAFRI) 5. APAFRI Fourth General Assembly, 31 July 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (APAFRI) 6. International Agroforestry Conference, 1–2 Aug 2006, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (FRIM, UPM

& APAFRI) 7. Eighth Pacific Rim Bio-based Composites Symposium, 20–23 Nov 2006, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia (FRIM, UPM & APAFRI) In Year 2007

1. Regional Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Planted Forests in SEA, 15–18 Jan 2007, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia (Sarawak Forestry Corporation & APAFRI)

2. Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study: Meeting of National Focal Points, 31 Jan – 2 Feb 2007, Chiang Mai, Thailand (FAO & APAFRI)

3. Thirteenth APAFRI Executive Committee Meeting, 10 Mar 2007, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (APAFRI)

4. Asia Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network (APFISN) Workshop on Developing Invasive Species Management Plan, 8–10 May 2007, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (APAFRI, USDA FS & FAO).

5. IUFRO-SPDC Training Workshop „ Working Effectively at the Interface of Forest Science and Forest Policy‟, 4–8 June2007, Sabah, Malaysia (IUFRO-SPDC, GTZ and APAFRI)

6. APFORGEN training Workshop on Forest Biodiversity: Conservation and Management of Forest Genetic Resources, 11–16 June 2007, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (APAFRI, Bioversity International & FRIM)

7. Study Tour on Mangrove Forests in Malaysia, 3–7 Sep 2007, Malaysia (APAFRI & FRIM) 8. ITTO Funded Project on Forest Genetic Resources – Mid-Term Review, 5–7 Sep 2007,

Bogor, Indonesia (ITTO, FORDA & APAFRI) 9. International Workshop on Biological Control of Forest Invasive Species, 21–25 Sep 2007,

Beijing, China (CAF, APAFRI, USDA FS & FAO) 10. International Conference „The Future of Forests in Asia and the Pacific: Outlook for 2020‟ 16–

18 Oct 2007, Chiang Mai, Thailand (FAO) 11. IUFRO All Division 5 Conference, 29 Oct – 2 Nov 2007, Taipei (TFRI & IUFRO) 12. Conference on Forestry and Forest Products Research, 27–29 Nov 2007, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia (FRIM) 13. The Fourteenth APAFRI Executive Committee Meeting, 16 Dec 2007, Kunming, Yunnan

Province, China. (APAFRI)

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14. International Conference on Sustainable Forest Management and Poverty Alleviation: Roles of Traditional Forest-related Knowledge, 17–20 Dec 2007, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. (IUFRO, KFRI, FAO, CAF & APAFRI)

In Year 2008

1. A regional workshop for the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Responsible Management of Planted Forests, 21–24 Jan 2008, Chiang Mai, Thailand (FAO)

2. Seminar Rattan & Bamboo, 25–26 Mar 2008, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (FRIM & APAFRI) 3. Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Network Workshop – Risk-based Targeted Surveillance

for Forest Invasive Species, 20–23 Apr 2008, Hanoi, Viet Nam (APAFRI, USDA FS & FAO) 4. Asia Pacific Forestry Week, 21–26 Apr 2008, Hanoi, Viet Nam (FAO) 5. Fifteenth APAFRI Executive Committee Meeting, 22 Apr 2008, Hanoi, Viet Nam (APAFRI) 6. Forestry Research and Education in a Changing World: Vision for Asia-Pacific Region, 24

Apr 2008, Hanoi, Viet Nam (ICFRE & APAFRI) 7. Introduction to Global Forest Information Service, 25 Apr 2008, Hanoi, Viet Nam (IUFRO) 8. Training Course for the Field Managers on FGR Conservation and Utilization, 7–11 July

2008, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (APAFRI, UPM, Bioversity International & FRIM) 9. State of the World Forest Genetic Resources (SOW FGR) Asia Pacific Meeting, 14–15 Oct

2008, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (FAO & APAFRI) 10. ASEAN Knowledge Network on Forests and Climate Change, 30–31 Oct 2008, Jakarta,

Indonesia (GTZ, FORDA & APAFRI) 11. Fire Management needs and actions in the ASEAN region – implementation of the Fire

