“Selling (exporting) and buying (importing)

of tropical timber

among countries at agreed prices”

Tropical Forests: International Trade

Trends in International Tropical Timber TradeExports (US$ billion)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

Primary WoodProducts

SPWP

Trends in International Tropical Timber TradeImports (US$ billion)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

Primary Woodproducts

SPWP fromITTOProducers

SPWP fromTropical NonITTO members

Total SPWPfrom Tropicalcountries

POSITIVE IMPACT OF TRADE ON TROPICAL FORESTS

• Generate value, foreign exchange and export earnings• Create employment opportunities• Contribute to economic, national and sustainable

development• Alleviate poverty, improve livelihoods• Retain forests from conversion• Self-help and reliance

• Trade liberalization, promotion, diversification, facilitation

• Improve market access• Reduce/eliminate tariffs/non-tariff barriers• Enhance competitiveness

NEGATIVE IMPACT OF TRADE ON TROPICAL FORESTS

• Unsustainable and over exploitation of forests• Illegal logging and trade• Resource depletion• Forest and biodiversity degradation and loss• Environment damage and destruction• Community displacement and poverty

• Blanket ban and boycott on imports and use of tropical timber

• Ban on imports of illegal timber• US Amended Lacey Act• EU Timber Regulation• Timber certification• Verification of legality, CoC• CITES listings and permits

ITTO’s RESPONSE

OVER-ARCHING OBJECTIVES• Promote expansion, diversification of international trade in

tropical timber from sustainably managed, legally harvested forests

• Promote sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests

by• Providing forum to promote non-discriminatory timber trade• Enhancing capacity of members achieving exports of tropical timber

from sustainably managed sources (ITTO Objective 2000)• Promoting understanding of structural conditions in international

market• Improving market intelligence and transparency• Improving market and distribution of tropical timber from legally

harvested sources and legally traded• Addressing illegal logging and related trade in tropical timber• Improving information sharing, better understanding of voluntary

mechanisms, certification

ITTO TRADE RELATED WORK

POLICY WORK

• Annual Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation

• Market Information Service (MIS)• ITTO Annual Market Discussion• ITTO-FAO Best Practices for Improving Law Compliance in

the Forest Sector• Compendium of technologies for monitoring illegal logging

and trade• Information and database enhancement• Studies

market reviews, outlooks, forecasts Competitiveness Market access Certification Procurement policies Impact of global financial and economic crises

ITTO TRADE RELATED WORK

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

• Statistical Training Workshops• National Forest Statistical Systems• Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade• Certification• Innovative Timber Tracing Systems• Private Sector- Civil Society Partnerships• Web-based Information System• CITES NDF and capacity building

PROGRAMMATIC APPROACH TO ITTO TRADE RELATED WORK

TFLET TMT ITTO-CITES PROGRAMME

General Objective

Improve national forest law enforcement and governance to enhance and diversify trade in legal and sustainable timber and alleviate poverty

Promote trade in tropical timber and timber products and improve market transparency

To ensure international trade in CITES-listed timber species is consistent with their sustainable management and conservation

Planned Budget

US$ 15 million US$ 5 million US$ 5 million

Funding Pledged

US$ 6.5 million US$ 1.2 million US$ 4.4 million

Activities 4 1 25

Projects, Pre-projects

14 3 -

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