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32nd Meeting of the International Tropical Timber Council
Bali, Indonesia - 13-18 May 2002
Jump to: 13 May - 14 May - 15 May - 16 May - 17 May - 18 May
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Monday, 13 May
During the opening Plenary, delegates heard statements from, inter alia, the Executive Director of the ITTO, the Chair of the ITTC, the Governor of Bali, the President of Indonesia, and several Ministers. In the afternoon, following a Council session and a short Joint Committee session, participants split into the Committees on Reforestation and Forest Management (CRF) and on Forest Industry (CFI).

Opening Plenary
Manoel Sobral Filho, Executive Director of the ITTO, stressed the need to improve forest management on the ground, and described ITTO efforts to train forest managers in sustainable forest management (SFM) practices. He identified the lack of funds as the primary factor undermining SFM, and noted the failure of markets to remunerate the global services provided by natural forests.
 
Ibu Megawati Soekarnoputri, President of Indonesia, said that globalization has affected efforts to manage forests, and called for greater international cooperation to curb illegal practices. She hoped the ITTO would assist in national endeavors to implement the management of sustainable forests, particularly in rehabilitation and conservation activities.
 
President Megawati rang a gong to officially mark the opening of ITTC-32.
 
Above: Delegates heard presentations from David Kaimowitz,
Director-General of CIFOR (second from right), and from a
representative of the FAO (far right).
 
During the council session, Markku Simula (Finland) outlined activities carried out to implement ITTC decisions on certification. His presentation centered on an overview paper and the workshop on certification held in Kuala Lumpur in April 2002. He said that demand, in many cases, was greater than supply of certified products. He noted a lag in certification of tropical forests, but continued commitment to its wider implementation. He said that certification could aid in controlling illegal logging. One of the issues he flagged was that of mutual recognition of the different certification schemes.
Jürgen Blaser, ITTC Chair, stressed the need to ensure that forthcoming negotiations of the new ITTA will help create SFM and fair and transparent forest trade. He underscored the need for the ITTO to become the platform for stakeholder dialogue on SFM, citing an ITTO project in Africa on fostering a partnership as a promising development.
 
View of the packed Plenary hall during President Megawati's speech
 
President Megawati being escorted away from the Plenary hall by Sobral and Blaser (on the left).
 
Juan Mayr Maldonado, Minister of the Environment of Colombia, stressed the need to respond to the challenges to forest management posed by climate change. He called for greater coordination between biologically mega-diverse countries.
 
Delegates attended a luncheon hosted by the Indonesian Association of Forest Concession Holders (APHI) which included a display of Indonesian traditional fashions.
 
During the Joint Session of the Committees, it was noted that all the Committees' Chairs were women - a first in ITTO history. From left to right: Kayoko Fukushima (Japan), Chair of Committee on Finance and Administration; Angela Andrade Perez (Colombia), Chair of CRF; Astrid Bergquist (Sweden), Chair of the Committee on Economic Information and Market Intelligence; and Candy Green (USA), Chair of CFI.

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Jump to: 13 May - 14 May - 15 May - 16 May - 17 May - 18 May

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