Management Voluntary Guidelines, 10–13 Nov 2008, Pekanbaru, Indonesia (FAO & APAFRI) 12. Asia Pacific Forest Health Workshop – Forest Health in a Changing World, 1–3 Dec 2008,

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (IUFRO, KFRI, FAO, CAF & APAFRI) 13. German Alumni Network Symposium – Close to Nature Forestry, 17–20 Dec 2008, Kuala

Lumpur, Malaysia (DAAD, FRIM & APAFRI)

In Year 2009 1. Second ASEAN Knowledge Network on Forests and Climate Change Meeting, 19–20 Feb

2009, Kuala Lumpur (GTZ, FORDA & APAFRI) 2. International Workshop on Restoration after Ice-snow Disaster and Forrest Health

Restoration, 27–28 May 2009, Lijiang China. (USDA, CAF & APAFRI) 3. Third ASEAN Knowledge Network on Forests and Climate Change Meeting, 13–15 July

2009, Jakarta, Indonesia (GTZ, FORDA & APAFRI) 4. Seventh Pacific Regional Wood Anatomy Conference, 3–5 Aug 2009, Kuala Lumpur,

Malaysia (UPM) B. Seminars/Workshops/Meetings Attended In Year 2006

1. UNFF 6, 12–17 Feb 2006, New York. (Executive Director) 2. Asia Pacific Forestry Commission 21st Session, 17–21 April 2006, Dehradun, India. (Chairman,

Executive Secretary and Executive Director) 3. Workshop on Ecological Information Management, 20–24 Feb 2006, Taipei. (Information

Officer) 4. „Keep Asia Green‟ Project Meeting, 8–10 June 2006, Bangkok, Thailand(Executive Secretary

and Executive Director) 5. Workshop on Regional Synthesis of Research Needs, 18–19 Aug 2006, Bangkok, Thailand.

(Executive Director) 6. Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Meeting, 19–23 September 2006, Colorado,

USA. (Information Officer) 7. Third Forestry Forum Dialogue, 26–27Sep 2006, Beijing, China.(Executive Director) 8. Global Forest Information Service (GFIS) Training Workshop, 10–12 Oct 2006, Beijing, China

(Information Officer) 9. Expert Consultation on Agricultural Innovations: Linking Farmers to Market, 6–8 Nov 2006,

New Delhi, India. (Executive Director)

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10. Ad Hoc Expert Group on Non Legally Binding Instrument (NLBI), 11–15 Dec 2006, New York, USA.(Executive Director)

In Year 2007

1. Philippines National Forest Genetic Resources Consultative Workshop, 6 Feb 2007, Manila, Philippines (Executive Secretary and Executive Director)

2. Country-Led Initiative in support of UN Forum on Forests, 13–16 Feb 2007, Bali, Indonesia. (Executive Director)

3. Indonesian National Forest Genetic Resources Consultative Workshop, 1 Mar 2007, Bogor, Indonesia (Executive Secretary and Executive Director)

4. Seventh Session of UNFF, 14–24 Apr 2007, New York, USA (Executive Director) 5. IUFRO Symposium „Challenges and Opportunities of Forest Research in the Policy-Making

Process‟, 29 May 2007, Beijing, China (Executive Director) 6. Sino-US Workshop on the Indicators of Forest Health and Restoration, 30–31 May 2007,

Beijing, China (Executive Director) In Year 2008

1. National Workshop on Forest Genetic Resources Conservation and Management in Cambodia, 11 Feb 2008, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Executive Secretary and Executive Director)

2. National Workshop on Forest Genetic Resources Conservation and Management in Myanmar, 26 Feb 2008, Yezin, Myanmar (Executive Secretary and Executive Director)

3. National Workshop on Forest Genetic Resources Conservation and Management in Thailand, 12 Mar 2008, Bangkok, Thailand (Executive Secretary and Executive Director)

4. National Workshop on Forest Genetic Resources Conservation and Management in Malaysia, 30 July 2008, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Executive Secretary and Executive Director)

5. Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions General Assembly, 20–22 Oct 2008, Tsukuba, Japan. (Executive Director)

6. CAF 50th Anniversary and International Symposium of Heads of Forest Research Institutions, 27–28 Oct 2008, Beijing, China. (Executive Director)

