Another US$10M ITTO Funds For Tropical Forest Management

THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER COUNCIL (ITTC), AT ITS 37TH SESSION IN YOKOHAMA, JAPAN ON 13-18 DECEMBER 2004, COMMITTED ANOTHER US$10 MILLION TO FINANCE 16 NEW TROPICAL FOREST MANAGEMENT PROJECTS IN ITS MEMBER COUNTRIES.

THESE INCLUDE projects to:

develop national-level principles, criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in the Republic of Congo,

undertake fire management and post-fire forest restoration in Ghana,

continue the development of a transboundary conservation area in the Emerald Triangle of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos,

help establish seed orchards for indigenous tree species in Sabah, Malaysia,

strengthen capacity in China to implement the National Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting, and
assist in the establishment of collaborative forest management in Jambi, Indonesia.

The ITTC, which is the governing body of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), also decided to fund an activity to review and revise the ITTO `Guidelines for the conservation of biodiversity in tropical timber producing forests'. Since the original guidelines were published in 1992, new approaches to biodiversity conservation have been designed and tested. The revision will be done in collaboration with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant organisations with the aim of producing state-of-the-art guidelines for use at the national and forest management unit levels.

The ITTC also made two substantive decisions. One of these is aimed at making improvements to the ITTO project cycle, while the other will continue to strengthen cooperation between ITTO and the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in the application of CITES rules to the trade of mahogany and ramin species.

Part of the Malaysian delegation to the session The major donors at this session were the governments of Japan, Switzerland, the United States and the Netherlands, while the governments of Finland, Norway, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand also pledged funds. In addition, funds were mobilised from the Unearmarked Fund of the ITTO's Special Account, its Bali Partnership Fund and Working Capital Account.

In her opening address to the session on 13December 2004, Chair Ms Jan McAlpine (pic) drew attention to positive trends in the workings of the ITTO in recent years, noting the growth of collegiality, trust and mutual respect between the various groups represented in the organisation. "In dealing with the potentially divisive issues we have on the agenda, let us maintain that atmosphere of mutual respect," she said. "If we leave suspicion at the door, anything is possible in this organisation," she added.

The ITTO is an intergovernmental organisation promoting the conservation and sustainable management, use and trade of tropical forest resources. Its 59 members, which include Malaysia, represent about 8o% of the world's tropical forests and 9o% of the global tropical timber trade. For more information on the ITTO, please contact:

International Tropical Timber Organization

International Organizations Center,
5^th Floor Pacifico-Yokohama I-I-I, Minato-Mirai,
Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012 Japan
Tel : + 81-45-223-1110
Fax : + 81^-45^-223^-1111
Email : itto@itto.or.jp
Website : www.itto.or.jp