Improving outcomesfor biodiversity
and people

Achievements, challenges and ways forward
for the ITTO–CBD Collaborative Initiative
for Tropical Forest Biodiversity

Policy brief
Improvingfor biodiversity
and people
This policy brief is based on a technical review by Ian Thompson, Jürgen Blaser and
Mélanieoutcomes
Feurer, withediting by Alastair
Sarre1

The ITTO–CBD Collaborative Initiative for Tropical Forest Biodiversity
Forests are vital for people because of the many
goods and services they provide, such as wood
products, water supplies, foods, medicines,
cultural values, climate regulation, increased
crop yields through pollination, and opportunities
for recreation.
All these goods and services—and more—rely
on biodiversity. With the human population still
growing, the sustainable use of biodiversity ismore important than ever. Forests support alarge proportion of global biodiversity, andincreasing their area and managing them better,
therefore, is crucial. Nevertheless, the world’s
forest area is declining by more than 4.7 million
hectares per year,1 primarily in the tropics, andlarge areas of remaining forest are degraded.

The Collaborative Initiative
The International Tropical Timber Organization(ITTO) was established in 1986 under the
auspices of the United Nations. It has 74 member
governments and a long history of promoting
and managing projects and other activities
to encourage sustainable forest management.
ITTO supports biodiversity conservation in its
projects in line with its various guidelines, which
1 FAO (2020). Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020.
Main report. Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations, Rome.

have been developed and improved over time bybiodiversity and forest management experts andendorsed by governments.2
Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992
Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD) recognizes that biodiversity is about
more than plants, animals and microorganisms
and their ecosystems—it is also about people andthe need for food security, medicines, fresh air andwater, shelter, and a clean, healthy environment.
The CBD has three main goals: the conservationof biodiversity; the sustainable use of its
components; and the fair and equitable sharingof benefits from the use of genetic resources.
In the lead-up to the CBD’s Conference of theParties (COP) in Nagoya, Japan, in 2010, ITTO andthe CBD signed a memorandum of understanding
designed to encourage joint activities promoting
the conservation and sustainable use of tropicalforest biodiversity. The governing bodies of both
the CBD and ITTO adopted decisions welcoming
collaboration between the two institutions.3 Basedon these decisions, ITTO and the CBD launched
the ITTO–CBD Collaborative Initiative for Tropical
Forest Biodiversity in 2011, with four objectives:
2 E.g. ITTO/IUCN Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable
Use of Biodiversity in Tropical Timber Production Forests;
Guidelines for Forest Landscape Restoration in the Tropics;
and Criteria and Indicators for the Sustainable Managementof Tropical Forests.
3 CBD COP Decision X/36 and International Tropical Timber
Council Decision 6 (XLVI).

A demonstration of forest-measuring equipment
and techniques to a group of students under
ITTO project 456/07. Photo: Mamonékéné

2 Improving outcomes for biodiversity and people1)	Enhance the local capacity for biodiversity
conservation in production forests and forthe rehabilitation of degraded and secondary
forests.
2) Improve the conservation and managementof protected areas, especially in association
with buffering protected areas, andtransboundary conservation.
3)	Safeguard tropical forest biodiversity inforestry interventions, including in REDD+related projects.
4) Improve the welfare of local communities
and indigenous groups through biodiversity
conservation and the sustainable use ofnatural resources.
Supported by donors and in close collaboration
with partners in ITTO producer member countries,
the Collaborative Initiative identifies, develops andimplements projects to achieve these objectives.4
This report summarizes the outcomes of a technicalreview of the Collaborative Initiative conducted in2020 and offers recommendations for building on
its achievements.

4 The ITTO–CBD Collaborative Initiative has received a rangeof financial contributions, with Japan the primary donor.
Other donors to projects under the initiative are thegovernments of Belgium, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland
and the USA, as well as the CBD Secretariat and the Japan
Lumber Importers Association.

