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IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) Coverage
IISD RS has produced daily web coverage and a summary and analysis of these events. In order to download our report, click the HTML or PDF icons below. |
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Fiftieth Session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) and Associated Sessions of the Four Committees
3-8 November 2014 | Yokohama, Japan
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Daily Web Coverage (Click on the Following Links to See our Daily Webpages)
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Summary Highlights of ITTC-50
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| The fiftieth session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC-50), and the Associated Sessions of the four Committees (Finance and Administration; Economics, Statistics and Markets; Forest Industry; and Reforestation and Forest Management) opened on Monday, 3 November 2014 in Yokohama, Japan. In the morning, delegates heard opening statements from the ITTO Executive Director, the ITTC-50 Chair, the Director General of the Japanese Forestry Agency, the Deputy-Mayor of the City of Yokohama, and ministers from Suriname, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, and Gabon. Delegates also heard a keynote address from Bharrat Jagdeo, the former President of Guyana.
In the morning, the Council addressed organizational matters, including ascertainment of quorum for the meeting, redistribution of votes, and adoption of the meeting’s agenda, while postponing approval of the admission of observers.
In the afternoon, after noting the reports of the Informal Advisory Group and the panel that reviewed applicants for the position of Executive Director, the Council heard presentations from the six candidates shortlisted by the panel.
 Visit the web coverage for Monday, 3 November 2014.
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The fiftieth session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) entered its second day of discussions today in Yokohama, Japan.
In the morning, a joint Producer and Consumer caucus was held to pose questions to the six candidates for the position of ITTO Executive Director. Delegates then convened in a Joint Committee Session to hear the Report of the Expert Review Panel and discuss ex-post evaluations of several projects.
In the afternoon, delegates met in a Council session to discuss the ITTO Biennial Work Programme and strengthening regional ITTO presence through, inter alia, potentially creating regional offices. Delegates also briefly considered the election of the next ITTO Executive Director, with Brazil officially supporting the candidacy of Eduardo Mansur (Brazil), and committing to paying its arrears. The discussion was postponed to give time for caucus consultations.
Later in the afternoon, the Committee on Reforestation and Forest Management (CRF) and the Committee on Finance and Administration (CFA) met in parallel. The CFA discussed, inter alia: the biennial administrative budget; contributions to the administrative budgets; and a report on mobilizing new funding and partnerships for ITTO. The CRF discussed, inter alia: policy work and the Biennial Work Programme for committees.
The Committee on Economics, Statistics and Markets and the Committee on Forest Industry (CEM-CFI) met in the evening to discuss policy work and new projects and pre-projects.
Visit the web coverage for Tuesday, 4 November 2014. |
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| The fiftieth session of the International Tropical Timber Council continued its deliberations in Yokohama, Japan on 5 November 2014. In the morning, delegates convened a Joint Committee Session to continue an agenda item on ex-post evaluations of completed projects. Later in a Council session, delegates discussed enhancing cooperation with CITES.
Delegates continued discussions on the election of the next Executive Director (ED) of ITTO debating whether to hold an initial vote to narrow down the field of candidates (as proposed by the Consumer group), or to continue seeking consensus before undergoing any voting (as proposed by the Producer group). After much deliberation, delegates agreed to discuss the matter further in their respective caucuses, then hold a contact group on the matter, and only conduct an initial vote if the field of candidates is not narrowed by Thursday morning.
In the afternoon, a panel discussion was held on ITTO’s past, present and future, where several experts were invited to share their opinions on and visions for ITTO in the coming years. This was followed by the Annual Market Discussion.
The contact group on the selection of the Executive Director met into the evening.
Visit the web coverage for Wednesday, 5 November 2014. |
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Annual ITTC-50 Marketplace Panel (L-R): Roy Southey, SawMilling Southeys, South Africa; Enzo Barattini, Retired from EU Commission; Gordon E. Gresham, Marketing Advisor, UK; CEM Chair Shingi Koto, Japan; Barney Chan, TAG Coordinator, Malaysia; Isac Chami Zygman, ABIMCI, Brazil; Cindy Squires, International Wood Products Association, U.S.A; Jirawat Tangkijngamwong, Thai Timber Association, Thailand; Michael J. Adams, Timber Industry Developent Consultant, Japan
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Adrian Ngo'o Bitomo, Cameroon spoke for the Producers group
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| Pedro Brançante Machado, Brazil |
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| On the last day of the fiftieth session of the International Tropical Timber Council, delegates discussed at length, and into the evening, how to proceed with the election of the next ITTO Executive Director. Proposals were made to postpone the decision to the next session of the ITTC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 2015, or to an extraordinary session to be held much earlier. Many delegates supported an idea to rotate the Executive Director position between Consumers and Producers, but also felt this matter needed further discussion. Many also backed the idea of creating a working group to delve into these matters. Consensus was not reached on any proposals before interpretation stopped, and the agenda item was not concluded at this session. The election of the next Executive Director will be put on the agenda of ITTC-51.
The Committee on Finance and Administration met in the morning to finalize their work. Delegates then met in a Council session to adopt the Reports of the Committees and decisions on: projects, pre-projects and activities; the ITTO Biennial Work Programme for 2015-2016; and admission and activities of observers during Council sessions.
The Council also elected Bin Che Yeom Freezailah (Malaysia) as Chair of ITTC-51, and Jennifer Conje (US) as Vice-Chair. Representatives of the Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) and the UN Forum on Forests delivered statements.
Executive Director Emmanuel Ze Meka and ITTC-50 Chair Rob Busink delivered closing addresses. The Chair closed the meeting at 9:28pm.
Visit the web coverage for Saturday, 8 November 2014. |
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| Funding for coverage of these meetings has been provided by ITTO |
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Daily Web Coverage (Click on the following links to see our daily webpages)
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