熱帯林学・林産業のイノベーションに関する国際会議

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) will organize this important event, in Abidjan, from 22 to 25 September 2008.

The Workshop will focus on “Creation of sustainable wealth through innovative tropical timber industry for the XXI Century”, providing a forum for consultation and exchange among different actors and institutions involved in Research and Development and innovations aiming at evaluating their status and determining appropriate measures to improve sustainable management of tropical forest resources and competitiveness of forest products.
The Workshop program covers the following themes:

1. Overviews of innovations in tropical forest industries in the world in keynote presentations by eminent specialists;
2. Present situation of innovation in the tropical forest subsector in ITTO member countries;
3. Innovation in the valorization of tropical wood wastes;
4. Innovation in the valorization of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP);
5. Competitiveness of tropical timbers in the framework of globalization;
6. Technological innovations in local community based tropical forest industry;
7. The role of information technology and communication in promoting technological innovations in tropical forest and forest products industry;
8. Technological innovations in tropical forest industry for environmental services trade.

• Presentations by the experts and discussions which will continue on specific themes in working groups.
   
• Exhibition of innovations in tropical forest industry and forest products “Expo AIFORT2008” covering the following themes:
  
  1. Forest industry;
  2. Machinery and tools;
  3. House construction;
  4. Community based forest industry and handcrafts;
  5. Finance partners / Business contacts.
   
• An excursion to see the countryside and to visit a plywood industry and a sawmill with secondary and tertiary processing units, and a site with integrated timber, agricultural and fish production that is used to provide training to rural communities in relation to socio-economic development activities.

Participation in the workshop and contribution to its work is open to all ITTO member countries and others, institutions and actors involved in tropical forest industry.