7. Asia Pacific Forestry Commission executive Committee Meeting, 13–14 Nov 2008, Hua Hin, Thailand. (Executive Director)

In Year 2009

1. COFO, 16–20 Mar 2009, Rome, Italy (Chairman) 2. UNFF8, 20 Apr – 2 May 2009, New York, USA (Executive Director)

C. Newsletters

1. Issue #18 (December 2006) printed and distributed out early January 2007. 2. Issue #19 (June 2007) printed and distributed out early July 2007. 3. Issue #20 (December 2007) printed and distributed out early January 2008. 4. Issue #21 (June 2008) printed and distributed in July 2008. 5. Issue #22 (December 2008) – e-Newsletter, posted on website in January 2009. 6. Issue #23 (June 2009) – e-Newsletter, posted on website in July 2009.

D. Asia Pacific Forest Genetic Resources Programme (APFORGEN)

- APAFRI has hosted the Secretariat for APFORGEN - A website, www.apforgen.org, was launched in June 2004. It contains a whole range of

components, including the various publications that the programme has published thus far. The web pages have since then undergone several major improvements, and the whole web site was re-designed early 2006.

- Proposal submitted to ITTO on forest genetic resources conservation and management approved in early 2006. Project has duration of three years starting February 2006, and was extended for another year till January 2010.

- To date, all the seven participating countries in the ITTO project: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand, have had their national consultative workshops.

http://www.apforgen.org/

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- APFORGEN has produced various compilations of reports over the past years, some printed and a few were on CDs. The ITTO project has published four reports.

E. Directory of Asia Pacific Forestry Researchers

- This project is funded by USDA Forest Service in 2004 to compile a directory of forestry researchers active in the Asia Pacific region.

- APAFRI Secretariat has continued to maintain the Directory till today using internal resources. Currently the Directory has 800 entries.

F. The Executive Committee

- The Executive Committee met formally on four occasions during their mandate. The minutes of these Meetings are attached to this report (Attachment 1).

- Three of the members had been replaced by their successors after their retirement from the member institutions: Datuk Dr Abdul Razak Mohd Ali (Immediate Past Chairman) replaced by Dato‟ Dr Abd Latif Mohmod who took over as the new Director General of FRIM since May 2008, Dr Leocadio Sebastian replaced Dr Percy Sajise who has retired from Bioversity International, and Roy Banka (PNG FRI) replaced Nalish Sam who has taken leave for further study.

G. APAFRI-UPM Educational CD on Wood Science - APAFRI produced two educational CDs on wood science and technology as compiled by Dr

Jega Ratnasingam of University Putra Malaysia (UPM). Copies had been distributed to members.

H. Office Administration

- APAFRI Financial Reports for years 2006, 2007 and 2008 have been prepared and audited by an external professional accounting firm. Details are summarized in Attachment 2.

- FRIM has continued to host the Secretariat, which includes annual financial contribution of RM10 000 (USD3000), office space and Internet connections. A senior researcher, with a personal assistant, has also been assigned to be the full time administrator of the Secretariat.

I. The Secretariat

- Dr Daniel Baskaran, the Executive Secretary since 2001, has left FRIM to join a private foundation in December 2008. Executive Director Dr Sim Heok-Choh, who was assigned from FRIM in 2002, had temporarily assumed also the responsibility as the Executive Secretary.

- The Secretariat‟s daily operations were administered with the assistance of Mrs Nor Azni Jaafar (also assigned from FRIM since June 2008 replacing Mr Fakhrul Effendi Othman), Ms Nazratul Raudzah Abd Rahman (who joined APAFRI in October 2002) and Ms Syuqiyah Abdul Hamid (Information Officer, who joined APAFRI in June 2004).

J. Acknowledgements

- The achievements of the past three years would not be possible without the voluntary contributions of many members. Many of the activities were successfully organized with collaboration and in-kind contributions from member institutions. Your assistance and support are acknowledged and thanked.

- The Executive Committee members have undertaken their responsibilities seriously and supported the many decisions during the past three years.

- To our financial supporters: FAO, USDA-FS, Korea Forest Research Institute, GTZ, DAFF Australia, and many others, your support and contributions are gratefully acknowledged and we look forward to your continued support.






