The 1st Asia-Pacific Urban Forestry Meeting opening ceremony. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The 1st Asia-Pacific Urban Forestry Meeting was held in Zhuhai, Guangdong province through April 6-8. It is the first international convention held by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) on urban forestry development in the Asian-Pacific region.

Themed "towards agreener, healthier and happier future", the event hoped to draw a blueprint for urban forest development and a cooperative future for the Asian-Pacific region through discussion of the relation between urban forests and environmental quality, urban forests and health, urban forests and green economy, urban forests and cultural heritage, green infrastructure and city agglomeration.

Simone Borelli, forestry officer from FAO, Peng Youdong, the deputy director of the State Forestry Administration, Ye Zhi, deputy president of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, and Pan Ming, deputy mayor of Zhuhai city addressed the gathering, and Cheng Hong, director of the State Forestry Administration's Publicity Office, and Wang Cheng, director of the State Forestry Administration's Urban Forest Research Center, delivered keynote speeches at the meeting's opening ceremony.

During the three-day event, attendees went on a field trip to Zhuhai's urban forest construction site to talk with experts, and afterwards shared their views in several themed discussions on the problems, challenges and development directions of urban forests in the Asia-Pacific region. The closing ceremony proclaimed the 1st Asia-Pacific Urban Forestry Meeting — Zhuhai Declaration.

The event was co-organized by the FAO, China's State Forestry Administration's Urban Forest Research Center and the Zhuhai government. In addition to representatives from across China, it drew delegates from 17 Asian-Pacific countries and regions including Australia, India, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, as well as urban forestry experts from international organizations like the FAO, United Nations University, the International Society of Arboriculture and western countries including the United States, Britain, Canada, Italy, Brazil, and Slovenia.

Simone Borelli speaks at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to China Daily]