During the Second Pu’er Forum on Asia-Pacific Forests, held from 29 to 30 October 2025, in Pu’er Yunnan Province China, the Forestry Education Sub-forum, namely the 2nd Presidents’ Forum of Forestry Universities and Institutes in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), was successfully concluded. Held under the theme “Technology Leads, Talent Drives, Industry Empowers: New Pathways for Forestry Synergistic Development”， the sub-forum aimed to strengthen the integration of forestry education, scientific research, and industry across the Greater Mekong and broader Asia-Pacific regions. The event brought together over 40 representatives from forestry universities and international organizations across the GMS economies.
Dr. Wang Chunfeng, Executive Director of APFNet, emphasized that the Presidents' Forum focuses on cooperation and development in forestry higher education in the GMS. Its core is to align forestry education with the new trends of regional forestry development and technological innovation, optimize forestry education content, and cultivate professional talents meeting the needs of future forestry development. Over the past two years, the forum has achieved remarkable results: successfully organizing two sessions of the Undergraduate Summer Camps, conducting tea farmer training programs for Laos and Thailand respectively, and the APFNet Scholarship Program has sponsored 12 students to pursue master's degrees at Southwest Forestry University. Dr. Wang Chunfeng stated that he hopes to take this forum as a new starting point for deepening cooperation, further optimize the forestry higher education cooperation mechanism, expand diversified cooperation initiatives, strengthen mutual learning, and deepen scientific research and talent collaboration. This will provide solid talent and technological support for the sustainable forestry development in the GMS.
Participants from Royal University of Agriculture of Cambodia, National University of Laos, University of Forestry and Environmental Science of Myanmar, Kasetsart University of Thailand, Vietnam National University of Forestry, and Mekong Institute, among others, exchanged insights and experiences on three key topics:
● Technological Innovation and Forestry Development – sharing cutting-edge research and practical applications to address regional forestry challenges;
● International Talent Cultivation and Cooperation – exchanging successful models of student mobility, faculty exchange, and joint curriculum development;
● Forestry Industry Transformation, Upgrading, and Collaboration– exploring pathways for green transition and industrial optimization through regional synergy.
The forum reached broad consensus in four key areas:
● Mechanism Building – Continuously improve platform mechanisms to ensure sustained support for regional cooperation;
● Talent Cultivation – Deepening educational collaboration to nurture interdisciplinary forestry professionals with strong theoretical foundations, practical abilities, and international perspectives;
● Scientific Research Collaboration – Enhancing joint research to strengthen the region’s overall innovation capacity in forestry;
● Industry Integration – Promoting the integration of academia, research, and industry to boost forestry’s economic, ecological, and social benefits.
The inaugural Presidents’ Forum of Forestry Universities and Institutes in the Greater Mekong Subregion was held in September 2023. Over the past two years, participating parties have signed a number of cooperation memorandums, established the Steering Committee of the Forum of University Presidents, and promoted the implementation of multiple practical cooperation projects, laying a solid foundation for the coordination of regional forestry science and education and joint talent cultivation.
