Sustainably increasing wood production via legal value chains to meet growing consumption is essential for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals and generating a circular bioeconomy, according to a panel discussion co-organized by ITTO in Kyoto this month.

A workshop convened by ITTO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and national agencies in Viet Nam in April has helped increase capacity in forest product statistics and reporting. Viet Nam is a leading importer of tropical primary products and exporter of wood furniture, and it needs reliable data for effective policymaking and to attract foreign investments.

A one-day seminar held in Tokyo, Japan, in March generated information on the legal frameworks for timber production and trade in five tropical timber-producing countries to support implementation of Japan’s Clean Wood Act. The Act, which was passed in 2016 and came into force in 2017, encourages companies to take measures to ensure the use of legally harvested wood and wood products.

The sustainable management of teak forests and the nurturing of legal and sustainable supply chains can make valuable contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals in the Greater Mekong Subregion, according to speakers at the launch of an ITTO teak project in Bangkok, Thailand, on 23 April 2019.

Countries in Africa need ongoing assistance to manage tree species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, making continued collaboration between CITES and ITTO essential, according to participants at a regional meeting of the CITES Tree Species Programme (CTSP), which took place in the United Republic of Tanzania in March.

Women have always been part of forestry—as custodians of traditional knowledge, as gatherers and users of diverse forest products, increasingly as forestry professionals, and more. But rarely have they been on equal footing with men. This edition of the TFU features some of the ways in which women are contributing to sustainable forest management and leading the way to a more egalitarian future.