The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) is a network of member country governments (membership of 22 member countries as of March 2010) that promotes global change research in the region, increases developing country involvement in that research, and strengthens interactions between the science community and policy-makers. The APN defines “global change” as the set of natural and human-induced processes in the Earth's physical, biological, and social systems that, when aggregated, are significant at a global scale.

The APN strives to enable the developing countries of the region to participate increasingly in, and to benefit fully from, cooperative research in the region. It assures that the research results contribute to the development of a sound science-based adaptation strategies, policy- and decision-making processes, and developing scientific capacity to address these important issues. Recognising the interactive role of regional processes in the overall Earth system, the APN also aims to link the initiatives it sponsors with related projects conducted in other regions and under the aegis of global-scale programmes.

The APN was established as a result of the 1990 White House Conference on Science and Economics Research Related to Global Change, at which then US President Bush invited the countries of the world to join the United States in creating three regional networks for North-South scientific cooperation at the inter-governmental level to deal with global environmental change research. Discussions along these lines progressed in three zones: Europe and Africa; North and South America; and the Asia-Pacific region.

After a series of planning workshops, the APN was formally launched in 1996 with the first Inter-Governmental Meeting (IGM) and Scientific Planning Group (SPG) Meeting. By 1997, a competitive process was in place for proponents to apply for funding for scientific research projects relating to global change research. Since then, the APN’s activities have advanced steadily. The 15th IGM, held in March 2010 in Busan, Republic of Korea, marked the end of the second strategic phase and the beginning of a new five-year phase (2010-2015).

Enable countries in the Asia-Pacific region to successfully address global change challenges through science-based adaptation strategies, effective science and policy linkages, and capacity development.

The mission of APN is to enable investigations of changes in the Earth’s life support systems and their implications for sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. The APN, therefore, supports investigations that will:

The core strategies of APN are to: