The 17th meeting between the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and the International Commodity Bodies (ICBs) was hosted by the International Tropical Timber Organization in Yokohama, Japan on 31 August 2010. In his Opening remarks, the Executive Director of ITTO, Mr. Emmanuel Ze Meka noted that the amount of funds mobilized by ITTO in relation to the enormity of the task of assisting its member countries in addressing the pressing problems and challenges confronting tropical forests was very modest. He also stressed the relevance and potency of the partnership between CFC, the ICBs and the FAO intergovernmental commodity groups in advancing commodity sector development as the key strategy towards improving economies and livelihoods in developing countries.

ITTO established the Children’s Environmental Education Programme (CEEP) to enhance children’s awareness and knowledge of the important role of tropical forests in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. At the XXIII IUFRO World Congress in Seoul, Korea, ITTO provided an overview of CEEP and lessons learned from other relevant programmes at a side event on 25 August 2010. The event discussed challenges and opportunities to strengthen the network of relevant institutions and individuals contributing to environmental education on tropical forests. ITTO also launched the new World Atlas of Mangroves at IUFRO (see photo) and co-hosted an event on "Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT): Opportunities and Challenges " with the Chinese Academy of Forestry, the European Forest Institute and the European Commission.

The International Conference on Biodiversity Conservation in Transboundary Tropical Forests which was held in Quito on 21–24 July 2010 reviewed some of the most significant transboundary conservation area initiatives in Latin America, Africa and Asia and canvassed the essential elements for their success.

Timber procurement policies have evolved rapidly in recent years. Spurred by concerns over illegal logging and unsustainable forestry (often in the tropics), policies restricting purchases to legal and/or sustainable timber have proliferated. Such policies were initially adopted by developed country governments to guide their purchases of timber for public works projects, usually the only segment of the market that governments can exert direct influence over.

An unprecedented partnership of organizations – from forestry and conservation sectors and from across the United Nations – have released a new and comprehensive map and account of mangrove forests. These forests which straddle land and sea are found in 123 countries in tropical and subtropical regions. Globally they are rare, covering only 150 000 square kilometers. They are also disappearing faster than any other forest type on earth.