Sustainable Development Goals
Main SDG introduction
World leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a historic UN conference in September 2015. The SDGs call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet, thereby recognizing that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies to build economic growth, address social needs, tackle climate change and ensure environmental sustainability.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the sustainable management of productive forests in the tropics, and a sustainable tropical timber trade, can help in meeting future wood demand and achieving the SDGs. ITTO is empowered to promote the expansion of international tropical timber trade from legal and sustainable sources. It is perfectly placed, therefore, to assist countries in their efforts towards all the SDGs, especially SDG 1 (“No poverty”), SDG 12 (“Responsible consumption and production”), SDG 13 (“Climate action”) and SDG 15 (“Life on land”). Some of the ways it is doing this are outlined below.
Select one or multiple SDGs below to see ITTO’s contributions towards achieving them.
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Photo: D. Akoto/ITTO Fellow
ITTO acknowledges the important roles of both women and men in forestry, as embodied in its Guidelines on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The guidelines have three objectives:
ITTO's work recognizes that the full potential of societies and communities can only be unlocked if men and women work and live together in mutual recognition and support within their cultures. Among other things, the Organization funds projects aimed at empowering women in forestry.
- To enhance the integration and mainstreaming of gender considerations in ITTO’s policy and project work.
- To build the capacity of ITTO and its members to promote gender equality and empower women in the tropical forest sector.
- To strengthen the role of women in ITTO’s governance and Secretariat.
ITTO's work recognizes that the full potential of societies and communities can only be unlocked if men and women work and live together in mutual recognition and support within their cultures. Among other things, the Organization funds projects aimed at empowering women in forestry.
Related ITTO contributions for the selected Sustainable Development Goal(s)
(27 results found)
Togolese women are becoming restoration leaders, with ITTO and Soka Gakkai support
No poverty Zero hunger Gender equality Decent work and economic growth Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
An ITTO project financed by Soka Gakkai* to support forest landscape restoration is changing the lives of women in two prefectures in Togo as they benefit from improved agroforestry practices, according to a report in Japan’s Seikyo newspaper. More
Advancing forestry education in the Congo Basin
Quality education Gender equality Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Mastering forestry to meet the needs of sustainable development is an increasingly complex task. An ITTO study in the Congo Basin concluded there was insufficient human capacity there to ensure sustainable forestry. A subregional ITTO project encompassing seven education institutions in five countries sought to address this and contribute to Sustainable Development Goal 4 ("quality education"). More
Developing the bamboo industry in Indonesia
No poverty Gender equality Industry, innovation and infrastructure Sustainable cities and communities Responsible consumption and production Life on land
There has been a paradigm shift in forest management in Indonesia, in which timber is no longer the main output. Instead, the forest sector is focused increasingly on the production of non-timber forest products as a means to improve the economies of forest communities, regions and the nation. More
Livelihoods, forest restoration and empowered women in Ecuador
No poverty Gender equality Clean water and sanitation Life on land
A project in Ecuador, Sustainable forest management in the Chimbo River basin, implemented by the SENDAS Foundation and financed by ITTO, has enabled local women to establish two forest nurseries and develop a production, marketing, training and awareness-raising plan to help reforest the river basin. More
Mexican women share traditional knowledge on medicinal plants
Good health and well-being Gender equality
Women in the municipality of Jamapa in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, published a manual on medicinal plants to help disseminate their traditional knowledge on non-timber forest products. The publication is an output of an ITTO project to assess the value of ecosystem services provided by coastal forests in Mexico. More
Forest restoration, sustainable charcoal and empowered women in Côte d’Ivoire
No poverty Zero hunger Gender equality Affordable and clean energy Decent work and economic growth Reduced inequalities Responsible consumption and production Climate action Life on land
A small grant from ITTO in 2009 provided the stimulus for MALEBI, a women’s association in Côte d’Ivoire, to improve charcoal production using efficient, eco-friendly techniques, in the process increasing the standard of living in the local community and raising awareness of the importance of forest conservation. More
When micro businesses have macro impact
No poverty Quality education Gender equality Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Sustainable cities and communities Responsible consumption and production
In many countries, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are the largest collective source of employment, and they are vital for national economies. In Guatemala, it is a government priority to support MSMEs and, as part of this, an ITTO project known as the Forest MSME Management Project encouraged informal businesses to become part of the country’s formal economy. More