UNCCD and ITTO Join Forces to Reverse Timber-Related Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Dry Tropical…

Bonn, Germany, 14 December 2011 – Tropical timber is a valuable agricultural commodity whose production however has been associated with excessive forest clearing in dry tropical forests, causing degradation of these biomes with all its implications. To stop and reverse this detrimental process, measures for a sustainable management of the resource base of tropical timber are necessary, as is transparency in its international trade and utilization. This is addressed by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), whose members represent about 80% of the world's tropical forests and 90% of the global tropical timber trade. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has now joined forces with ITTO by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding which was signed by the Executive Director of ITTO, Mr. Emmanuel Ze Meka, and the Executive Secretary of UNCCD, Mr. Luc Gnacadja, during the 17th Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa on 7 December 2011. In an initial three-year cooperation within the framework of their respective ongoing work programmes, ITTO and UNCCD will aim to advance the implementation of sustainable forest management and sustainable land use management in dry tropical areas. Both bodies are well placed to further these endeavours, since all ITTO consumer and producer member countries, signatories of the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), are also members and signatories of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

For more information:
Sergio A. Zelaya-Bonilla
Coordinator
Policy for Advocacy on Global Issues and Platforms
United Nations Secretariat
Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel: +49 228 8152825
Fax: +49 228 8152898/99
szelaya [at] unccd.int (szelaya[at]unccd[dot]int)