Extraordinary results

Figure 1: Locations of projects conducted under the ITTO–CBD Collaborative Initiative

Between its creation in 2011 and the latter partof 2020, the Collaborative Initiative encompassed
16 projects (Figure 1 and Table 1). These projects
were conducted in 23 tropical countries, all of whichhave experienced declines in forest area and lossesof biodiversity and have large numbers of forestdependent people.
At USD 13 million, the total budget of the 16
projects was modest, but the technical review
found that they achieved extraordinary success in
improving local livelihoods and forest management,
restoring degraded forests and conserving
biodiversity. The projects contributed to the main
global processes with forest implications—the
Aichi Biodiversity Targets, the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Forest
Goals and the objectives of the International
Tropical Timber Agreement (Figure 2).
Of the 16 projects:5• Five were in transboundary areas (e.g. the
Emerald Triangle area shared by Cambodia, theLao People’s Democratic Republic and Thailand).
• Four worked to improve forest management
in various types of reserve (e.g. a biospherereserve in Benin).
• Five improved management in production
forests (e.g. mangrove forests in Fiji).
• Two improved education on biodiversity
conservation and sustainable forest management
designed for forest managers in countries in
sub-Saharan Africa and the upper Amazon Basin.
5M ost projects contributed to more than one of these

Local government authorities should be involved inprojects to the greatest extent possible, and regularcommunication should be maintained.
• Eleven contributed to the livelihoods ofcommunities living in or near protected areas(e.g. in the Tacaná Volcano area of influenceon the border between Guatemala and Mexico).
• Six engaged local communities in sustainable
forest management (e.g. buffer-zone
management near the Pulong Tau National
Park, Malaysia).
Specific achievements included increasing the sizeof a mangrove protected area in Peru by more than
700 000 ha; providing more than 400 foresters andtechnicians in Central Africa with forestry education;
enabling previously difficult transboundary
cooperation on the management of the Emerald
Triangle between Cambodia and Thailand; andrestoring 130 ha of mangroves in Fiji.

achievements and the tally therefore exceeds 16.

A researcher assesses a macaw as part of a conservation
project in Tambopata, Peru. Photo: T. Lostaunau (ITTO Fellow)

Figure 2: The number of Collaborative Initiative projects contributing to global forest processes

No. of projects

Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Sustainable Development Goals

Global Forest Goals

ITTO objectives

8

16

12

12

7

14

10

10

6

12

5

10

8

8

4

8

6

6

3

6

4

4

2

4

1

2

2

2

0

0

s
s
s
n
g
sin at los SFM area pecie ratio
7
rai
o
d ds
t
e
s
t
se s abite
tec ene em r
ren 5 Ht
Pro eatwa
11 2 Thr cosys
1A
E
1
14

ty ater tion tion and
ty
ali
c
c
l
ver
po r equ ean w rodu ate a e on
o
f
l
e
p
N
i
m
C
d
L
i
e
1
6
bl 3 Cl
en
15
1
ina
5G
sta
u
S
12

Latin America

0

0

s
s
s
n
ts
efi area ratio work ergie
enore ed b ected oope rame & synfrse bas prot s & c ce f ion
eve stanatce&
1 R Fore SFM inan vern rdino2
3
4 F 5 Go 6 Co
s

os
st l

Africann ing
nce ade use tio
tio
rna & tr able rada rma build
e
v
y
o
g
n
f
i
o
ye
1 G onom susta & d lity in pacit
c
n
a
a
E
o
&
u 6C
ti
2
ion sta ible q
vat oressn er Def cces
o
4
5A
3C

Asia & PacificImproving outcomes for biodiversity and people 3

Key lessons learned
The important lessons learned in theimplementation of the Collaborative Initiative’s
16 projects, outlined below, can readily be applied
to future projects.

