Mangroves are highly productive, biodiversity-rich forest ecosystems adapted to survive in the harsh interface between land and sea. They provide resources such as timber, firewood, thatching materials and a wide range of other products, they serve as habitat for fisheries, and they help protect coastlines from tsunamis, storm surges and erosion. But they are under threat. An estimated 35 600 km² were lost between 1980 and 2005, and the annual rate of loss between 2000 and 2005 was 0.66%.

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the Government of Japan signed a letter of understanding for funding of 278 million Japanese yen (USD 3.6 million) to implement a large capacity-building project to support five Congo Basin countries to provide training on sustainable forest management (SFM) and biodiversity.

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the non-governmental organization BirdLife International signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on January 24, 2012 with the objective of enhancing cooperation and collaboration and to facilitate implementation of the two organizations’ respective work programs.

Katsuhiro Kotari, a key member of the Japanese government team that negotiated the first International Tropical Timber Agreement (1983) in the 1970s and early 1980s, passed away on December 25th, 2011.

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) announced the entry into force of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (ITTA, 2006) effective Wednesday, December 7th 2011. The ratification of the agreement by the West African nation of Benin triggered the entry into force of this successor agreement to the Organization’s current governing treaty (ITTA, 1994).