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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In many tropical countries, however, small and medium-sized forest enterprises often lack the capacity and enabling environment they need to flourish. They face challenges such as inadequate planning, low profitability, and a lack of research and development, marketing skills and access to finance.
ITTO is helping provide solutions to these and other challenges by supporting countries and enterprises to:
- Pursue innovative approaches to the sustainable and inclusive industrialization of the tropical forest sector.
- Improve efficiency in the processing and marketing of forest products.
- Address forest law enforcement, governance and trade.
- Develop legal and sustainable wood supply chains.
- Establish and manage forest plantations.
Related ITTO contributions for the selected Sustainable Development Goal(s)
(25 results found)

Shaping the Future of Tropical Forests: The 60th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Life on land Partnerships for the goalsWhy More

New report on trends in tropical wood sector finds huge change since 1990—and remarkable resilience
Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption
At APEC forum, ITTO calls for more investment in traceability innovation to support sustainable use
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land
International Youth Day: how ITTO is tapping the energy and skills of young people to further sustainable tropical forestry
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Life on land
Innovation is lifting tropical forestry’s contribution to global sustainable development, says ITTO
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Partnerships for the goals
Increased investment is key for stronger linkages between forest science and businesses say experts
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Partnerships for the goals
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, 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
Invest more in women to accelerate progress on sustainable forestry, says ITTO Executive Director
Gender equality Industry, innovation and infrastructure Life on land
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
More investment in green tourism needed to support sustainable tropical forest management
No poverty Gender equality Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Life on land
Small is beautiful—and powerful—but MSMEs need support
Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure
ITTO project releases app for calculating timber volumes in products using smartphones
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land
Women-to-women digital learning essential for sustainable forestry
No poverty Gender equality Industry, innovation and infrastructure Climate action Life on land
First report of Global Timber Index released, launching new era of business information-sharing
Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Partnerships for the goals
New report calls for better forest education to safeguard natural resources
Quality education Gender equality Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Celebrating International Youth Day—and working to ensure the future of tropical forests
Quality education Gender equality Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Sustainable forestry can provide vital nature-based solutions to crises
No poverty Zero hunger Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Workshop for West and Central African countries builds capacity in forest product statistics
Decent work and economic growth Industry, innovation and infrastructure Responsible production and consumption Partnerships for the goals
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