A project appraisal meeting was organized on 22-23 July in Beijing to review the project concept notes received this year, as the annually call for proposals drew to an end. Ten project Concept Notes (CNs) submitted by PNG, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, FAO regional office Asia and the Pacific and FCDMM-APFR were reviewed in line with the following criteria:
Conformity with the mission, objectives and thematic priorities and thematic priorities of APFNet economies’ needs;
Potential ecological, economic and social benefits;
Conformity with the forest policy, strategy and related laws of the locality; and
Provisions for multi-stakeholder participation, community-based forest development/ enterprise development and use of integrated approaches.
After due consideration and discussion the panel members recommended 8 concept notes for 2013. The applicants of the eight recommended concept notes were invited to submit full project proposals before October 15th.
The panel also stressed that in assessing the projects, priority should be given to the innovative projects that addressing the challenges in sustainable forest management and forest rehabilitation, with special emphasis on developing economies.
