1 Opening speech - Qu Guilin^[1]

Dr Simmathiri Appanah, Senior Programme Officer of the FAO Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific (FORSPA);

Dr Sim Heok-Choh, Executive Director, Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI);

Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen:

The early golden autumn in Beijing has ushered in the specialists and scholars both from China and the rest of the world attending the Asia Pacific regional workshop on Forests for Poverty Reduction: Can Community Forestry Make Money? First of all, please allow me on behalf of the State Forestry Administration to express our congratulations on the opening of the Workshop. With the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, I would like personally to offer the season’s greetings to all the participants.

In the new century, forestry in China is undergoing an unprecedented development. Attaching great importance to the sustainable development of forestry, the Chinese Government since 2001 has continuously launched a series of six national forest programmes that incorporate the previous forest programmes, i.e. the Natural Forest Protection Programme, the Conversion of Cropland to Forest Programme, the Key Shelterbelt Development Programme in such regions as the three north and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Sandification Control Programme for areas in the vicinity of Beijing, the Wildlife Conservation and Nature Reserve Development Programme, and the Forest Industrial Base Development Programme in key regions with a focus on fast-growing and high-yielding timber plantations. This indicates an historically fundamental change in Chinese forestry that sees a shift from a forestry dominated by timber production to one that gives more emphasis to ecological development. On 25 June this year, the Chinese Government promulgated the Resolution on Accelerating Forestry Development, which has further defined the direction for Chinese forestry development in the new century.

China is a large agricultural country. Concerns with the rural regions, agriculture and farmers are among the top priority issues for the new Chinese Government, and these are also the top priority issues for the developing countries in the Asia and Pacific region. Forestry, particularly community forestry, is playing an ever increasingly important role in promoting rural economic development, improving agricultural production, alleviating the poverty of farmers and raising farmers’ living standards. In the past 20 years or so, community forestry has made great strides, resulting in a theoretical system enriched with practical experiences. The present Asia Pacific Regional Workshop on "Forests for Poverty Reduction", sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Forestry, Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI), and FAO Forestry Research Support Programme for Asia and the Pacific (FORSPA), has attracted over 60 participants from 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region as well as from some intergovernmental international organizations. The participants gathered here will be discussing topics on the role of community forestry for poverty reduction, new theories and ways, and new strategies and channels for the development of community forestry. Such deliberations are timely and of great significance. In fact, Asia is the region that has most effectively practised community forestry, especially in a number of countries in South and Southeast Asia. In the last decade, community forestry in China has also achieved remarkable progress, gradually from the southwest region to the collectively owned forest region in South China. The excellent papers to be presented at this Workshop deal with the practices and experiences of community forestry in different countries and from different perspectives, which will surely push forward the development of community forestry in the region, and will lend it a greater role in rural poverty reduction.

As one of the sponsors for the Workshop, the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) is the Asia Pacific Branch of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), and is an independent regional association of research institutions. It is dedicated to the enhancement of research in forest resource conservation and management, and to the promotion of cooperation and exchange of forest research among forest professionals in the region. APAFRI has shown great concern towards forest development in China, and promoted bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the related fields. For this I would express our sincere appreciation.

China has maintained good cooperative relations with the Food and Agriculture Organization, which have brought about important accomplishments in the forestry sector. We look forward to further cooperation in all fields with the FAO.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is our common aim for all the countries in the world including Asia to develop forestry, safeguard the environment and implement sustainable development. Short as it is, this two-day Workshop, through the active participation and in-depth discussions by all the participants, will surely produce a positive effect on community forestry development, the protection of the ecological environment and the alleviation of rural poverty in the region.

Finally I wish the Workshop a complete success and all the participants a pleasant time and good health during their stay in Beijing.

Thank you all.