IISD Reporting Services at ITTC-33, 4-9 November 2002, Yokohama, Japan

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SUMMARY

33rd Meeting of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees
4 - 9 November 2002
Yokohama, Japan

Daily Web Coverage

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Highlights from

Monday, 4 November 2002

The opening session of the thirty-third session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-33) convened on Monday to hear opening statements and discuss organizational matters. A Joint Committee convened briefly in the afternoon, before the thirty-first sessions of the Committee on Forest Industry (CFI), the Committee on Reforestation and Forest Management (CFR), and the Committee on Economy and Market Intelligence (CEM), and the twelfth meeting of the Committee on Finance and Administration (CFA). Above photo: Delegates observed a minute of silence in memory of Hidenobu Takahide, former Mayor of Yokohama and Léo Scherman, translator of the Council.

Opening Plenary Session:

OPENING STATEMENTS


Jürgen Blaser, ITTC Chair, stressed the success of ITTC-32 and called on delegates to strengthen ITTO by concentrating on ongoing activities rather than adopting new substantive decisions.

Manoel Sobral Filho, ITTO Executive Director, welcomed delegates to ITTC-33 and thanked the city of Yokohama for its continued financial support. He reviewed ITTO's portfolio of projects and activities on conservation, sustainable forest management (SFM), criteria and indicators, restoration and rehabilitation of degraded areas, forest law enforcement, participation in international processes, and communication.

Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of Yokohama, highlighted the role of Japan and the city of Yokohama in the ITTO process, and stressed that Yokohama will continue to serve as the ITTO's headquarters.

Tetsuo Kato, Director-General, Forestry Agency Japan, commended ITTO's achievements. Stressing the need to prevent illegal logging, he called for internationally-coordinated activities in this area, developing guidelines, and certification.

Oben Tanyi Mbianyor, Minister of Environment and Forests of the Government of Cameroon, on behalf of the Congo Basin countries, thanked the partners facilitating SFM in the region, and outlined efforts to protect Cameroon's forests.

José Carlos Carvalho, Minister of Environment of Brazil, (far right) highlighted Brazil's efforts to ensure SFM based on social participation in forest conservation and use. He commended broadened international aid to address Brazilian forestry issues, and called for further actions on illegal logging, and for projects related to mahogany in view of CITES priorities.

Committee Sessions:

COMMITTEE ON FOREST INDUSTRY:

CFI Vice Chair Fidel Reyes Lee, Guatemala, introduced, and delegates approved, the provisional agenda (CFI(XXXI)/1) and admitted observers.

Delegates reviewed the report on completed projects and pre-projects (CFI(XXXI)/3), and considered a project on Myanmar's lesser-known timber species and a pre-project for the Ecuadorian tropical timber industry environmental management, as completed.

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION

CFA Vice-Chair Pravit Chittachumnonk, Thailand, opened the twelfth session of the CFA. Delegates adopted the agenda and organization of work (CFA(XII)/1) without amendments.

Delegates took note of requests by INDONESIA, the PHILIPPINES, and the REPUBLIC OF CONGO that recent payment of their arrears for 2002 be taken into account.

Regarding the current status of the Administrative Account (CFA(XII)/4), the US sought clarification on an expected deficit of US$328,191 for 2002.

COMMITTEE ON REFORESTATION AND FOREST MANAGEMENT

CRF Chair Angela Andrade Pérez, Colombia, introduced a report on completed projects and pre-projects (CRF(XXXI)/3).

The PHILIPPINES questioned the need for compensation for financial losses from SFM, noting additional benefits from it.

COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC INFORMATION AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Regarding the proposal for a structured approach to selecting completed projects for ex-post evaluation (CEM(XXXI)/4), Chair Bergquist recommended, and the CEM agreed, to defer this item to ITTC-34.

Side Event:

Presented by the Katoomba Group and Forest Trends: Emerging Markets for Forests Services



Michael Jenkins, Forest Trends, stressed the linkages between forests, climate change, biodiversity, land use, and water management.

David Brand, Hancock Natural Resource Group, considered market incentives to promote sustainable forest management (SFM) that rely on financial valuation of ecosystem services of forests. He noted the convergence of economic and environmental interests, and recounted the evolution of ideas regarding the linkage between SFM and the timber industry.

Sara Scherr, Forest Trends, presented ways for low-income tropical timber producers to generate income from non-timber products and services. She highlighted the role of local communities in SFM, and said that low-income producers have a competitive advantage in the market for forest services since they control the majority of forests, can charge lower prices for services, and are in a good position to monitor forests.

More information: http://www.forest-trends.org

ENB Snapshots of ITTC-33:

Receptions:



Dinner hosted by the Government of Switzerland and ITTO