Highlights and images for 5 December 2024

The fourth day of the 60th session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-60) began zeroing in on negotiating the mandate for the Preparatory Working Group (PWG) to formulate a roadmap for negotiations toward a successor to the 2006 International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) by 2029.

The Council also reviewed the International Tropical Timber Organization’s (ITTO) Biennial Work Programme (BWP) 2024-2025, the elements for the Biennial Review and Assessment of World Timber Situation 2023-2024, recommendations for recipients of the ITTO Fellowship Programme, and pledges to the Special Account and the Bali Partnership Fund.

The plenary began with a presentation by a consultant on questions for delegates to consider about what they want from ITTA negotiations regarding ITTO’s future funding architecture. Throughout the day, delegates informally circulated draft text for an ITTO-60 decision regarding the PWG mandate. In the mid-afternoon the Chair’s Open-ended Drafting Group continued its work from Wednesday evening and Thursday morning on drafting decision text behind closed doors.

ITTO Operations Director Gerhard Bruelmann presented a status report on the BWP 2024-2025, focusing on selected activities including:

• building legal and sustainable forest product supply chains;
• industry-led legality compliance/due care training;
• promoting quality timber production from smallholder and community-established plantations in teak and other valuable species;
• operationalizing ITTO policy guidelines on gender equality and empowering women;
• dissemination of the forest landscape restoration guidelines;
• conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in tropical timber production forests;
• cooperation with the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and UN Forum on Forests (UNFF); and
• collaboration on criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management (SFM).

Bruelmann noted that the BWP only has USD 5,183,904 pledged, of the USD 7,009,585 sought.

A presentation by consultant Frances Maplesden, on elements of ITTO’s Biennial Review & Assessment of the World Timber Situation 2023-2024 reviewing production and trade trends, sparked a debate about the pivotal definition of “tropical timber” and its implications for both trade statistics and tariff classifications. Some Council members suggested the definition issue should be taken up in the ITTA renegotiation.

ITTC-60 Vice Chair Carlos Espinosa Peña reported on the process of selecting the 19 recipients of the 2024 ITTO Fellowships, noting that he himself had been an ITTO Fellowship recipient and it “changed my life.”

ITTC-60 Chair Anna Tyler opened the floor for pledges to the Special Account and the Bali Partnership Fund. The US announced a contribution of USD 600,000 in funding for project work and BWP activities. JAPAN announced a pledge of USD 250,000 for project funding, noting an additional contribution of approximately USD 470,000 from the Japanese Forestry Agency in 2024 and potential approval by Japan’s Diet of USD 750,000 in further funding.