ATO is an intergovernmental organization created in 1976 for cooperation on forestry issues relating to its 14 member countries, which between them account for over 75% of the tropical natural forests on the African continent. ITTO and ATO have strong ties. For example, the two organizations collaborated recently on the development of the ATO/ITTO principles, criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of African natural tropical forests(PC&I) and the ATO is implementing a multi-phase ITTO-funded project aimed at building capacity in African member countries in the implementation of these PC&I.

ITTO works with the ASEAN Foundation on forest fire management and other forest- and trade-related issues in the ASEAN region. ITTO has also been participating in the meetings of the Ad Hoc Working Group on a Pan ASEAN Timber Certification Initiative to be developed using a phased approach.

CIFOR is an international research and global knowledge institution established under the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) committed to conserving forests and improving the livelihoods of people in the tropics. The partnership between ITTO and CIFOR has many facets: for example, CIFOR is implementing an ITTO-funded project to promote sustainable forest management in the Malinau District of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. CIFOR also played an important role in the development of the ITTO Guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forests.

The Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG),
which was formed in 2002, comprises representatives of a range of
non-governmental organizations with interests in tropical forests. It
aims to provide an opportunity for local voices and experiences to be
heard in the International Tropical Timber Council, particularly on the
equity dimensions of the tropical timber trade.

Contact: Mr Alberto Chincilla, Executive Director of the Central American Indigenous and Peasant Coordinator of Communal Agroforestry, facilitador@acicafoc.org

The CPF was established in 2001 to support the work of the UNFF and its member countries and to foster increased cooperation and coordination on forests. ITTO is an active member of the CPF. In particular, it has been assigned the role of CPF focal agency for international trade and sustainable forest management (jointly with FAO) and criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. It is also an active member of the CPF Taskforce on Streamlining Forest-related Reporting, with the aim of reducing the reporting burden on ITTO member countries.

The CFC is an intergovernmental financial institution established within the framework of the United Nations.ITTO participates in meetings of the CFC's Consultative Committee andin annual meetings between the international commodity bodies (ICBs) and the CFC. Over the life of the Organization, the CFC has allocated US$4.4 million to fund projects approved by the International Tropical Timber Council.

The CBD is a global agreement on the conservation, sustainable use and equitable benefit-sharing of biological diversity. ITTO participates in the CBD's deliberations at conferences of the parties and through the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) and other working groups and discussion forums.

CITES is an intergovernmental agreement with the aim of ensuring that international trade in species of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. ITTO and CITES have a long history of collaboration. For example, ITTO is one of the organizations designated by the Conference of the Parties of CITES to be consulted by governments proposing the inclusion of timber species in the appendices of CITES. ITTO has assisted in facilitating various meetings of the CITES Bigleaf Mahogany Working Group. The two organizations have been collaborating since 2007 on a large capacity building project (with funding from the EU, the USA and other donors) to assist countries to implement CITES regulations for tropical timber species listed in Appendix II (afrormosia, bigleaf mahogany and ramin).

ITTO is an active participant in many processes for the development of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management. These include the Montreal, Pan-European (Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe), ATO/ITTO, Tarapoto (Amazon), Lepaterique (Central America) and Dry-zone Asia processes.

FAO's Forestry Department assists member countries with national forest policy formulation and the strengthening of forest-related institutions, including support for extension and community forestry. ITTO and FAO enjoy a strong working relationship,collaborating in such fields as criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management and the development of guidelines for improving law compliance in the forest sector, among many others.

ITTO, Global Forest Watch and several governments in central Africa are collaborating on monitoring forest operations with a view to reducing illegal forest activities. ITTO has also contributed to several Global Forest Watch publications.

The International Partnership for Forestry Education (IPFE) is a not-for-profit, voluntary partnership to address the challenges and opportunities facing university-level forestry education globally. IPFE facilitates collaboration, and sharing of information, experiences, resources and skills, for education about forests and forestry.

