8 December 2011: Emmanuel Ze Meka, Executive Director of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), and Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on restoration and sustainable management of dry tropical forests.

The signing ceremony took place on 7 December 2011, during an ITTO side event on REDD readiness held during the Durban Climate Change Conference. The objective of the MoU, which covers 2012 to 2014, is to facilitate the implementation of joint activities between ITTO and UNCCD based on restoration and sustainable management of dry tropical forests in ITTO developing member countries. The MoU also aims to promote capacity building in ITTO and UNCCD developing member countries, and facilitate information exchange between the parties.

The MoU identifies a number of areas of cooperation, including: promoting forest landscape restoration to support sustainable livelihoods biodiversity, soil and water conservation, as well as mitigation and adaptation to climate change; developing economic incentives and providing alternative livelihoods for reducing deforestation and forest degradation; improving forest governance; and assessing and monitoring degradation. [MoU Between ITTO and UNCCD] [ITTO Press Release]