GLSTF 2026 Day 2: ITTO sub-forum explores resilience amid timber trade disruptions

ITTO's Specialized Sub-Forum 1 on Timber Legality and Sustainability brought together key stakeholders to explore resilience amid disruptions in the timber trade. © ITTO/GGSC

The second day of the 2026 Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF) featured the ITTO-organized Specialized Sub-Forum 1 on Timber Legality and Sustainability, bringing together the most relevant stakeholders to explore how the tropical forestry and timber sectors can be legal, sustainable and resilient amid geopolitical, regulatory and market disruptions.

Opening the session, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru said legal and sustainable supply chains are “the foundation that makes tropical forests and the timber trade viable, credible and subsist”, calling for practical policies in producer countries and attainable, implementable regulations in consuming markets.

Responding to disruptions

Dr Ivan Tomaselli, President of STCP Brazil, called for the sector to move “from reaction to adaptation”, emphasizing diversification, value addition and resilience across the entire value chain.

Ashley Amidon, CEO of the International Wood Products Association, highlighted the uncertainty created by rapidly changing US tariffs, while Erick Luwia, Vice President of the Indonesian Furniture Industry and Handicraft Association, stressed the need to ensure that rising compliance costs do not push smallholders and smaller suppliers out of global markets.

Emelia Anak Gunggu of Malaysia’s Ministry of Plantation and Commodities outlined Malaysia’s efforts to consolidate its three regional timber-legality systems into a national framework, focusing on practical, risk-based compliance.

Cassandra Price of Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry highlighted the governments’ role in providing clear frameworks, capacity building and data-driven verification, while Francesca Marietti of the Broader Market Recognition Coalition presented a modular national reporting framework to help producer countries demonstrate progress towards forestry benchmarks.

Strengthening traceability and trust

ITTO Director of Trade and Industry Mohammed Nurudeen Iddrisu outlined ITTO’s work to strengthen timber legality and traceability through a stepwise approach, including geolocation and DNA-based pilots, traceability, support for smallholders and SMEs and CITES compliance training.

Cindy Cheng, FSC’s Asia-Pacific Lead, called for progressive, risk-based approaches that allow smallholders and SMEs to improve their compliance over time while linking legality to market incentives.

Lucas Millet, PAFC/PEFC’s Congo Basin Coordinator, highlighted the importance of producer readiness and anticipating new regulations such as the EUDR. He noted that while traceability has long been established in regions such as the Congo Basin, digital adaptation is increasingly essential, and stressed that compliance costs should be shared across the supply chain to avoid marginalizing SMEs.

Innovation and best practices

The second session showcased emerging tools and technologies. Dr Modin Anak Ambau of the Sarawak Forest Department presented digital tools for log verification and enforcement. 

Yuran Fu, ITTO BTTS Project Expert, presented ITTO’s Blockchain-based Timber Traceability System and Trading Platform, emphasizing that technology must connect existing governance and verification systems rather than replace them.

Dr Ratih Damayanti of Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency highlighted the role of AI and interconnected wood databases in moving towards intelligence-based verification. 

Dr Jennifer Conda of the Philippines’ Forest Products Research and Development Institute presented digital forest monitoring, AI wood identification and DNA-based timber forensics initiatives.

Closing the technical session, Dr Jean Gerard of the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) introduced the latest ITTO-supported version of TROPIX, an open-access platform for identifying and characterizing tropical timber species, building on a tool first developed with ITTO funding in 1988.

Toward a resilient timber industry

Closing the sub-forum, Ms Satkuru said the discussions demonstrated that “resilience requires economic viability” and that sustainability must make business sense. She highlighted five priorities: building resilience before disruption occurs; strengthening capacity in producer countries; using innovation to make legality and sustainability easier to verify; deepening cross-border and public-private cooperation; and keeping forest sustainability and the environmental and socio-economic value of forests at the core of the timber trade.

An audience poll identified ensuring sustainable tropical forest management as the most essential element needed to face the current challenges facing the timber sector amid the current trade disruptions. Ms Satkuru noted that this aligns closely with ITTO’s mandate and longstanding commitment to facilitating dialogue, sharing knowledge and strengthening capacity for sustainable forest management in support of a legal and sustainable tropical timber trade. “This is what ITTO has been doing for the last 40 years and we will continue to strive with these efforts in the future,” she said.

Aside from the sub-forum, Satkuru also participated in roundtable discussions convened by the Global Timber Association Network and SHE Power, highlighting ITTO’s established engagement with industry networks and initiatives supporting women’s leadership in the global timber sector.