The International Tropical Timber Organization and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity renew partnership to 2029

ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru (right) and CBD Executive Secretary Astrid Schomaker (left) sign a memorandum of understanding to extend collaboration until 2029. © Soomin Lee/ITTO

On 12 May 2026, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) renewed their longstanding collaboration, with the aim of supporting Parties to the CBD and ITTO member countries in their efforts to implement sustainable forest management and restore degraded forest landscapes.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed on Tuesday on the margins of the 21^st session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, extends the collaboration to 2029. Its overarching aim is to strengthen joint efforts in support of the implementation of global commitments, from the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (the KMGBF) and the CBD expanded programme of work on forest biodiversity, to the upcoming United Nations Decade on Afforestation and Reforestation (2027-2036) and the Global Forest Goals.

The ITTO and the CBD Secretariat have been collaborating closely for more than 15 years. The first MoU between the two institutions, signed in 2010 in the context of the International Year of Biodiversity, established the ITTO/CBD Collaborative Initiative for Tropical Forest Biodiversity. A second MoU spanning 2015-2020 was signed at the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP 12) in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, in October 2014. A third MoU ran from 2021-2025.

“For decades, the ITTO has worked with member countries to advance sustainable tropical forest management practices that keep these crucial ecosystems healthy, productive, and biodiverse. This expertise is crucial for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the CBD.

Sheam Satkuru, Executive Director of ITTO, said: “The MoU we are signing today is the continuation of a long-standing collaboration, including the Joint ITTO-CBD Collaborative Initiative on Tropical Forest Biodiversity that started in 2011. I look forward to the next years of working together as we move towards 2030, the universally agreed deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Biodiversity Framework’s targets, including those relating to forests.”