ANNEX V

Attachment 1

CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT Minutes of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth and

Sixteenth Meetings of

APAFRI Executive Committee 2006–2009

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CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT Attachment 1

MINUTES OF THE APAFRI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE THIRTEENTH MEETING

Date : 10 March 2007 Time : 0930 – 1200 Place : Hotel Vistana Kuala Lumpur Attendance : As in Appendix I

Min 13.1 Introduction Action &

Information

Mr Sarath Fernando, the Chairman, welcomed all the Executive Committee members

and observers to the first meeting of the current Executive Committee. He expressed

his appreciation to all members who, despite the short notice and their individual busy

schedules, had come to Kuala Lumpur for this meeting. He conveyed apologies on

behalf of Dr Xiao Wenfa who was unable to come as he was scheduled to attend the

COFO meeting in Rome starting the following Monday. The Chairman noted that with a better representation of all the sub-regions in the Executive Committee, he is confident that APAFRI could be an effective platform for closer collaboration in forestry research among all the sub regions of the Asia Pacific. The Chairman informed the meeting that an important achievement during the period since the last General Assembly in July 2006, was the confirmation from FRIM‟s Board that it would continue to host the Secretariat of APAFRI, as well as continuing with the in-kind and financial contribution. He expressed gratitude, on behalf of APAFRI, to Dato‟ Dr Abdul Razak, the Director General of FRIM and also the Immediate Past Chairman, for this generous offer.

The Chairman also thanked the two Internal Auditors, Dr Petrus Gunarso and Dr Kazuhiro Ishizuka, who had conducted an internal audit prior to this meeting. Their report would be further discussed under Agenda 4.

Information

Min 13.2 Adoption of the Agenda The Chairman informed that there were five items to be discussed in the proposed agenda as per distributed documents. It was agreed unanimously to adopt the agenda. Information Min 13.3 Confirmation of Minutes of the 12

th Executive Committee Meeting

The minutes of the 12

th Executive Committee Meeting was accepted unanimously with a

minor typographical correction. The Executive Secretary went on to explain that items raised during the last meeting that required actions were tabulated at the end of the minutes. All necessary actions had already been taken.

Information

Dr Percy Sajise informed the meeting that the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) would be organizing a meeting on genetic resources, and he suggested that APAFRI should use this opportunity to introduce APFORGEN as well as explore potential collaboration opportunities with the Pacific Island Nations. The Secretariat would follow up with Nalish Sam and SPC on this.

Secretariat

Min 13.4 Report on APAFRI Activities Dr. Sim, the Executive Director, reported the APAFRI activities for the past months since the Information

48


last meeting. The details are as per Appendix II. Dr Percy Sajise suggested that the listing of activities should include some details under each item listed. These could be summarized from the monthly reports that have been prepared and sent out by the Executive Director every month. The Executive Director mentioned that articles reporting major events were also regularly featured in the APAFRI‟s semi-annual newsletters.

Secretariat

Dr Nur Masripatin, the Vice-Chair, suggested that APAFRI should explore the possibilities of hosting some global or regional meetings/workshops for international processes or conventions such as CBD and UNFCCC. Secretariat should follow this up to tap into these huge resources, which could greatly uplift APAFRI‟s profile as a regional representative.

Secretariat

Nalish Sam stressed the importance of strengthening the role of APAFRI as the platform for sharing and exchange of information and experience in the Asia Pacific region. The meeting discussed exploring the possibilities of involving more APAFRI member institutions, especially those from the Pacific Island Nations, in APAFRI activities, as well as organizing activities in the Pacific sub region. The Secretariat has initiated discussions on these issues with FAO-Pacific Office and SPC since a few years ago. Currently, with a representative from the sub region in APAFRI‟s Executive Committee, it becomes imperative to getting some thing off the ground soonest possible.

Secretariat

Min 13.5 Report on Financial Statement The Executive Director tabled the 2006 year-end financial report, details are in Appendix III.

Information

The Executive Director pointed out that these details are in the full final auditors‟ report, what he presented at this meeting are just summaries.

Min 13.6 Internal Auditors’ Report

The Internal Auditors, Dr Petrus Gunarso and Dr Kazuhiro Ishizuka, presented their report based on an internal audit conducted prior to this meeting. Their report is appended herein as Appendix IV.

Information

The meeting discussed various means to improve the collection of membership dues. One suggestion is, besides sending the invoices to the contact person designated by each member institution, the secretariat should also send copies of these invoices to the Head and/or the Accounts/Finance Department of the member institutions.

