International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006

Summary

The objectives of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as "this Agreement") are to promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests and to promote the sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests by:

(a) Providing an effective framework for consultation, international cooperation and policy development among all members with regard to all relevant aspects of the world timber economy;
(b) Providing a forum for consultation to promote non-discriminatory timber trade practices;
(c) Contributing to sustainable development and to poverty alleviation;
(d) Enhancing the capacity of members to implement strategies for achieving exports of tropical timber and timber products from sustainably managed sources;
(e) Promoting improved understanding of the structural conditions in international markets, including long-term trends in consumption and production, factors affecting market access, consumer preferences and prices, and conditions leading to prices which reflect the costs of sustainable forest management;
(f) Promoting and supporting research and development with a view to improving forest management and efficiency of wood utilization and the competitiveness of wood products relative to other materials, as well as increasing the capacity to conserve and enhance other forest values in timber producing tropical forests;
(g) Developing and contributing towards mechanisms for the provision of new and additional financial resources with a view to promoting the adequacy and predictability of funding and expertise needed to enhance the capacity of producer members to attain the objectives of this Agreement;
(h) Improving market intelligence and encouraging information sharing on the international timber market with a view to ensuring greater transparency and better information on markets and market trends, including the gathering, compilation and dissemination of trade related data, including data related to species being traded;
(i) Promoting increased and further processing of tropical timber from sustainable sources in producer member countries, with a view to promoting their industrialization and thereby increasing their employment opportunities and export earnings;
(j) Encouraging members to support and develop tropical timber reforestation, as well as rehabilitation and restoration of degraded forest land, with due regard for the interests of local communities dependent on forest resources;(k) Improving marketing and distribution of tropical timber and timber product exports from sustainably managed and legally harvested sources and which are legally traded, including promoting consumer awareness;
(l) Strengthening the capacity of members for the collection, processing and dissemination of statistics on their trade in timber and information on the sustainable management of their tropical forests;
(m) Encouraging members to develop national policies aimed at sustainable utilization and conservation of timber producing forests, and maintaining ecological balance, in the context of the tropical timber trade;
(n) Strengthening the capacity of members to improve forest law enforcement and governance,and address illegal logging and related trade in tropical timber;
(o) Encouraging information sharing for a better understanding of voluntary mechanisms such as, inter alia, certification, to promote sustainable management of tropical forests, and assisting member s with their efforts in this area;
(p) Promoting access to, and transfer of, technologies and technical cooperation to implement the objectives of this Agreement, including on concessional and preferential terms and conditions, as mutually agreed;
(q) Promoting better understanding of the contribution of non-timber forest products and environmental services to the sustainable management of tropical forests with the aim of enhancing the capacity of members to develop strategies to strengthen such contributions in the context of sustainable forest management, and cooperating with relevant institutions and processes to this end;
(r) Encouraging members to recognize the role of forest-dependent indigenous and local communities in achieving sustainable forest management and develop strategies to enhance the capacity of these communities to sustainably manage tropical timber producing forests; and
(s) Identifying and addressing relevant new and emerging issues.