INTERNATIONAL TROPICALTIMBER ORGANIZATION

Strengthens forest law complianceand governance by improving
transparency and supporting
effective management practices
in the trade of legally produced
tropical timber.
Enhances international
cooperation in forest law
enforcement and governancethrough robust partnerships.
Builds community capacity toactively promote and implement
the principles of sustainable forest
management (SFM).

A log yard in Northern Congo.
Photo: Monica Borner

ENHANCINGCAPACITY &STRENGTHENING
EFFECTIVE
GOVERNANCE
IN TROPICALFOREST
COUNTRIES.

Studies by organisations such as the World Bankshow that tropical countries have lost billions ofdollars in potential revenue due to illegal logging andassociated trade.1 Not only do such activities contributeto deforestation and environmental degradation, butthey also undermine social and economic development
within forest communities and disrupt efforts to reducepoverty. As a result, countries lose the benefits thatforests provide such as food, income and employment.
A number of factors contribute to the prevalence ofillegal logging. These include poor forest governanceand enforcement capacity, policy and legal frameworksthat fail to promote sustainable trade, and insufficient
data about forest resources and illegal operations.

ITTO’S WORK IMPROVES FOREST
GOVERNANCE ALONG THE ENTIREVALUE CHAIN FROM LOCALCOMMUNITIES & INDUSTRIES,TO NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS& INTERNATIONAL CONSUMERS
BY PROMOTING LEADERSHIP& ENHANCING TRANSPARENCY.

Local transport on the Dzanga River, Republic of Congo.
Photo: Intu Boedhiharto

CASE STUDY: REPUBLIC OF CONGOWith roughly 60% of its territory covered in forest, theRepublic of Congo has a significant timber export tradethat provides a vital source of income to many forestbased communities. One of the challenges facing thecountry is a lack of data regarding forest companies
and harvesting areas, which impedes the government’s
ability to enforce forest law and stop illegal logging.
Not only does this result in negative environmental
impacts, but a lack of information also creates
challenges for timber producers who are increasinglyrequired by the international market to demonstratethat the source of their timber is legal and sustainable.
In response to this challenge, ITTO, in collaboration
with the World Resources Institute (WRI) and theCongolese Ministry of Forest Economy, helped
establish a system for collecting accurate geographic
data on forests and developed stakeholders’ capacity
to use this information to improve forest lawenforcement. The system identified forest concessions
engaged in illegal logging practices and provided theRepublic of Congo with powerful tools and qualified
technical personnel trained to oversee the country’sforest operations. Ultimately, the project contributed
to improved sustainable forest management (SFM) andencouraged the systematic application of forest law.

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
ITTO’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (TFLET) Programme supports member countries in
responding to illegal timber production by enhancing processes and policies that uphold forest law complianceand strengthening governance within the tropical forestry sector. Through an inclusive and participatory approach,
ITTO facilitates cooperation along the entire value chain helping to improve transparency, build capacity and createstrong public-private partnerships to prevent illegal logging and encourage sustainable forest management.
Supported by a streamlined and effective funding process, forest communities, civil society organisations,
government agencies, donors and the private sector are invited to submit project proposals that are aligned withthe goals of the TFLET Programme. Proposals are then assessed and prioritized to determine those that will
create dynamic partnerships among stakeholders.

1Marilyne Pereira Goncalves et al., Justice for Forests, World Bank series; R67.

INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION

1) Improving Forest Law Compliance and Governance.
• Enhance national policy and legal frameworks to create more effective enforcement
mechanisms and strengthen cooperation among stakeholders.
2) Increasing Trade in Legally Produced Tropical Timber.
• Foster greater transparency and more effective management of supply chains.
• Improve production through industry training programs and marketing workshops forcommunity-based enterprises.
3) Enhancing Sustainable Livelihoods Through Sustainable Forest Management.
• Strengthen the capacity of small and medium-sized community enterprises (SMFEs)
to develop forest certification and use their forests sustainably.
4) Strengthening International Cooperation.
• Increase international and regional cooperation in forest law enforcement andgovernance to mitigate forest degradation and enhance economic opportunities forcommunity enterprises.

