Representatives from six Conservation Trust Funds in the Asia-Pacific region met in Jakarta, Indonesia in early December 2017 to form the Asia-Pacific Conservation Trust Fund Network, to be known as “APNET.”
The new network, modeled on RedLAC and CAFÉ, will serve as a collaborative and knowledge-sharing platform for CTFs in the Asia-Pacific region, and will help to facilitate linkages with CTFs in other parts of the world.
Six founding members came together over three days in Jakarta, ably hosted by Yayasan KEHATI, to formally create the network, ratify the governing principles, elect the first Executive Committee, and select the Host Institution to house the Secretariat.
APNET’s founding members are Arannayk Foundation of Bangladesh, represented by Farid Uddin Ahmed and Dr Muhammed Quddus; Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation, represented by Dr. Pema Choephyel and Singye Dorji; Forest Foundation Philippines, represented by Jose Andres Canivel; Foundation for the Philippine Environment represented by Oliver Agoncillo; Micronesia Conservation Trust represented by Lisa Ranahan Andon; and Yayasan KEHATI of Indonesia represented by M.S. Sembiring, Indra Gunawan and Fardila Astari. The Phoenix Islands Protected Area Trust and Tasmanian Land Conservancy are also founding members but were unable to attend the meeting in person.
Farid Uddin Ahmed, Lisa Ranahan Andon, Pema Choephyel, Jane Hutchinson, and M.S. Sembiring were elected to the Executive Committee.
Yayasan KEHATI was selected as the first Host Institution of the network, and will serve as the base for the Secretariat.
APNET plans to hold its first Assembly in March, 2019.
Other meeting attendees included Nety Riana and Mozaika Hendarti of Yayasan KEHATI, Robert Baigrie of Conservation International, Katy Mathias of Wildlife Conservation Society, and Roman Czebiniak of EcoNusantara.
Funding for the meeting and the initial formation of APNET was provided by Conservation International, Fonds Français for l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM) and the MAVA Foundation.