Secretariat

To further improve the overall performance of APAFRI as a regional association of forestry research communities, Dr Percy Sajise suggested setting up three sub committees to focus on the objectives of APAFRI as stated in the Constitution:

Promote exchange of scientific and technical know-how and information;

Promote cooperative research and training programmes; and

Strengthen linkages between national, regional and international research centres and organizations.

After a fairly lengthy discussion, the meeting decided that just one sub committee would be established. This sub committee would focus on promoting cooperative research and training programmes. Dr Percy Sajise has volunteered to head this sub committee. Nalish reminded the meeting the importance of having sub regional representation in the sub committee.

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The meeting also suggested that the Executive Director should discuss with the External Auditors on ways of recognizing and reporting the in-kind contribution from FRIM.

Executive Director

Min 13.7 Other matters The Chairman suggested that APAFRI Secretariat should consider organizing training courses and study tours as there are considerable demands for these types of capacity building activities in the region. As APAFRI Secretariat does not have sufficient relevant expertise, it could identify and approach member institutions to tap into their expertise and resources. He further expressed interest in sending his officers to attend a study tour on Malaysian mangrove forests which could be organized by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM). Dato‟ Dr Razak, the Director General of FRIM and also the Immediate Past Chairman, supported the idea and instructed the Secretariat to contact the relevant division in FRIM to organize this study tour.

Secretariat

Nalish Sam suggested sending round a survey questionnaire to solicit more ideas as well as hosts for future training courses and study tours.

Secretariat

Dr Pandey strongly supported the idea of identifying member institutions to host training courses based on their recognized strength in certain fields of specialization. He offered to co-organize a training course on forest products. One possible topic would be bamboo for housing. The Secretariat would follow up with Dr Pandey on this and plan to have the first training course organized within this year.

Secretariat

Dr Park mentioned that the Korean Government through the Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) would allocate substantial funding to IUFRO for a number of activities in Asia. A portion of this would be allocated to APAFRI for various activities. The details would be discussed by a committee which would include a representative from the APAFRI Secretariat. The Secretariat would follow this up with Dr Park.

Secretariat

Dr Petrus Gunarso informed the Executive Committee that he would soon be moved back to the Forestry Administration of Indonesia, as he has completed his assignment at CIFOR. CIFOR has nominated one of the Assistant Director Generals to be the contact person for APAFRI. The Secretariat would follow this up with CIFOR.

Secretariat

Min 13.8 Concluding Remarks The Chairman thanked every one present for their involvement and contributions to the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 12.00 noon.

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Appendix I Attendance List

A. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS & SECRETARIAT STAFF Mr. Sarath Fernando (Chairman) Forest Department Sri Lanka. Dr Nur Masripatin (Vice-Chair) Forestry Research and Development Agency (FORDA), Indonesia Dato’ Dr Abdul Razak Mohd. Ali (Immediate Past Chairman) Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) Dr Percy E. Sajise Bioversity International Mr. Nalish Sam Forest Research Institute, Papua New Guinea (FRI-PNG) Dr Jung-Hwan Park Korea Forest Research Institute (KFRI) Dr C.N. Pandey Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI) Prof Dr Mohd Hamami Sahri University Putra Malaysia (UPM) Dr Daniel Baskaran Executive Secretary APAFRI Secretariat, c/o FRIM Dr Sim Heok Choh Executive Director, APAFRI Secretariat, c/o FRIM B. INTERNAL AUDITORS

Dr Petrus Gunarso Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Dr Kazuhiro Ishizuka Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) C. OBSERVERS Mr. Hong Lay Thong Bioversity International Mr. Markku Larjavaara Bioversity International

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Appendix II

Activities / progress of activities during the months of August 2006 – February 2007 Conferences/Workshops/Seminars/Meetings Organized/Supported

1. International Agroforestry Conference 2006, 1–2 August 2006. (FRIM, UPM, APAFRI & MARDI)

2. The 8th Pacific Rim Bio-based Composite Symposium, 20–23 November 2006 (FRIM & others).

3. Regional conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Planted Forests in SEA, 15–18 January 2007, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. (Sarawak Forest Corporation, Sarawak Forest Department & others).

4. Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study National Focal Point Workshop, 31 January – 2 February 2007, Chiang Mai, Thailand. (FAO, APAFRI, & others).

Seminars/Workshops/Meetings Attended

1. Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) Workshop on Regional Synthesis of Research in the Asia-Pacific Region, 18–19 August 2006, Bangkok, Thailand. (Executive Director)

2. Forest Forum Dialogue, 26–27 September 2006, Beijing, China. (Executive Director) 3. 2006 Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Information Managers Meeting, 18–20

September 2006, Colorado, USA. (Information Officer) 4. Workshop on Global Forestry Information Services, 20–24 October 2006, Beijing, China.

(Information Officer) 5. UNFF Ad hoc Expert Meeting, 12–17 December 2006, New York. (Executive Director) 6. National FGR Workshop for the Philippines, 6 February 2007, Manila, Philippines. (Executive

Secretary & Executive Director) 7. Country-led Initiative in support of UNFF, 13–16 February 2006, Bali, Indonesia. (Executive

Director) Newsletters

Issue #18 (December 2006) printed and distributed out early January 2007.

Office Administration

APAFRI accounts for 2006 have been prepared and audited by an external professional accounting firm.

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Appendix III

APAFRI Financial Report

ASSET 31-Dec-06 31-Dec-05

Current Assets

Checking/Savings

Cash at bank BC - Kepong 65,850.45 65,815.95

Total Checking /Saving 65,850.45 65,815.95

Other Current Assets

Cash in hand 354.78 1,889.02

US cash in hand 4,522.10 10,151.34

Ph. Peso 52.57 52.57

Fixed deposit 705,604.94 884,843.95

Total Other Current Assets 710,534.39 896,936.87

Total Current Assets 776,384.84 962,752.82

Fixed Assets

Computer 43,084.00 41,589.00

Furniture & Fittings 1,444.00 1,444.00

Office Equipment 14,272.78 14,113.78

Total Fixed Assets 58,800.78 57,146.78

TOTAL ASSETS 835,185.62 1,019,899.60

LIABILITIES & EQUITY

Equity

Accumulated fund 1,019,899.60 793,696.37

Net income (184,713.98) 226,203.23

Total Equity 835,185.62 1,019,899.60

TOTAL LIABILITIES & EQUITY 835,185.62 1,019,899.60

As of 31 December 2006

Balance Sheet

Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions

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Appendix IV

INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT

ASIA PACIFIC ASSOCIATION OF FORESTRY RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS (APAFRI)

Auditors:

DR Kazuhiro Ishizuka

DR Petrus Gunarso Article XVII of the Constitution of APAFRI: “The auditors shall be required to audit the accounts of the Association for every financial year and to prepare a report for the Annual Executive Committee Meeting and the next General Assembly. They may also be required by the Chairperson to audit the account of the Association for any period within the tenure of office at any date, and to make a report to the Executive Committee”. Contents of the report:

1. APAFRI Financial Audit 2. Administrative and or Procedure Audit 3. Objectives and ore Activities Audit 4. Recommendations

1. APAFRI Financial Audit is officially and in detail conducted by external auditor assigned by the

organization. The role of internal audit reported in this report covers the general overview and rapid assessment of the existing report made available by APAFRI Secretariat. The procedure of Audit follows entirely the audit system applied for a society organization in the host country of the secretariat: in this case Malaysia.

2. Administrative and or procedure Audit was conducted through rapid interview with the secretariat‟s accountant that explain in general the problem faced and the challenges faced in managing the limited budget of APAFRI. Special attention was paid to the fact that member‟s contribution is only properly paid by 50% of the member organizations.

3. The objective of the association was revisited to evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness of past activities. The evaluation was also aimed at finding possibility to increase the scope, activities, and possible funding of the association.

4. The following are recommendations from internal auditors based on the above rapid audit assessments:

a. The contribution of member organization needs to be proactively sought through a regular sending out of bill or invoice and timely reminder. Increasing the contribution fee will increase the core budget of the association and will increase independency of the organization in reaching the objective of the organization.

b. On the issue of financial audit, internal auditors fully trust the professionalism of the assigned external auditors and fully support the implementation of appropriate regulation applied in the host country of the association.

c. The focus activities of APAFRI in the future should be opportunistically adjusted to follow international and regional issues. This adaptive focus of activity will increase funding opportunity for the organization.

d. Exploring the role of private companies, with full consideration to the objective of the organization, in supporting APAFRI activities may also provide the funding opportunity of the organization.