IPFE's vision is of forestry education that is contemporary, locally-relevant and globally connected, and responsive to the global development agenda. IPFE facilitates partnerships between university forestry educators and other relevant institutions to jointly improve the quality and relevance of forestry education programmes.

ITTO became a member of IPFE in February 2008 and will be collaborating with IPFE under its Fellowship Program, an environmental education program that is currently being developed, and through forestry training activities in its producing member countries.

ISME promotes the conservation, rational management and sustainable utilization of mangroves. ITTO and ISME have worked together for many years, producing, among other things, an atlas of mangrove distribution, a reference book for mangrove restoration,and the global mangrove information service (GLOMIS).

The ITC is the technical cooperation agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organization for operational, enterprise-oriented aspects of trade development. ITTO and the ITC work together on the preparation of trade-related technical reports; for example, the two organizations recently published a global review of the international wooden furniture market.

IUFRO is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest researchers designed to promote international cooperation in forestry and forest products research. ITTO works with IUFRO in a number of ways; for example, ITTO, IUFRO and the Kerala Forest Research Institute combined recently to convene the International Conference on Quality Timber Products of Teak from Sustainable Forest Management in Kerala, ndia.

IUCN seeks to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. ITTO and IUCN are working together on several fronts: for example, they co-hosted a workshop on increasing the effectiveness of transboundary conservation areas in tropical forests and also collaborated in the development of the ITTO Guidelines for the restoration, management and rehabilitation of degraded and secondary tropical forestsand their subsequent uptake through a series of regional and national-level workshops. The two organizations recently jointly published a manual on forest landscape restoration.

The Trade Advisory Group (TAG) has been established to provide inputs to ITTO's policy and project work. It is open to anyone with an interest in the tropical timber trade, including representatives of tropical forest industries, timber exporters and importers, timber trade and industry consultants, and trade and industry associations.

The TFT is a membership-based organization established in 1999 by companies trading in tropical wood products. The TFT helps its members to implement responsible wood procurement policies in the tropics. The TFT has been using an ITTO grant to assist a logging company in Indonesia to improve its forest management practices.

ITTO regularly participates in meetings of the UNECE Timber Committee, which oversees forestry developments in the temperate and boreal forests of Europe and North America. The UNECE is also a member of the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Forest Statistics, in which ITTO also participates together with Eurostat and the FAO Forestry Department. The IWG is responsible for the global Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire used to collect forestry production and trade data worldwide.

UNCTAD is the focal point within the United Nations for the integrated treatment of trade and development and interrelated issues in the areas of finance, technology, investment and sustainable development. ITTO was established under the auspices of UNCTAD and maintains links by participating in UNCTAD-related meetings and through inter-secretariat collaboration. UNCTAD also hosted the recently concluded negotiations for a successor agreement to the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994.

The UNFF is the United Nations' intergovernmental policy forum for promoting the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and for strengthening long-term political commitment to this end. ITTO has a close working relationship with the UNFF; besides attending its annual sessions, ITTO assists in the preparation of the Forum's working documents and provides staff on secondment.

The World Bank provides loans, policy advice, technical assistance and knowledge-sharing services to low- and middle-income countries with the aim of reducing poverty. ITTO works with the World Bank in a variety of ways. Bank officials have participated in ITTO technical missions to member countries to assist in identifying obstacles to sustainable forest management and recommending actions to overcome these. The World Bank also participated in an ITTO/IUCN workshop on transboundary conservation and other ITTO-funded policy development forums.

The WTO is an intergovernmental organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. ITTO has been collaborating with WTO mainly through the exchange of information, particularly in respect to developments in the WTO that have a bearing on trade in tropical timber and timber products and through participation in relevant WTO meetings, including those of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment. A WTO side-event was held in conjunction with the 34th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council to promote understanding and dialogue regarding WTO rules and procedures.