56th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees (ITTC-56)
9-13 November 2020 | Online
Highlights for Tuesday, 10 November 2020
The second day of the virtual Fifty-sixth Session of International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-56) and the Associated Sessions of its four Committees focused on two agenda items: a possible extension of the current treaty governing the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and a progress report on implementation of ITTO’s New Financial Architecture (NFA) and related fundraising and collaboration efforts.
The discussion on the possible extension of the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 2006 began with a presentation by the Secretariat on the procedures for either extending or renegotiating the ITTA, 2006. She pointed out that a decision could be taken by consensus or special majority vote, but in either case it must be done well before the Agreement expires on 6 December 2021 to properly notify the Agreement’s depository, the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In the ensuing discussion, the spokespersons for Producers and Consumers and Member States intervening supported extending the Agreement for another five years, but indicated they needed time to complete domestic and legal consultations before they could formally agree on such a decision.
On the NFA, ITTO Executive Director Gerhard Dieterle briefed the Council on fundraising efforts in 2019 and 2020 under ITTO’s new programmatic approach, proposals pending with various agencies for another USD 40 million, and the status of work to meet the ITTC-55 mandates for the implementation of the NFA pilot phase. He outlined ITTO engagement with the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund about possible funding and accreditation as an implementing or executing agency. He also described efforts to negotiate memoranda of understanding with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and stepped up cooperation with the members of the UN Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
Images from the Meeting
ITTO/ITTC-56 Resources
- ITTC-56 Website
- ITTC-56 Documents
- ITTC-56 Agenda
- International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (ITTA, 2006)
- ITTO Annual Report 2019
- ITTO Members Under ITTA, 2006
- Decisions of the ITTC
- ITTO-CITES Program for Implementing CITES Listings of Tropical Timber Species
- ITTO/CBD Collaborative Initiative for Tropical Forest Biodiversity
- ITTO Project Search
Additional Forestry Resources
- The Collaborative Partnership on Forests
- The Convention on Biological Diversity: Programme on Forest Biodiversity
- UNFCCC REDD+ Platform
- FAO Forestry
- UN Forum on Forests
- 25th Session of the FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO), 5-9 October 2020, Rome, Italy
IISD/ENB Meeting Coverage
- 15th Session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF15), June 2020, Virtual
- UNFF14, 6-10 May 2019, UN Headquarters, New York
- ITTC-54, 5-8 November 2018, Yokohama, Japan
- Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress 2018 (BARC 2018), 25-27 June 2018, Beijing, China
- UNFF13, 7-11 May 2018, UN Headquarters, New York
- ENB Coverage of Forests Meetings
IISD Resources
- Subscription Page for ENB Update, SDG Update, and Peer-to-Peer Community Mailing Lists (including Forests News, SDG News, Biodiversity News, Ocean News, Climate News, Ocean News, Trade and Sustainable Development News, and Regional Updates)
- SDG Update Newsletter - A compilation of news, commentary and upcoming events published on the SDG Knowledge Hub
- SDG Knowledge Hub - An Online Resource Center for News and Commentary Regarding the Implementation of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)