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e. Report distribution that currently addressed to focal point need to be closely monitored and if necessary secretariat to seek back up to guarantee the information is distributed to all stakeholders and clients of the member organization. Dissemination of reports, publications, and workshop proceeding should be encouraged to be distributed widely to the people on the ground.

f. The use of website and information technology should be encouraged in all members institution.

g. Effort should be taken to increase the strong linkages between national, regional and international research centers through more collaborative research activities and joint proposal writing.

h. The auditors recognized substantial amount of Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) support to the organization that was not spell out in the financial report of the organization. The current financial report only adopts cash contribution reporting and this has hidden the major role of in-kind support given by FRIM to the organization. This kind of financial reporting format should not discourage other members from sharing in-kind contribution to the organization. The auditors recommend the possibility to include in-kind support from members to the organization to attract donor countries to provide a matching fund to such in-kind contributions.

Kuala Lumpur, March 8

th 2007

Internal Auditors

DR Petrus Gunarso DR Kazuhiro Ishizuka

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MINUTES OF THE APAFRI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOURTEENTH MEETING Date : 16 December 2007 Time : 1530 – 1800 Place : Hotel Haihang, Kunming, China Attendance : As in Appendix I Min 14.1 Introduction Action &

Information

Mr Sarath Fernando, the Chairman, welcomed all the Executive Committee members

and observer to the second meeting of the current Executive Committee. He expressed

his appreciation to all members who, despite the short notice and their individual busy

schedules, had come to Kunming for this meeting. He also welcomed the attendance of

Mr. Patrick Durst, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO Bangkok.

He conveyed apologies on behalf of Dr Abdul Razak, Dr Nur Masripatin, Dr Percy Sajise

and Dr Pandey who were unable to come due to other prior commitments. Mr. Roy

Banka who has confirmed his attendance did not show up due to visa problem. The Chairman informed the meeting that over the past seven months since the last meeting (13

th) in Kuala Lumpur, APAFRI has been fairly active in various regional and

global forums and processes. The details will be presented and discussed later. Although the retained balance at the end of third quarter of this year was less than the previous year. This was basically due to expenditures incurred to complete the LOAs signed in previous year. Early this year, FAO has just awarded a new LOA with an allocation of up to USD80000 for a series of activities during this year, and again another LOA for USD101000 in September 2007. APAFRI has also just entered into an agreement with FAO HQs for organizing a workshop in January 2008. In addition, USDA had supported in organizing a workshop in May. The Chairman also thanked Dr Park for arranging Korean Forest Research Institute to contribute USD50000 through IUFRO to APAFRI. This fund has been used to organize the Conference here starting 17 December. FAO has also contributed over USD15000 to support the travel of participants to this conference. He also thanked Dr Xiao and his colleagues in hosting this APAFRI Executive Committee meeting in conjunction with the conference in Kunming.

Information

Min 14.2 Adoption of the Agenda The Chairman informed that there were four items to be discussed in the proposed agenda as per distributed documents. It was agreed unanimously to adopt the agenda. Information Min 14.3 Confirmation of Minutes of the 13

th Executive Committee Meeting

The minutes of the 13

th Executive Committee Meeting was accepted unanimously. The

Executive Secretary went on to explain that items raised during the last meeting that required actions were tabulated at the end of the minutes. All necessary actions had already been taken.

Information

Min 14.4 Report on APAFRI Activities Dr. Sim, the Executive Director, reported the APAFRI activities for the past months since the last meeting. The details are as per Appendix II. Information Secretariat

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There were some discussions on study tours and training courses. A number of suggestions were made:

a. Study tours are popular, and should be continued to organize. b. A compilation of training courses that could be hosted by member institutions into

a catalogue/brochure would be very useful.

Dr Park mentioned that in conjunction with the next IUFRO World congress in 2010, the organizers would be organizing a series of pre-congress training workshops. Proposals would be prepared for soliciting funds from agencies such as ITTO. He suggested that APAFRI could be a major co-organizer of these workshops. APAFRI S