Daily Coverage
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International Tropical Timber Council:
Thirty-Fifth Session
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Yokohama, Japan | 3 - 8 November 2003 |
Highlights
from Monday, 3 November
On Monday, delegates
to the 35th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and
related committee meetings (ITTC-35) convened in both Council and
Committee sessions. In the morning, Council heard opening statements,
addressed organizational matters, and discussed the report of the
13th meeting of the Informal Advisory Group (IAG). In the afternoon,
a Joint Committee session was held to hear the report of the Expert
Panel for Technical Appraisal of Project Proposals. The Committees
on Economic Information and Market Intelligence (CEM) and on Forest
Industy (CFI) convened, as did the Committee on Reforestation and
Forest Management (CRF). Photo: The
dais during the opening Plenary: (left to right): Mamoru
Ishihara, Director-General of the Forestry Agency, Japan, Elisea
G. Gozun, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines,
Muhammad
Prakosa, Minister of Forestry, Indonesia, Manoel
Sobral Filho, ITTO Executive Director, ITTC-35
Chair Bin Che Freezailah, Malaysia, ITTC-35 Vice Chair Jan McAlpine,
US, Adou Assoa, Minister of Water and Forests, Cote
d'Ivoire, and Patrick
Praitch, Minister of Forests, Papua New Guinea
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ITTC-35
Chair Bin Che Freezailah, Malaysia (right) opened the session,
noting the high level of political attention given to issues
facing the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).
He highlighted that the total area of tropical forests worldwide
is small when compared to temperate and boreal forests, and
that illegal logging continues to threaten the world's forests.
(Listen to his presentation)
Manoel
Sobral Filho, ITTO Executive Director (left), said the
progress report on the implementation of the International Tropical
Timber Agreement, 1994 (ITTA, 1994) will help governments during
the renegotiation process. He said members, when renegotiating
the ITTA, 1994, should take into consideration the changing
nature of the forest debate, which, over the next few decades,
will include a new vision and process for addressing tropical
forest issues. (Listen to his presentation)
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Keiji
Ide, Representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan
(left),
outlined his country's contribution to tropical timber issues
including information exchange, policy guidelines, project implementation
and project financing. He noted a Japanese-Indonesian initiative
on combating illegal logging and Japan's contribution to the Asia
Forest Partnership to promote sustainable development in Asia.
(Listen to his presentation) |
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| Mamoru
Ishihara, Director-General of the Forestry Agency, Japan, (right)
noted that two-thirds of Japan's land is forest, much of which
has been affected by natural disasters, and explained Japan's
commitment to sustainable forest management (SFM). He underscored
Japan's effort to introduce labeling and certification and tackle
illegal logging and harvesting on a global scale. (Listen
to his presentation) |
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Adou
Assoa, Minister of Water and Forests, Cote d'Ivoire
(left),
noted his country's progress implementing the Year 2000 Objective
and explained Côte d'Ivoire's new forestry policy and partnerships
with NGOs and the private sector. Noting that primary forests
are disappearing and secondary forests need new financing mechanisms,
he expressed hope that the ITTO will be able to face this challenge.
(Listen
to his presentation)
Patrick Praitch, Minister of Forests, Papua New Guinea
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Muhammad Prakosa, Minister of Forestry,
Indonesia (left)
Patrick
Praitch, Minister of Forests, Papua New Guinea (right),
supported broadening the scope of the ITTA, 1994, by promoting
a holistic approach and moving the organization beyond its current
status as a commodity organization. He also outlined Papua New
Guinea's position for the re-negotiation of ITTA, 1994, noting
the need to improve information exchange, access to new resources,
and market access to the global timber market.
(Listen to his presentation)
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Elisea
G. Gozun, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Philippines,
reaffirmed her country's commitment to Objective 2000 and identified
national policy priorities, including, inter
alia: the implementation of a new forest policy code, the
adoption of a system of Criteria and Indicators (C&I), strengthening
local community forest management, expansion of plantations, creating
a better enabling environment, increasing the sustainability of
forest-based investment, and disseminating of resource information.
(Listen
to her presentation)
Muhammad
Prakosa, Minister of Forestry, Indonesia (right), underlined
the importance of SFM, noting the need for cooperation between
both producer and consumer states in addressing illegal logging
and trade issues. (Listen
to his presentation)
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Hosney
El-Lakany, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
commended the policy achievements of ITTO and underscored the
value of continuing collaboration between the FAO and ITTO.
He also highlighted the FAO's ongoing efforts to develop guidelines
for forest law enforcement, provide reliable and timely information
on forest management, cooperate with ITTO in developing C&I
for SFM, and strengthen the interface between economic and environmental
considerations. (Listen
to his presentation)
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IAG
Chair Freezailah presented the report of the Informal Advisory
Group (IAG) (ITTC(XXXV)/2), highlighting: reference to the report
of the Inter-sessional Working Group on preparations for negotiating
a successor agreement; discussion on the Council decision-making
process; and draft decisions received from member states and the
ITTO Secretariat. He said the IAG identified potential difficulties
arising in the negotiations, including use of the term environmental
services, the distribution of votes of African members, and new,
undefined terminology. |
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| Delegates
from Japan and from Australia during the morning Plenary session
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Delegates
from Gabon discuss the proposed agenda (left) and delegates from
Japan exchange business cards (right) |
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