Peri-urban areas in the Asia-Pacific Region are at crossroad. While the rural communities are facing severe challenges of depopulation and environmental deterioration, these areas offer invaluable opportunity to addressing climate change, food and water security as well as other lifestyle change issues. This Roundtable will call upon academics and practitioners from four regions to share their experiences in addressing key issues and challenges of rural sustainability in the region. The event will also officially launch the APAC Initiative for Regional Impact (AIRI) programme and introduce the regional partnership for rural sustainability. The one-year incubation programme, AIRI Urban-Rural Sustainability Fellowship 2022-23, will be announced at the launch and will call for interest from those keen individuals aspire to be the change fellows steering rural sustainability.