GLSTF 2026 Day 1 Dispatch — Setting the course for resilient and sustainable timber industries

More than 800 participants attended the GLSTF 2026. © ITTO/GGSC

The Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum 2026 opened today at the Galaxy International Convention Center in Macao, bringing together government ministers, industry leaders, researchers and international organizations under this year's theme, Innovation and Transformation – Pursuing Avenues for Resilient and Sustainable Global Timber Industries.

Opening the Forum, Sheam Satkuru, Executive Director of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), followed with a call to action, describing GLSTF as a multistakeholder platform for the global timber sector at a time of significant volatility and uncertainty. In a line that would resonate throughout the day's discussions, she reminded delegates: “Legality is the foundation. Sustainability is the goal.”

Che Weng Keong, President of the Board of Directors of the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), spoke to the balance Macao and China continue to strike between economic development and forest conservation. He reaffirmed China's commitment to green, low-carbon growth and more resilient supply chains, while highlighting Macao's status under the “one country, two systems” framework as a bridge connecting China with the wider international timber community.

High-level voices from the field

The opening session brought a broad range of national perspectives to the stage, as ministers and senior officials shared how their countries are working to strengthen their timber sectors. Suchart Chomklin, Thailand's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment; Jules Doret Ndongo, Cameroon's Minister of Forestry and Wildlife; and Imede Chafium Falume, National Director of Forests and Wildlife under the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries of Mozambique, each offered perspectives on how producer countries across the tropics are translating global commitments into domestic policy and practice.

Their interventions highlighted a central message: while the challenges facing the timber sector are global in scope, effective responses must be grounded in national contexts.

Building resilience across the supply chains

Moderated by Ms Satkuru, the Forum's high-level panel brought together government, industry and international trade perspectives to explore what resilience and sustainability require in practice.

Bingono Meba Emmanuel Nances, of Gabon's Ministry of Water, Forest, Environment and Climate, highlighted the importance of secondary and tertiary processing in unlocking further innovation and value addition. He noted that this requires sustained government support, particularly for research and financing.

Piyabalo Nabede from Togo's Ministry of Environment, Forest Resources, Coastal Protection and Climate Change, focused on traceability, pointing to artificial intelligence as a potential tool for improving the tracking of logs through the supply chain. He also highlighted the role of engineering in improving logging efficiency and log quality, while calling for more research into sustainable logging techniques and the technical inputs needed by the sector.

Desiderio Erasmo Otarola Acevedo of Peru's National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) described the challenges of managing traceability across a country with vast forest areas. He noted that tracking logs through the full supply chain remains a significant challenge and called for greater engagement from financial institutions to expand investment in the sector.

Wang Chunfeng of the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet) framed the challenge around understanding who supplies timber and how to maintain sustainability throughout the supply chain. He called for greater integration from upstream to downstream, longer product lifespans and policy innovation to bring more stakeholders into sustainable forest management and higher-quality timber production.

Ashley Amidon, Chief Executive Officer of the International Wood Products Association (IWPA), emphasized the importance of closer cooperation between industry and government. She noted that producers are navigating multiple, sometimes overlapping layers of compliance, legal frameworks, and sustainability programmes. These requirements can increase the cost of wood products, she observed, with affordability ultimately influencing consumer choices.

Xu Wei, Chairman of Zhejiang Starforest Flooring Co., Ltd., offered an industry perspective shaped by his transition from the metal industry into wooden flooring. He pointed to the growing influence of younger consumers in China's market as a signal that innovation will be essential. For the timber industry, he said, the challenge is to create greater value in wood products while responding to changing consumer preferences and market dynamics.

Across the panel, several common themes emerged: the importance of communication in reaching consumers and building consensus among stakeholders; stronger knowledge-sharing across regions; clearer responsibility for timber sourcing; and a more transparent operating environment for the sector as a whole.

Turning dialogue into action

The Forum also showcased a set of concrete achievements reflecting progress over the past year. At the centre of these is the Action Framework 2026 for Promoting Legal and Sustainable Timber Supply Chains, developed against a backdrop of mounting uncertainties and disruptions affecting global timber supply chains, as well as new opportunities arising from innovation and emerging technologies. It sets out practical actions across eight areas: partnership networking, information sharing, supply-chain transformation, trade facilitation, technology innovation, traceability and markets, finance and investment, and capacity building.

Priorities include transforming timber supply chains through digital and intelligent technologies, promoting innovation in high-value wood products, biomass energy, sustainable aviation fuels, increased use of wood in construction, new bio-based materials and strengthening trade facilitation and market access. 

Digital traceability will also be advanced through the Blockchain-based Timber Traceability System-Trading Platform (BTTS-TP) in Macao, which aims to provide integrated traceability and trade services for timber-sector participants.

Stronger stakeholder networking and collaboration will be facilitated through the Global Timber Association Network (GTAN), an open and voluntary hub for information sharing and practical collaboration among timber industry associations. 

The Global Timber Index (GTI) will introduce a price index covering major timber species, complementing the ITTO Tropical Timber Market Reports, aimed at providing more comprehensive and dynamic information.

Finance and capacity building round out the action areas, with approaches including traceability-linked finance and payments for ecosystem services, alongside efforts to encourage financial institutions to scale up green investment. Tailored capacity-building programmes will support producers and consumers in areas ranging from forest management and timber processing to technology, marketing, finance and investment.

Tomorrow: ITTO’s specialized sub-forum on timber legality and sustainability

Tomorrow, 23 September, the conversation will continue with Specialized Sub-Forum 1, organized by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The sub-forum will explore Timber Legality and Sustainability with the theme “Navigating Strategies to Ensure Timber Legality and Sustainability in Disrupted Global Timber Trade”, bringing together experts and practitioners to examine practical approaches to advancing legal and sustainable timber supply chains. Explore the programme here.