Innovations to maximize thecontributions of tropical forests tosustainable development
Ramon Carrillo on behalf of ITTO ExecutiveDirector Sheam Satkuru
ITTO Outreach and Communications Officer

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Tropical forests are central tosustainable development•

The sustainable harvesting, processing and trade of tropicaltimber and other forest products:üüü•When sustainably managed, tropical forests are:üü••

supplies residential and commercial consumers worldwide,
contributes to local and national economies, andenhances value of tropical forests—a key factor in reducing forest
conversion to other economic land uses.
healthy, productive and renewable ecosystems.
contribute to nature-based solutions.

Sustainably produced tropical wood has a wide range of uses
and is an essential for the transition to more sustainable andcircular bioeconomies.
The sustainable management of forests is of critical importanceto the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and almost
all SDGs.

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Despite their importance, tropical forest
are under pressure••

The world lost an estimated 10 million ha of forest (the sizeof the Republic of Korea) per year between 2015 and 2020:
Most deforestation occurs in the tropics:
üüüü
ü

•

competing land uses that produce higher/more rapid financial
returns (agriculture, energy, mining and infrastructure),
failure of market policies (don’t reflect the full value offorests),
illegal logging, fragmentation, food security, woodfuel/energy
needs,wildfires andclimate change.

Crucial to advert these threats.

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Policy innovations improve SFM and themultiple contributions of tropical forests
SFM
Guidelines(1990, 2015)

Guidelines for theManagement of SecondaryTropical Forests, Tropical
Forest Restoration and theRehabilitation of Degraded
Forest Lands (2002)

Guidelines for Forest LandscapeRestoration in the Tropics (2020)

Environmentaland Social
ManagementGuidelines(2020) andGenderGuidelines(2018)

Guidelines for
Sustainable
Management ofPlanted Tropical
Forest (1993)

Guidelines forConserving
Biodiversity inProduction
Forests(1993, 2008)

Guidelines on Fire
Management (1998)

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Forest landscape restoration (FLR)—an example of policy innovation••

FLR is the process of regaining ecological
functionality and enhancing human wellbeing
across degraded and deforested forest
landscapes.
It is directed towards two scales of interventions:
1.
2.

••

Enables SFM for production and protection
forests.
Integrates natural and planted forests andtrees as part of functional mosaic
landscapes.

It is a nature-based solution to global challenges
and national priorities.
ITTO FLR guidelines are structured around six
principles and 32 guiding elements.
üEnriched with 18 case studies in the tropics.

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Field innovations from ITTO projects••••

Provide tailored solutions for the conservation,
sustainable management and sustainable use oftropical forests.
Increase efficiency of operations and the uptake ofbest SFM practices.
Engage local stakeholders in their development andadvance SFM.
Can be easily replicated and scaled-up across thetropics:ü More investments are urgently needed to encourageincreased uptake!

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Timber traceability and wood identification—
innovations that creates trust across the supply chain•

Provide reliable information on the flow of forests products through thesupply chain:ü improves SFM, forest governance and efficiency across the supply chain,ü provides assurance of legality and sustainability,ü facilitates monitoring and control of forest products and assists in combatting
illegal logging.

•Rapid evolution of timber tracking systems and timber identification
methods:
ü physical methods (barcoding, radio frequency, near-infrared spectroscopy—
supported by apps).
ü chemical methods (DNA, stable isotopes).

•

Some examples of ITTO projects on timber identification and traceability:
üü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü

Brazil: Mahogany identification using near-infrared spectroscopy.
Cameroon: DNA tracking.
China: Blockchain.
Guatemala: Barcoding supported by apps.
Indonesia: Forensic identification.
Madagascar: DNA tracking.
Panama: Barcoding supported by apps.

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Software for forest managers•

In the Brazilian Amazon operators are required by law to follow approved
sustainable forest management plans:
üü
ü

•
•

The above generate a lot of data that needs to be processed.
An ITTO project developed software that speeds up and improves the forest
planning process by aiding the selection of harvest trees based on clear criteria,
providing better control over timber production, and enabling sustainable forest
management: BoManejo:
üüüüü

•

a 100% forest inventory of the area to be logged in a given year,
specify the activities to be carried,
indicate the trees to be logged, with their geographic position, scientific name,diameter at breast height, height, and wood volume.

meets the data requirements of the forestry legislation,
enables forest managers to refine and adjust the criteria for selecting trees for felling,using combinations of parameters,
managers can quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the volumes to be harvested
and interactively select the trees to be harvested,
generates reports and spreadsheets for submission to the government offices,
enables precise quantitative monitoring of tree felling, extraction and logtransportation, increasing managers’ ability to control production and avoid exceeding
cutting limits (and therefore penalties).

More: www.itto.int/project/id/PD452_07-Rev.5-F and www.embrapa.br/bommanejo

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

Forestry apps—innovations at our fingertips•

In 2022, an ITTO project in Indonesia launched an app to assist fireservices in the prevention and the suppression of wildfires:ü the app is supported by a SMART Patrol Information System that records
and reports real-time action of fire-prevention patrols based on 88parameters,ü the app is being used by patrol teams in Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara,
Sulawesi and Sumatera.

•In Guatemala, an ITTO project developed in 2023 a smartphone app to
calculate log volumes: CUBIFOR:
ü it requires only a photograph of the stack of logs (or other wood product)
and the average width and length of the stack to estimate volume,ü It has strengthened the capacity of forest companies to control theirinventories, improved the efficiency of operations that require volumes, andgenerally advanced sustainable forest management in the country.

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

To conclude•

Innovations and technological advancements are:
ü improving SFM, expanding FLR and the sustainable use of a wide-range of forest
products,
ü advancing forest governance and institutional development,ü contributing to the development of the forest sector and enhancing the contributions oftropical forests to sustainable development.

••

There is no shortage of inventiveness—more investments and incentives areneeded to facilitate their uptake and further development.
ITTO’s role is to support these stakeholders in their efforts and to spread the best
innovations for the benefit of communities worldwide.

Sheam Satkuru, ITTO Executive Director

WORK WITH US!
GLSTF: 11–12 Sept 2024, Macao SAR,
China
ITTC60: 1–6 Dec 2024,
Yokohama, Japan!
www.itto.int
carrillo@itto.int