IISD - Reporting Services @ ITTC44, 06 November 2008

The Forty-fourth Session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) and the Associated Sessions of the Four Committees

3-8 November 2008, in Yokohama, Japan

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The Landmark Tower adjacent to the meeting venue in Yokohama, Japan.

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Highlights for Thursday, 06 November 2008

On Thursday, the forty-fourth session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) entered its fourth day of discussions in Yokohama, Japan. In the morning, Producer and Consumer Groups met in separate caucus meetings. The Council then convened to discuss a progress report on the implementation of the ITTO Biennial Work Programme for 2008-2009 and heard presentations on activities under the ITTO Objective 2000. This was followed by a meeting of the Committee on Economic Information and Market Intelligence and the Committee on Forest Industry. At lunch participants took part in a side event on the implementation of the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan.

In the afternoon and into the evening, an ad-hoc working group met to discuss the ITTO Action Plan, while the Chairperson’s Open-Ended Drafting Group met to discuss draft decisions, including on Thematic Programmes.


Delegates conversing while waiting for the morning session to begin.

In the morning, the Council met to discuss the ITTO Biennial Work Programme for 2008-2009. L-R: Collins Ahadome, ITTO Secretariat; Michael Maue, ITTC-44 Vice-Chair; Katharina Kuehmayer, ITTC-44 Chair; Emmanuel Ze Meka, ITTO Executive Director; Takeichi Ishikawa, ITTO Secretariat.


Emmanuel Ze Meka, ITTO Executive Director


Bledee Dagbe, Liberia	Jan Anrahausen, Norway	Ricardo Umali, the Philippines

Delegates listened to several presentations delivered during the morning Council session.

The Committee on Economic Information and Market Intelligence and the Committee on Forest Industry met to discuss a report on the timber market in Portugal and Spain and a report on discrepancies in trade statistics. L-R: Frances Maplesden and Amha Bin Buang, ITTO Secretariat; Michele Mire, US; James Singh, Guyana; Tetra Yanuariadi and Ramon Carrillo Arellano, ITTO Secretariat.


Flip van Helden, European Commission, noted that the report on tropical timber imports in the Iberian Peninsula did not take cognizance of the harmonized and preferential tariffs that are in place throughout the EU.	Norini Haron, Malaysia, suggested the creation of a cartel of tropical timber-producing countries and requested ITTO support for such an initiative.


Delegates conferred in the hallways while working groups met to consider draft decisions and the ITTO Action Plan.

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IISD Coverage

Forty-third Session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-43), 5-10 Nov. 2007,Yokohama, Japan
Forty-second Session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-42), 6-11 May 2007, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Forty-first Session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-41), 6-11 Nov. 2006,Yokohama, Japan
The Paramaribo Dialogue: a Country-Led Initiative in support of UNFF on Financing for SFM, 8-12 September 2008, Paramaribo, Suriname
Seventh Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, New York, 16-27 April 2007
Eighteenth Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO), Rome, 13-16 March 2007
ENB archive of forestry meetings