68. The event was organized by the African Timber Organization (ATO), African Development Bank (AfDB) and Inter-African Forest Industries Association (IFIA). They noted that the perception of importers, especially Europeans, is that harvesting does not respect the ecology of tropical moist forests in Africa. Currently, Europeans consume mostly processed wood while the Asian market is most interested in roundwood. Therefore, African countries need to urgently demonstrate progress in the implementation of their strategies for sustainable forest management, especially timber harvesting, in order to improve their market opportunities abroad. To support country efforts, ATO has developed a new strategy; AfDB provides grants and loans, basing approval of funds on country proposals that demonstrate sustainability in forest management. AfDB is also revising its forest policy and intends to do so in a participatory manner. IFIA helps build private sector partnerships.
69. The main challenges to African wood trade are: creation of enabling environment to attract foreign investments, reduce custom levies to boost intra-regional trade and to facilitate the emergence of a more vibrant private sector in countries; improvement of processing to add value and efficiency; and increasing the use of lesser known species.
70. Participants recommended that FAO bring together representatives of African producer countries, wood processing and harvesting operators and financial institutions to discuss solutions to boost trade in forest products in Africa.