Highlights and images for 30 October 2025

The arrangements for negotiating a successor to the International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 2006, generated some discussion among Members of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC), focusing not only on the roadmap for the negotiations but also on the possible scope and structure of the new agreement. 

On Thursday morning, Members considered a proposal that the Preparatory Working Group meeting should be held in conjunction with the 62nd session of the ITTC (ITTC-62), in order to cut costs and improve efficiency. Producer and Consumer Caucuses expressed their support for this option, pending a discussion of the exact modalities. 

Members also began discussing the possible content of a new agreement. Options included whether the ITTA should expand its scope to tropical non-wood products and services, among other things. Producers agreed that the scope could extend beyond timber, though there was no consensus on the exact boundaries.  

Canada emphasized that, while expanding the ITTA’s scope merits discussion, the next agreement should avoid incorporating financial instruments that could divert attention from trade in tropical timber products or duplicate work under other processes.  

Panama opposed expanding the ITTA mandate to include ecosystem services, cautioning against duplication with other processes such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and instead called for strengthening the ITTO to enhance synergies. Several Members, including the EU and Japan, expressed caution about broadening the scope, noting that it could increase overlaps and complicate negotiations.  

Members also discussed the ITTA’s membership structure. Canada noted that the context has changed since the Agreement’s inception, highlighting that some countries are now both timber producers and consumers. Panama pointed out that as a country, they are both a producer and a consumer, importing three times as much wood products as they produce.  

Several Members highlighted that membership structure is tied to assessed contributions and voting allocations, and called for careful consideration of potential changes and their impacts.  

Financing was also a focus of discussions on Thursday. ITTC-61 Chair Carlos Espinosa Peña invited pledges to the Special Account, a fund established to receive voluntary contributions from donors to support projects and activities. Japan announced a pledge of USD 715,408 to implement specified projects and activities. Australia highlighted its USD 43,982 voluntary contribution made earlier in 2025, and Canada noted its financial support for fire prevention and management in tropical timber-producing forests, as well as capacity building for improved data collection. 

Executive Director Sheam Satkuru provided a progress report on the implementation of ITTO’s new financing architecture. She reported that since 2020, 61 concept notes have been submitted, of which 39 have been published for donor consideration and 15 have received donor interest, with 12 additional submissions since ITTC-60. She said the programmatic approach has raised USD 17 million since 2019, representing an average of USD 2.5 million per year, but 30 projects remain unfunded, and cautioned that concept notes will sunset in the coming years. 

Brazil noted that limited funding discourages countries from submitting proposals, despite good intentions, and Colombia suggested exploring alternative mechanisms to access climate funds, particularly through smaller implementing agencies that could more effectively facilitate fund distribution.