Professor Mike Wingfield, President of IUFRO and Director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) had the pleasure of presiding over the signing of an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IUFRO and AFPNet. AFPNet (Asia Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Managementand Rehabilitation) is a non-profit international institution committed to advancing sustainable forest management in the Asia-Pacific region. Consequently, the work of IUFRO and AFPNet is highly synergistic. The MoU was signed by Prof. Zhao Shucong, Chair of the Board of AFPNet and President of the Chinese Academy of Forestry and Alexander Buck, Executive Director of IUFRO.

Mike, in his vote of thanks, said Ï looked forward to connecting the strengths of IUFRO and AFPNet – particularly in research and “the empowerment of young forest researchers.