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)
(21 results found)
Invest more in women to accelerate progress on sustainable forestry, says ITTO Executive Director
Gender equality Industry, innovation and infrastructure Life on land
Despite increasing recognition of the vital role of women in sustainable forestry, more investment is needed in the sector to fully realize their potential and to achieve gender equality, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru said on International Women’s Day. More
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
27 September 2023: Marking World Tourism Day, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru has called for more investment in ecotourism in tropical forests as a means for increasing incomes for local people and thereby supporting conservation and sustainable forest management and use. More
We must do more to enable women in forestry and land restoration
Gender equality Climate action Life on land
Speaking on World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru said that women are often most affected by degraded landscapes but have least control over land management and/or ownership in some societies, yet are effective agents for restoration and forest management and must be empowered. More
Documentary released on fire prevention in Machu Picchu ahead of global wildland fire conference
Quality education Gender equality Climate action Life on land
Fires are affecting an increasing area of forest worldwide, and the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is not immune. ITTO Fellow Talía Lostaunau examines efforts to prevent fire near this stunning archaeological site in a new documentary, released today, ahead of a workshop hosted by ITTO at next week’s 8th International Wildland Fire Conference in Porto, Portugal. 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
Forest health and human health closely linked, says ITTO Executive Director
No poverty Good health and well-being Gender equality Clean water and sanitation Responsible production and consumption Life on land
In a statement issued on the International Day of Forests, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru says there is strong evidence for the close relationship between forests and human health and, therefore, sustainable forest management is essential for ensuring the mental and physical health of people. More
Women-to-women digital learning essential for sustainable forestry
No poverty Gender equality Industry, innovation and infrastructure Climate action Life on land
Celebrating International Women’s Day, ITTO Executive Director Sheam Satkuru and ITTO Fellowship awardee and journalist Talía Lostaunau called for stronger commitments to include women in digital and technological advances, hence enabling creative solutions for an equitable future in facing environmental challenges, including by facilitating women-to-women learning. More
Soka Gakkai makes video on ITTO initiative to restore landscapes in Togo by empowering women
Zero hunger Gender equality Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
Soka Gakkai, a community-driven global Buddhist organization, has released a video of a field visit to an ITTO initiative in Togo’s Blitta and Lacs prefectures that has increased the financial independence of local women and enabled them to restore degraded landscapes, adopt agroforestry practices and increase food security for their families. More
New guidelines and videos launched on restoring mangroves in Fiji
No poverty Gender equality Climate action Life below water Life on land Partnerships for the goals
A guideline and three videos on mangrove rehabilitation and restoration in Fiji released today are the culmination of an ITTO project that has supported local communities and government in restoring mangroves and wetlands in the Rewa Delta, Fiji’s most important marine ecosystem. More
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
Education is essential for safeguarding natural resources, including forests. This is one of the key messages of a new and comprehensive Global Assessment of Forest Education, a joint report released at the 26th Session of the Committee on Forestry by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) and ITTO. More
New policy brief launched on evaluation of ITTO projects in Africa
No poverty Zero hunger Quality education Gender equality Clean water and sanitation Decent work and economic growth Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land Partnerships for the goals
An evaluation of ten ITTO projects in West and Central Africa established that the projects had “important positive impacts on forests, forest management and local communities” in the countries in which they were implemented, reports a policy brief published by ITTO this week. More
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
This year’s theme of International Youth Day, Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for All Ages, stresses the importance of leveraging the potential of all generations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Young people are the future custodians of tropical forests; ITTO is investing in them in diverse ways, including through its Fellowship Programme. More
Celebrating International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples—tropical forest custodians
No poverty Gender equality Responsible production and consumption Climate action Life on land
ITTO reiterates its commitment to fully recognizing and supporting the ownership, control, customary rights and role of local communities and Indigenous Peoples on forest land and resources. More
Women’s equality is key for achieving sustainable forestry in the tropics
Gender equality
Yokohama, 8 March 2022: Women have always been a crucial part of forestry—as custodians of traditional knowledge, as gatherers and users of diverse forest products, increasingly as forestry professionals, and much more. Recognizing and enhancing their roles is crucial for achieving sustainable tropical forestry and improving forest livelihoods. 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
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