ITTO and TEAKNET advance sustainable smallholder teak production through bimonthly webinars

Farmers at the teak nursery in Lampang, Thailand. Photo: ITTO

A flagship ITTO project to promote smallholder teak production has launched a webinar series to enable stakeholders to exchange knowledge, share success stories, and address challenges in building legal and sustainable supply chains for high-value timber.

Organized in collaboration with the information network TEAKNET, the first of the 12 bimonthly webinars took place on 14 February 2025. The event drew more than 70 participants from across the Asia-Pacific region and West Africa.

The Director of ITTO’s Forest Management Division, Jennifer Conje, commended the strong attendance.

“I hope that the webinar series will provide a platform for all of you to exchange up-to-date information and knowledge and successful case studies,” Ms Conje said in her opening remarks. 

The webinars aim to create a collaborative learning platform for smallholders, forestry authorities and academic partners to advance knowledge and innovation across the supply chains for teak and other high-value timber species. Topics to be discussed include sourcing quality materials, pest and disease control, fire management, certification, legality, and the role of carbon finance and other incentives.

The webinar series is part of the second phase of the ITTO project “Promoting Quality Timber Production in Smallholder and Community-based Teak and Other Valuable Species Plantations in the Tropics.” The project, which is supported by the German government, has been under implementation since 2023 in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Togo and Viet Nam.

The project focuses on sustainable plantation management, enhancing value chains, and ensuring the legality and certification of timber production. By building the capacity of smallholders and forest-dependent communities, the project seeks to promote sustainable livelihoods alongside the supply of high-quality timber.

The first phase of the project, which ran from 2019–2022, provided support to Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam for the conservation and sustainable management of teak forests and the establishment of legal and sustainable wood supply chains in the Greater Mekong sub-region.

“This webinar on sustainable teak production was a great success, bringing together a diverse range of perspectives and valuable knowledge from across the teak value chain,” said Ms Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director.

“It is intended that the insights and outcomes from this event will contribute meaningfully to the discussions at the upcoming 5th World Teak Conference in India later this year, supporting more sustainable and inclusive approaches to teak management and trade in respective countries”, she added.

The second webinar is scheduled for 22 April 2025 (15h Bangkok time), with experts Dr. Yasodha Ramasamy (India) and Dr. Suwan Tangmitcharoen (Thailand) sharing their knowledge on quality planting materials for premium teak production. 

Please register your participation for the second webinar here: https://www.itto.int/events/2025/04/22/webinar_quality_planting_materials_for_premium_teak_production