ITTO advocates tropical forests for regional resilience at APEC's Dalian meetings

At the Third Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3), ITTO emphasized that tropical forests are vital national and regional assets whose sustainable management contributes to economic development, climate action and community resilience. © Tetra Yanuariadi/ITTO

At a meeting of stakeholders from across the Asia-Pacific, ITTO emphasized that tropical forests are vital national and regional assets whose sustainable management contributes to economic development, climate action and community resilience. He made the remarks during a session at the Third Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) in Dalian, China.

In his remarks at the 28th APEC-Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI) meeting held at SOM3, ITTO Projects Manager Tetra Yanuariadi shared how ITTO’s work leverages innovation and technology to support sustainable forest management, strengthen legal and sustainable supply chains and build circular bioeconomies.

Forests at the heart of the solution

Forests are at the heart of meeting the needs of the Asia-Pacific’s growing populations. The region’s tropical forests, stretching from the Indian subcontinent to the Pacific islands, provide food, wood products, fuel and income for hundreds of millions of people. 

With myriad challenges threatening the ecosystem, economic and sociocultural services forests provide, rebalancing the value proposition of tropical forests and elevating them in regional policy discussions is crucial. 

Sustainable wood use is essential to these efforts. By generating economic value from forests while maintaining them as productive, renewable resources, regional actors will be further incentivized to implement sustainable forest management.

At SOM3, Dr Yanuariadi outlined the manifold benefits of tropical forests, pointing particularly to the potential of sustainable wood use to redefine commercial and residential construction across the region. Using wood instead of more carbon-intensive materials, such as concrete and steel, reduces the carbon footprint of buildings and supports economies in meeting their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Innovation can multiply these benefits by making sustainable forest management and legal and sustainable supply chains more efficient. ITTO’s experience employing innovative technologies spans forest monitoring, timber traceability, and wood identification, and demonstrates that technology delivers the greatest impact when combined with local participation and skills development.

Working across Indonesia’s Sumatra and Kalimantan, an ITTO project put satellite-based fire monitoring systems to work, improving early detection and response to fires. Dr Yanuariadi emphasized that innovative tools and approaches needed to be combined with community education, citing training and capacity-building modules that provided the skills local fire brigades needed to operate the technological tools effectively.

Using technology to create the conditions of transformation

A flourishing wood sector is not possible without a thriving industry fabric of producers, large and small. To reach a future of widespread, climate-friendly wooden buildings, countries in the Asia-Pacific must first strengthen the conditions that allow sustainable timber production and markets to grow.

Producers across the region must be able to harvest high-quality, predictable yields of valuable species that can be used for a variety of end uses. Dr Yanuariadi described how ITTO’s flagship project promoting sustainable production of high-value timber, implemented in five economies in the Asia-Pacific, is providing the tools and capabilities needed for the industry to consistently produce timber that meets consumers' needs and aligns with international trade requirements.

Boosting demand for timber and wood products is another key objective of ITTO’s work in the region. Across projects in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam, ITTO is promoting sustainable wood use in domestic markets by focusing on policy alignment, production capacity, skills and consumer awareness.

Why ITTO’s contribution to APEC matters

Bringing this practical experience into APEC working groups further spotlights the cascading benefits that sustainably managing the region’s tropical forests can provide. The SOM3 and PPSTI formats provide an important space for regional countries to exchange expertise, build consensus and explore practical approaches to regional challenges.

ITTO’s experience implementing projects on the ground is especially complementary to these discussions. These initiatives demonstrate not only what technologies can do, but the policy, technical, financial and community conditions needed for them to deliver results.

With technological innovation a defining feature of the region’s economic transformation, such practical experience can broaden understanding of the opportunities tropical forests offer. Innovation is not an end in itself; it is a means of making sustainable forest management and wood use more efficient, competitive and scalable.

As APEC economies continue their work during China’s 2026 host year, ITTO’s engagement in Dalian echoes a message: innovation and technology can support the sustainable management of the Asia-Pacific’s tropical forests while strengthening their economic value. With the right technologies, institutions, investment and partnerships, innovation can make the region’s forests more productive, resilient and valuable, enhancing their contribution to the region’s sustainable future.