Working with local communities• All projects addressing conservation andsustainable forest management—especiallyin protected areas and their buffer zones—
should consult regularly with, and enable
the involvement of, local communities andindigenous groups in the area of influence.
Indigenous and other local communities
must derive benefits from such projects,
and traditional land rights and practices
must be enabled to continue.
• Projects designed to improve livelihoods
can have beneficial impacts on local incomes
if planned in consultation with the communities
concerned. Clear indicators should beestablished to measure the effectivenessof such projects in addressing long-term
livelihoods, sustainability and biodiversity
conservation.
• Capacity building and awareness-raisingamong local communities and government
staff is essential for improving forest andlandscape management. The existing
capacities of such stakeholders should beassessed before the development of training
programmes and convening of workshops.

Indigenous and other local communities must derive
benefits from such projects, and traditional land rights
and practices must be enabled to continue.
• The establishment of community forests is apromising land management approach in thebuffer zones of protected areas. Such forests
should be established in suitable locations toincrease their chances of success. For example,
community forests established in degraded
forests are less likely to provide financial
rewards in the medium term, thus reducing
community interest in managing such forests.

Working with government• Local government authorities at all levels (e.g.
municipal, district and provincial) should be
involved in projects to the greatest extent
possible, and regular communication should
be maintained. One means for doing this is byincluding representatives of all levels ofgovernment in project steering committees.
• Political support at high levels of government
in participant countries is essential for the
success of transboundary conservation andrestoration projects and for sustaining
outcomes over time.
• The membership of steering committees fortransboundary conservation and restoration
projects should include all relevant agencies
at the highest possible level of government.

Asian elephants are on the move near the
Preah Vihear Protected Forest in Cambodia.
Photo: Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre/
Forestry Authority/Wildlife Alliance

4 Improving outcomes for biodiversity and people

This is necessary to ensure that participating
countries clearly understand the commitments
needed for the implementation of project
activities and achievement of desired outcomes.

Improving monitoring and outcomes• Data produced by a project should be subject
to scrutiny by a technical committee
established for this purpose.
• Projects that develop baseline biodiversity
information through monitoring, or conduct
forest research, benefit substantially from theincorporation of local knowledge in their design.
• All projects need to clearly state theirbiodiversity objectives and contributions
to the CBD’s post-2020 strategic plan forbiodiversity, including expected outcomes,
using biodiversity indicators.
• Projects should include measurable indicatorsfor monitoring progress towards objectives,
such as: area of forest sustainably managed;
area of forest restored; area of forest plantedor enriched; area of improved habitat for focal
species; and area surveyed or monitored.

Table 1. The 16 projects conducted under the Collaborative Initiative, 2011–2020

aProject identifier

Short title

Country1

PD 456/07

Capacity-building for sustainable forest management and conservation in
the Congo Basin

Cameroon, Central African Republic,
the Congo, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Gabon

1

2

PD 577/10

Management of the Emerald Triangle Protected Forests Complex

Cambodia, Thailand

2, 4

3

PD 601/11

Mangrove ecosystem conservation in the northwestern Peru biosphere reserve

Peru

1, 4

4

PD 617/11

Transboundary biodiversity conservation in the Betung Kerihun National Park Indonesia, Malaysia

1, 2, 3, 4

5PD 635/12

Buffer zone management of the Pulong Tau National Park with local
communities

Malaysia

2, 4

6

PD 668/12

Integrated natural resource management in the Tacaná Volcano range

Guatemala, Mexico

1, 2, 4

7

PD 710/13

The conservation of selected high-value indigenous species in Sumatra

Indonesia1

8

PPD 165/12

The rehabilitation and sustainable forest management of sacred forests
at Ramsar sites 1017 and 1018

Benin

3, 4

9

PP-A/50-296

Capacity-building in the Congo Basin for sustainable forest management
and use of satellite imagery

Angola, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad, the Congo,
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda

2

10

PP-A/47-266

Capacity building of Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization member
countries in managing Amazonian forests

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador,
Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela

1, 3

11

PD 723/13

Transboundary biodiversity conservation in the Tanintharyi Range

Myanmar2, 4

12PD 696/13

Community-based restoration and sustainable forest management inmangrove forests of the Rewa DeltaFiji

1, 3, 413

PD 741/14

Capacity-building for sustainable forest management in tropical dry
forests on the north coast of Peru

Peru

1, 4

14

PD 754/14

Restoration and sustainable forest management of sacred forests at
Ramsar sites 1017 and 1018a

Benin

3

15

PD 765/14

Developing a forest landscape restoration programme based on ITTO guidelines Guatemala

116

PD 777/15

Restoration of Cibodas Biosphere Reserve involving local stakeholders

1, 4Indonesia

Relevant Collaborative
Initiative objectivesb

Following on from PPD 165/12. b See page 2 for the list of objectives.

Fostering change—renewing
the Collaborative Initiative
In 2021, the CBD renewed its strategic plan forsustaining and conserving global biodiversity inits post-2020 biodiversity framework and ITTO
adopted its new Strategic Action Plan 2022–2026.
The work of both institutions contributes to theachievements of the SDGs, particularly SDG 15 on
preventing the degradation of terrestrial resources
and loss of biodiversity. Both institutions also
support the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem
Restoration 2021–2030, which recognizes theglobal need to restore degraded landscapes for,among other reasons, the mitigation of climatechange and the conservation of biodiversity.
In February 2021, ITTO and the CBD formallyextended their joint work to 2025 in a newmemorandum of understanding. The

Collaborative Initiative will be revised in lightof this with the aim of continuing its long-term
commitment to enhancing biodiversity
conservation in tropical forests with the direct
participation of local stakeholders. The revised
Collaborative Initiative will also contribute to the
Decade of Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 andassist in the uptake of ITTO’s Guidelines for Forest
Landscape Restoration in the Tropics, the ITTO/IUCN
Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable
Use of Biodiversity in Tropical Timber Production
Forests and ITTO’s Voluntary Guidelines on the
Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests.6
The following are proposals for the goal, objectives
and focal landscapes of the renewed ITTO–CBD
Collaborative Initiative:
6 A vailable at www.itto.int/guidelines

Proposed overall goal
• To enhance biodiversity conservation in tropicalforests with the direct participation of local
stakeholders, addressing the two main driversof biodiversity loss in tropical forests—
deforestation and forest degradation.

Proposed objectives1)	Enhance the national and local capacity forbiodiversity conservation in production forest
landscapes.
2) Improve the conservation and managementof protected areas, especially in buffer zones
and transboundary areas.
3)	Restore and rehabilitate degraded anddeforested landscapes to increase biodiversity
and improve forest production.

Improving outcomes for biodiversity and people 54) Improve the welfare of local communities
and indigenous groups through biodiversity
conservation and the sustainable use ofnatural resources.

Proposed focal landscapes
1)	Forest landscapes in transboundary areasfor protection or production.
2)	Managed forest landscapes, including thosein buffer zones adjacent to protected areas.
3)	Degraded forest landscapes and secondary
forests that are important to local communities
and Indigenous Peoples (or could be, if restored).
4)	Forest areas identified as having significant
conservation and cultural value but whichlack full legal protection, such as certain
Ramsar sites, biosphere reserves and World
Heritage sites.

School children learn about the importance of biodiversity as part of activities supported by the ITTO–CBD Collaborative Initiative(ITTO project PD 577/10) to strengthen the transboundary management of the Emerald Triangle shared by Cambodia, the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic and Thailand. Photo: ITTO/Royal Forest Department (Thailand)

Local people receive training on agroforestry
practices on land adjoining the Zounkidjazounsacred forest, Benin. Photo: B. Bossou/CESAREN

6 Improving outcomes for biodiversity and people

Policies for project funding,formulation, implementationand monitoring
Since the Collaborative Initiative began a decadeago, numerous advances have been made inunderstanding forests and their sustainable
management at a landscape scale. Knowledge
has increased, for example, on:• The functional roles of biodiversity in theprovision of forest ecosystem services, including
those associated with climate change andhuman disease prevention.
• The importance of connectivity acrosslandscapes for ensuring the persistenceof populations of flora and fauna.
• The importance of managers thinking
at a landscape scale.
• The potential for landscape change andbiodiversity loss to increase the risk of zoonoses.
All these have implications for achieving theobjectives of the Collaborative Initiative.

