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: SetsukoN
ITTO is a member of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, which is a coalition of international organizations with substantive programmes on forests. The Partnership’s aim is to promote the sustainable management of all types of forests, strengthen long-term political commitment to this end, and contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other internationally agreed development goals.
ITTO also works collaboratively with many other organizations, institutions and communities. ITTO projects and other activities are mostly conducted in collaboration with partners—such as governments, industry, local communities, non-governmental organizations and research institutions—at the local, national, regional and global levels. ITTO’s partnerships foster collective, strategic action to achieve tangible benefits for communities and countries and at the global scale. They address, for example, climate-change mitigation and adaptation; biodiversity conservation; forest restoration; transparency in the tropical timber trade and tropical timber supply chains; the sustainable supply of non-wood forest products and ecosystem services; and the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. ITTO recognizes that the active participation of stakeholders at all levels is essential for bringing about positive change.
Related ITTO contributions for the selected Sustainable Development Goal(s)
(42 results found)
ITTO-supported drive for sustainable teak in focus at IUFRO congress
No poverty Responsible production and consumption Life on land Partnerships for the goals
ITTO officials and partners provided updates on trends and developments for sustainable teak during a session on day five of the 2024 World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), held in Stockholm, Sweden last week. More
ITTO video highlights community forestry success in the Amazon to mark International Day of the Tropics
No poverty Gender equality Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
A new video on community forestry in the Amazon highlights how sustainable forest management (SFM) underpins the livelihoods and aspirations of millions of people in tropical countries, as the world marks the International Day of the Tropics. More
Innovation is lifting tropical forestry’s contribution to global sustainable development, says ITTO
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Partnerships for the goals
Innovation in areas ranging from timber tracking to policy development is central to sustainable forestry in the tropics, and for magnifying the sector’s contribution to sustainable development. More
Increased investment is key for stronger linkages between forest science and businesses say experts
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Partnerships for the goals
Business and sciences in forestry need to interact more closely if they are to bring innovative solutions for addressing global challenges and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Further investments are crucial in fostering effective business-science partnerships. More
ITTO and UNCCD unite for land restoration to mark world day against desertification and drought
No poverty Good health and well-being Gender equality Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
On World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, ITTO stands side-by-side with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and all governments and stakeholders committed to restoring degraded landscapes and sustainably managing tropical forests as means for ensuring ecosystem health and the wellbeing of local people, communities and nations. More
Capacity building needed urgently in Africa to avoid detrimental impacts of timber trade measures
No poverty Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
ITTO has urged more attention to the need for capacity building and training in the Congo Basin to ensure that the region’s vital forest sector and timber industry will be able to meet the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and other international trade measures. More
ITTO highlights commitment to “Generation Restoration” on World Environment Day
Good health and well-being Gender equality Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
ITTO proudly joins the global community in celebrating World Environment Day, recognizing that this year’s theme, “Our Land. Our Future. We are #GenerationRestoration”, both underscores the crucial need to restore land for a sustainable future and aligns perfectly with ITTO’s mission and ongoing work. More
ITTO to revise fire management guidelines, Executive Director tells Fire Hub meeting
Good health and well-being Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
ITTO is revising its guidelines on fire management in tropical forests to incorporate new knowledge and to respond to the increasing risk of tropical forest fire due to climate change and pressures from land-use change and encroachment, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru told participants at a meeting at FAO headquarters this week. More
Executive Director calls for more support for tropical countries on forest fire management
Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Fire looms as an increasing threat to tropical forests and has become a universal problem, and countries need financial and political support to implement integrated fire management, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru told at a side-event during the 19th Session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, which is taking place this week at UN headquarters in New York. More
Sustainable tropical wood can contribute to decarbonize societies, Executive Director tells policy dialogue
Affordable and clean energy Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru asserted at an international event that there are several opportunities to continue working with countries to further develop sustainable wood supply chains in the tropics as means for achieving society-wide carbon neutrality. More
ITTO, FAO, Government of Mexico collaborate to help build statistics capacity in Mesoamerica
Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Partnerships for the goals
A workshop convened by ITTO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Mexico’s National Forestry Agency (CONAFOR) this week has helped increase capacity in forest product statistics and reporting in five countries in Mesoamerica. More
ITTO promotes use of criteria and indicators in Trinidad and Tobago
Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Nearly 30 participants attended an ITTO-sponsored national training workshop on criteria and indicators for sustainable tropical forest management (C&I), held last week in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The aim was to provide forest managers with insights into the C&I to assist in monitoring, assessing and reporting on forests and ensuring their sustainable management. More
ITTO Executive Director lauds strong partnership with CITES on World Wildlife Day
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Life on land Partnerships for the goals
On the occasion of World Wildlife Day 2024, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru asserted the critical need for the conservation of threatened tropical tree species and highlighted the strong collaborative partnership between ITTO and CITES in her message to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). More
ITTO–CITES cooperation on tree species listings should continue, says Executive Director
Responsible production and consumption Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Cooperation between ITTO and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has greatly assisted countries in implementing CITES listings of tropical tree species and should be continued, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru said during the 6th session of the United Nations Environment Assembly. More
ITTO and UN Convention to Combat Desertification strengthen cooperation on tropical forests
No poverty Decent work and economic growth Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
The overall objective of the new MOU is to support ITTO member countries and Country Parties to the UNCCD in restoring and maintaining tropical forest landscapes while promoting the sustainable production of timber and other products and ecosystem services. More
First steering committee meeting held for collaborative SFM projects in Sarawak’s Upper Baram forest
No poverty Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
The first meeting of the project steering committee (PSC) for two ITTO projects to promote collaborative forest management and community empowerment in the Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA) in Sarawak, Malaysia, was held on 25 September 2023 in the Sarawak town of Miri. The two projects encompass an area of 283 500 hectares in the northeast of the state. More
New video shows how sustainable forestry works
Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
A one-minute animation produced as part of an ITTO project in Brazil provides a simple explanation of forest management and how it is helping make timber production more sustainable in the Amazon. “Everyone wins from the sustainable use of forests,” says the video. More
International Biodiversity Day—ITTO project in Sumatran biosphere reserve contributes to Global Biodiversity Framework
No poverty Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
The first steering committee meeting has been held for an ITTO project designed to promote sustainable landscape management in the Giam Siak Kecil-Buit Batu Biosphere Reserve, a 705 000-ha conservation and sustainable use area on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The meeting took place ahead of International Biodiversity Day, being celebrated today. More
ITTO projects help improve forest fire management in Indonesia and Peru
Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Two ITTO projects are showing how integrated fire management can tackle the threat posed by wildfire to tropical forests and forest-dwelling communities. We put the projects in the spotlight to mark International Firefighters’ Day, which recognizes and honours the sacrifices firefighters make to ensure that their communities are as safe as possible. More
New video shows how communities are implementing sustainable forest management in the Amazon
No poverty Gender equality Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
A video released today shows how an ITTO project is helping communities in the Verde para Sempre Extractive Reserve implement sustainable forest management and thereby ensure the sustainability of the resource and the long-term viability of their forest enterprises. More