International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA)

Name:	International Tropical Timber Agreement
Abbreviation:	ITTA
URL to homepage:	http://www.itto.or.jp
Country:	Japan

Mandate

To provide an effective framework for consultation, international co-operation and policy development among all members with regards to all relevant aspects of the world timber economy;
To promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainable sources by improving the structural conditions in international markets, by taking into account, on the one hand, a long-term increase in consumption and continuity of supplies, and, on the other, prices which reflect the costs of sustainable forest management and which are remunerative and equitable for members, and the improvement of market access;
To promote and support research and development with a view to improving forest management and efficiency of wood utilization as well as increasing the capacity to conserve and enhance other forest values in timber producing tropical forests;
To develop and contribute towards mechanisms for the provision of new and additional financial resources and expertise needed to enhance the capacity of producing members to attain the objectives of this Agreement;
To improve market intelligence with a view to ensuring grater transparency in the international timber market, including the gathering, compilation, and dissemination of trade related data, including data related to species being traded;
To encourage members to support and develop industrial tropical timber reforestation and forest management activities as well as rehabilitation of degraded forest land, with due regard for the interests of local communities dependent on forest resources;
To improve marketing and distribution of tropical timber exports from sustainably managed sources;
To encourage information-sharing on the international timber market.

Relevance to forests by key words

sustainable management of tropical forests; tropical timber data; intelligence and markets; forest management policy development; processing of tropical timber