Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) as the implementing agency responsible for establishing CIFOR and setting up a Board of Trustees. CIFOR’s Establishment Agreement was signed by Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States; the Agreement was lodged with the United Nations and CIFOR's legal identity as an international organisation was consolidated with a Host Country Agreement between the new Board and the Government of Indonesia in May 1993. Over time, CIFOR increased the focus of its research on forest policy rather than on technical forestry or tree breeding, in order to complement the efforts of national and private-sector institutes. Instead of having laboratories, CIFOR would be a ‘center without walls’, marshaling interdisciplinary research teams in collaboration with partners to tackle forest policy changes. Partners CIFOR works with government agencies and non-governmental organization in the countries where its scientists conduct research. Top partners include the CGIAR, European Union, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australian Aid), US Agency for International Development (USAID), BMZ/BMUB, Global Environment Facility (GEF), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Austrian Development Agency, British Department for International Development (DFID), French Global Environment Facility, and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Strategy CIFOR’s first strategy, set out in 1996, provided the foundations and direction for research that affected the understanding and practice of forest management throughout the tropics. But the world’s forests and the way they are perceived have changed dramatically since CIFOR was established. Foremost among many changes is that forests are today centre-stage in the global debate on how to tackle climate change. Almost 20 per cent of global carbon emissions are caused by deforestation, and so curbing forest loss is a way to reduce global warming. Also the promotion of biofuels by governments concerned about global warming is driving forest clearance in some areas. To respond to these and other challenges, CIFOR devised a new strategy for a new era. Approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2008, the strategy will guide CIFOR’s work until 2018. CGIAR Research Programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry CIFOR is the leading center for the CGIAR Research Programme 'Forests, Trees and Agroforestry' (also known as CRP6). This initiative brings together four Centers who specialise in their respective subjects — the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), CIFOR, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and Bioversity International. The