Funding
Projects implemented under the Collaborative
Initiative can provide complementary approaches
to other financial tools designed to turn policy
decisions into action. The global environmental
community and donors should be made awareof this potential.
Proponents of project proposals submitted
for funding under the Collaborative Initiative
should consider:• Co-funding options such as associating
directly with projects that are ongoing in the
proposed project area but which are not partof the Collaborative Initiative.
• Developing proposals that can be submitted
simultaneously to other funding bodies (e.g. theGlobal Environment Facility, the World Bankand the Green Climate Fund) for co-funding.
• Developing synergies with national funding
opportunities (e.g. national forest funds).

Policy guidance
The technical review of the Collaborative Initiative
made the following suggestions for the future
development and implementation of projects
under the initiative.

The Nasilai women’s group planted 5000 mangrove propagules along the foreshores of their village in Fiji, under ITTO project PD 696/13.
Photo: Aporosa Ramulo Livani/Ministry of Forestry• All projects should:− Focus on forest landscape-based solutions,recognizing the importance of landscapeintactness for biodiversity and ecosystemservices.7− Be designed to function at multiple scales
based on spatial planning, from influencing
sustainable land-use decisions at a local
level to reforming national and regional
goals to achieve forest-based solutions.

• The equitable participation of local people
should be a precondition for all projects
initiated under the Collaborative Initiative.
• Local communities, Indigenous Peoples(where applicable) and women should be
intimately involved in project development,
implementation and outcomes, and theprinciple of free, prior and informed consent
should be applied.

− Put in place a robust monitoring, evaluationand learning system with clear numericaland biodiversity indicators.

• Projects should include livelihood opportunities
for local people that involve the sustainable
use of biodiversity and green supply chains.
They should also include formal plans formonitoring the impacts of such opportunities
on stakeholders and provide mentoring during
the project and for up to three years after
project completion.

• Projects should be centred in landscapes inwhich implementation is feasible and where
there is stakeholder buy-in on the project’s
objectives and methodology.

• Transboundary projects should have clear
work-sharing and planning arrangements,
high-level participation, and formal agreements
among the national governments involved.

− Clearly show how proposed outcomes
relate to some or all of the four objectivesof the Collaborative Initiative.

• Projects should be designed to be
implemented according to the principles
of sustainable forest management, asestablished in various ITTO guidelines.
7 Forest landscape-based solutions address the role of forests

in combating climate change (mitigation and adaptation)
and achieving the SDGs. They might focus, for example,
on the roles of green supply chains, biocorridor restoration,community-based REDD+ projects, innovative forest
monitoring systems, and research and development. See:
ITTO (2020). Guidelines for Forest Landscape Restoration in the
Tropics. Policy Development Series No. 24. Yokohama, Japan.

Improving outcomes for biodiversity and people 7

Villagers receive training as birdwatching guides as part ofefforts to ensure they benefit economically from biodiversity
in the Tacaná Volcano area on the border between Guatemala
and Mexico, under ITTO project PD 668/12. Photo: Edgar
Pérez/HELVETASInternational Tropical Timber Organization
International Organizations Center, 5th Floor, Pacifico-Yokohama, 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012, Japan
Tel +81-45-223-1110 Fax +81-45-223-1111 Email itto@itto.int Web www.itto.int© ITTO 2022

8

Cover photo: A pale blue flycatcher (Cyornis unicolor)
rests on a branch in the Cibodas Biosphere Reserve,
Indonesia, the location of ITTO project 777/15.
Improving outcomes for biodiversity and people
Photo: © Ida Rohaida