15-17 August, 2023, Kunming, China
With the recovery of international travelling gradually, after three years of postponement, we finally held the sixth AP-FECM General Assembly in Kunming between 15-17 August 2023, with the team support of organizers from APFNet, UBC AP-FECM Executive Office and Southwest Forestry University in China. There were over 50 guests from 34 regional economies and institutions who joined the General Assembly, including university presidents, deans, professors, directors of international offices and representatives. The objectives of the General Assembly were to envision the future development of the AP-FECM, enhance the effective and efficient communication and partnership among AP-FECM members, and promote and improve forest education and research in the Asia Pacific region. Based on the goals and objectives, over three days of the event period, we organized multiple activities and generated fruitful outputs.
The main activities included:
1. The Asia Pacific Forestry Education Forum with the theme: Opportunities, challenges and solutions of online education and AI technology for forestry education in the post-pandemic era
2. Overview and planning of the online program “Innovative Sustainable Forest Management Education in the Asia-Pacific Region”
3. AP-FECM work report and award ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions over the past 10 years
4. Election of AP-FECM Steering Committee and Chair, Co-Chairs
The Asia Pacific Forestry Education Forum
Theme: Opportunities, challenges and solutions of online education and AI technology for forestry education in the post-pandemic era
Keynote Speech
1. John Innes
FRBC Chair of Forest Management
Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Canada
Title: Where next for Asia-Pacific collaboration in forestry education?
2. Tara L. Bal (Online)
Assistant Professor, Forest Health, Master of Forestry Degree Program Director, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, USA
3. Jorge M. Chavez
Dean, Faculty of Forestry Sciences, National Agrarian University La Molina, Lima, Perú.
Title: Progress in post-pandemic Peruvian forestry education
4. Cristian Bonacic
Professor, Department of Ecosystems & The Environment, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
5. Paxie W Chirwa
Forest Chair and Director for Forest Postgraduate Programme, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Title: Transition of Forestry Education from Traditional Forestry to Sustainable Forest Management
6. Dwiko Permadi
Vice Dean, Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia
7. Damrong Pipatwattanakul
Assistant Professor, Department of Silviculture, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Thailand
Title: Challenges and Opportunities of Online Forestry Education at Kasetsart University, Thailand
8. Hoang Van Sam
Professor, Vietnam National University of Forestry, Hanoi, Vietnam
Title: Forestry Education in Vietnam: Transition from Traditional Forestry to Sustainable Forest Management
9. Lixin Shen
Director, APFNet Kunming Traning Center
10. Naresworo Nugroho
Dean, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, IPB University, Indonesia
Title: Forest Industry Innovation to Create Sustainable Job in the Future
11. Antanas Spokevicius
Senior Lecturer in Forest Ecosystem Science, School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, University of Melbourne
Title: Don’t use the F-word; Deforesting Tertiary Education at the University of Melbourne.
12. Thamarat Phutthai
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Thailand
13. Juan M. Pulhin
Professor and former Dean, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines
Title: Transforming Forestry Education in the Philippines: Navigating the Demands of an Evolving World
14. Kaoru Kitajima (Online)
Professor, Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan
Title: Think globally and act locally in forestry: how to connect the sky view to on-the-ground operation in forest management
15. Subhash Anand (Online)
Professor, Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India
Title: Forest Ecosystem Services and Livelihood Security of Local Tribal Community Using Geospatial Technologies in Kinnaur of Himachal Pradesh, India
Suzy (Xueqin) Zeng
Assistant Director, Asia Forest Research Centre, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia
Annex
1. Attendant list of the 6th AP-FECM General Assembly
2. Agenda of the 6th AP-FECM General Assembly
3. Abtracts of Keynote Speeches
4. Presentation slides of Keynote Speeches (click the speech title above)
5 Award list for the outstanding contributions over the past 10 years