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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Most recent ITTO contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals
Trade transparency boosted by new conversion factors for tropical timber
Responsible production and consumption
ITTO has published a report designed to improve the accuracy of reported trade volumes for tropical primary wood products by deriving “conversion factors”—ratios used to covert one form of measure to another—for tropical logs and sawnwood and thereby increase transparency in the tropical wood products trade. More
Forest education needs strengthening to meet global challenges—survey
Quality education Climate action Life on land
Forest education at all levels—from primary schools to universities—is insufficient in many countries, according to the results of a global survey led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), ITTO and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), with the support of other international and regional partners. More
ITTO launches e-course on legal, sustainable timber supply chains
Quality education Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Life on land
A free online learning course launched by ITTO as part of a global effort to improve forest education will assist entrepreneurs, forestry professionals, government officials and students in understanding legal and sustainable timber supply chains, thereby supporting businesses to meet market requirements for legality and sustainability and improve their forest practices. More
International Conference on Forest Education kicks off
Quality education Climate action Life on land
The International Conference on Forest Education held in June 2021 is a three-day event to shine a light on the important role forest education plays in maximizing the contributions of forests and trees to the Sustainable Development Goals and in overcoming the growing disconnection between people, nature and forests. More
Non-timber forest products can increase viability of sustainable forestry, says new study
Zero hunger Responsible production and consumption Life on land
Integrating non-timber forest products such as nuts, fruits, latex and rattan into the management of natural tropical timber production forests could be an important step towards economically viable sustainable forest management, according to a report released today by ITTO and the Precious Forests Foundation. More
Members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, including ITTO, issued a joint statement, “Challenges and Opportunities in Turning the Tide on Deforestation” at the 16th Session of the UN Forum on Forests.
Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, comprised of fifteen international organizations working on forestry, issued a joint statement highlighting the need to halt the destruction of the world's forests at the 16th Session of the UN Forum on Forests. More
Redesign incentives to encourage SFM, says new study
Decent work and economic growth Climate action Life on land
Governments could do much more to incentivize sustainable forest management (SFM) in the tropics, according to an ITTO report authored by CIRAD’s Alain Karsenty released today. The report, which examines existing regimes in eight tropical countries, finds that few existing incentives are linked to the quality of forest management and therefore do little to encourage it. 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
Restoring degraded land with planted forests for biofuel in Indonesia
Affordable and clean energy Life on land
Indonesia is striving to increase its supply of renewable green energy, including with forests. For example, it plans to use biomass grown by local communities on degraded land in northern Sumatra to support the development of a green-energy sector. This will both help improve the quality of forests in the area and provide local people with new employment opportunities. More
Recovering from civil war and restoring forests in Côte d’Ivoire
No poverty Zero hunger Reduced inequalities Life on land Peace, justice and strong institutions
In the wake of a civil war, Côte d’Ivoire is seeking to bring people together, including through the restoration of degraded forests. An ITTO project there helped match restoration work in the gazetted forests of Scio and Duekoue with the humanitarian needs of internally displaced people, refugees and local people. More
Peru’s northern mangrove corridor
No poverty Zero hunger Clean water and sanitation Life below water
Peru’s Northwest–Amotapes–Manglares Biosphere Reserve provides important resources and ecosystem services for around 130 000 inhabitants living in coastal areas of Piura Province. It is under threat, however, from unsustainable practices and a lack of sufficient resources to support its conservation. 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
Promoting legal and sustainable supply chains
No poverty Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible consumption and production Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
A supply chain comprises the organizations, activities and methods associated with all stages of the business processes involved in planning, sourcing, processing, manufacturing and delivering goods and services. A legal and sustainable supply chain is one that minimizes negative environmental and social impacts. 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