9 November 2015
ITTO Publishes Tropical Forest Update and Newsletter on CITES Tropical Tree Listings
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The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has published the latest issue of 'Tropical Forest Update,' which explores efforts to develop environmental product declarations for tropical timber as a way of providing credible data on their environmental performance and a fair basis for comparison between products performing similar functions.

The Organization has also circulated the latest issue of the quarterly newsletter reporting on activities under the second phase of the ITTO-Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Program for Implementing CITES Listings of Tropical Tree Species, covering a summary of program activities until August 2015.

IttoOctober 2015: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has published the latest issue of ‘Tropical Forest Update,’ which explores efforts to develop environmental product declarations for tropical timber as a way of providing credible data on their environmental performance and a fair basis for comparison between products performing similar functions. The Organization has also circulated the latest issue of the quarterly newsletter reporting on activities under the second phase of the ITTO-Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Program for Implementing CITES Listings of Tropical Tree Species, covering a summary of program activities until August 2015.

The Update contains several articles that explore environmental product declarations, highlighting that although they gain momentum in the marketplace as tools for defining environmentally responsible construction materials, none have yet been developed for tropical timber. To address this issue, an ITTO initiative has commissioned life-cycle assessments to generate data for environmental product declarations for three tropical timber products: meranti plywood, Khaya lumber, and ipe and cumaru decking. It is noted that it is highly likely that life-cycle assessment and environmental product declarations will become increasingly important elements in the marketing armory for tropical timber trade.

The ITTO-CITES newsletter includes an update from the ITTO-CITES Program in Latin America; a funding report; and several progress reports from countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa. [Tropical Forest Update vol. 24 no. 3] [ITTO-CITES Newsletter] [ITTO-CITES Program Webpage]