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: R. Carrillo/ITTO
ITTO promotes sustainable tropical forest management by:
- Building sustainable forest management capacity in tropical countries through the implementation of field projects.
- Providing a forum for policy dialogue on conserving and sustainably managing, using and trading tropical forest resources.
- Developing policy guidelines on sustainable forest management, forest conservation and the restoration of degraded tropical forests for uptake by countries.
- Working with partners in government, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, civil society and the private sector to improve forest management, conserve biodiversity and improve local livelihoods.
- Strengthening expertise in tropical forestry through its Fellowship Programme, which has enabled about 1400 young forestry professionals to increase their skills.
- Jointly implementing projects with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to conserve biodiversity in productive forests.
Related ITTO contributions for the selected Sustainable Development Goal(s)
(102 results found)
ITTO and IUFRO release learning modules to encourage forest landscape restoration
Quality education Sustainable cities and communities Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
ITTO and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) have released a free series of learning modules for high-school and university students to guide further understanding on forest landscape restoration (FLR). More
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
More outreach needed for uptake of forest landscape restoration in South America—webinar
No poverty Good health and well-being Climate action Life on land
Outreach and strategies for income diversification and monitoring are crucial for fostering landscape restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to participants at a recent webinar co-hosted by ITTO and the Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Education (CATIE). More
African forest experts endorse “new beginning” for SFM monitoring
Climate action Life on land
A workshop involving about 30 African forestry experts has validated a draft new version of the ITTO criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of African tropical forests, which, according to participants in a statement, marks a new beginning for the monitoring of sustainable forest management (SFM) in Africa. More
Workshop explores key elements of successful forest landscape restoration in Asia-Pacific
No poverty Good health and well-being Climate action Life on land
Creating sustainable livelihood opportunities and obtaining the buy-in of local people through inclusive approaches are key for successful forest landscape restoration, according to participants at a virtual workshop for the Asia-Pacific region co-convened by ITTO and the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO). More
Local livelihoods the key to forest landscape restoration in Central America and Mexico—webinar
No poverty Good health and well-being Climate action Life on land
Forest landscape restoration is a multifaceted endeavour that must improve local livelihoods to succeed, according to participants at webinar for Central America and Mexico co-hosted by ITTO and the Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Education (CATIE) in August 2021. More
Demand for wood to surge in India by 2030—new report
Decent work and economic growth Responsible production and consumption Life on land
There will be a substantial increase in wood consumption in India by 2030, exacerbating an existing shortfall between wood production and demand and increasing the country’s reliance on wood imports, according to an ITTO report that analyzes India’s timber market dynamics to 2030. More
Webinar explores lessons on fire management in Indonesia
Climate action Life on land
Indonesia’s devastating forest fires in 1997/98 and 2015 burnt 9.7 million and 2.6 million hectares, respectively. Since then, however, the country has reduced fire occurrence, with fewer than 300 000 ha affected in 2020. A recent webinar held as part of an ITTO project explored Indonesia’s learnings—including the importance of involving communities in fire prevention. More
ITTO launches project to improve fire management in Peru
Climate action Life on land
An ITTO project was officially launched recently with the aim of tackling the threat of wildfire in Peru through integrated fire management. More
Doubling of world resource consumption by 2050 shows need for sustainable tropical timber—new report
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Sustainable cities and communities Climate action Life on land
Global resource use could double by 2050, representing an opportunity for tropical timber producers, according to a study published by ITTO. It forecasts that tropical industrial roundwood production will increase substantially by mid-century but says the sector needs a boost if it is to maximize its contribution to carbon-neutral production. 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
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
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