Timber tracking in Guyana. Photo: Pradeepa Bholanath

THE FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND TRADE (TFLET) PROGRAMME DELIVERS BENEFITS FOR:FOREST
DEPENDENTCOMMUNITIESGOVERNMENT& THE PUBLIC
SECTORTHEPRIVATE SECTORTHE
ENVIRONMENTIMPACT: Enhances skills
in SFM and increases
transparency resulting inpoverty reduction and amore equal distributionof forest benefits.

IMPACT: Improves
opportunities forsustainable employment
and income and supports
informed decision-making
contributing to more
effective policy and legal
frameworks.

IMPACT: Enhancescompetitiveness of legally
produced tropical timber
through improved supply
chain management, andmarket information andknowledge.

IMPACT: Decreases carbon
dioxide emissions throughreduced deforestation anddegradation, helps protect
habitats and species, andimproves biodiversity andwater conservation.

INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATIONWHAT WE
CAN ACHIEVEPARTNERWITH USThe Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade(TFLET) Programme presents a vitally important
opportunity to assist tropical countries in developing
and implementing local, regional, sub-national andnational forest management policies that encourage
effective leadership, improve accountability and reduce
illegal logging.

To successfully deliver the Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade (TFLET)
Programme over the next three years, ITTO
requires an additional US$5.75 million per year.
This will result in significant improvements innational forest law enforcement and governancein Africa, Asia and Latin America by enhancing anddiversifying international trade in tropical timberfrom sustainably managed forests.

Increasingly, tropical timber markets are demanding
greater transparency on the legality and sustainabilityof forest products to provide assurance for buyers andconsumers. While this is a positive step, it can bechallenging for small and medium-sized forest
enterprises (SFMEs) to meet market requirements
and successfully access these growing opportunities.
The TFLET Programme develops strategies to enhance
the capacity of communities and SFMEs to sustainably
manage timber-producing forests and strengthenscooperation along the entire value chain, helping toensure a legal and sustainable tropical timber tradefrom source to consumer.

The TFLET Programme is just one of ITTO’s key
areas of work and we need your support to deliver
it successfully. Download our Strategic Action Planfor 2013-2018 at www.itto.int/publicity_materials,
which outlines ITTO’s programmes of work andopportunities for donor support. For more
information please contact tp@itto.int.
By partnering together, we can help sustain theworld’s tropical forests. Our work over the last 30years has reduced illegal logging, delivered
improved governance systems and created more
resilient livelihoods but there is still much toachieve. To learn more about ITTO, the Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade Programmeand how to support our projects, visit us atwww.itto.int.

WHY ITTOTO IMPROVEFOREST LAW AND GOVERNANCE?
Forest of central San Luis.
Photo: A.Bellusi & N.Kingman

International Tropical
Timber Organization (ITTO)
International Organizations Centre, 5F
Paciﬁco-Yokohama 1-1-1 Minato-Mirai,
Nishi-ku Yokohama, 220-0012 Japan
T +81-45-223-1110
F +81-45-223-1111
E itto@itto.int

ITTO has a long-standing track record of successfully
implementing projects and capacity building activities
that have delivered significant gains for forest law
enforcement and governance.
As a shared global forum for tropical timber producers
and consumers, we are unparalleled in our ability toincrease political awareness on the importance of
tackling illegal logging and illegal timber trade among ourmembers. We facilitate discussion on the need to put law
enforcement policies into practice and lessons learned ineffective governance. This places ITTO in a strong
position to deliver results through the TFLET Programmeby linking improved governance with trade-relatedinitiatives. In addition, our multilateral approach puts
tropical timber producers and consumers on an equalfooting to achieve the most effective outcomes for tropicalforests and their stakeholders.