18 December 2010: The 46th session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) and the associated sessions of its four Committees, which convened from 13-18 December 2010, in Yokohama, Japan, concluded with compromises on two outstanding issues: the Collaborative Initiative between the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to conserve tropical forest biodiversity, and financial arrangements for hosting Council sessions outside of ITTO headquarters in Yokohama.

After several rounds of discussion, Consumer and Producer groups decided that ITTC 47 will take place in Antigua, Guatemala, from 9-14 November 2011. ITTC 48 will take place in Yokohama in November 2012, and ITTC 49 will take place in Libreville, Gabon, in 2013. In preparation for ITTC 47, the Consumer group elected Joachim Bilé Allogho, Gabon, as Chair, and the Producer group elected Clara Boonstra, Netherlands, as Vice-Chair of the session.The Council adopted several other decisions, including on: the selection of Projects, Pre-Projects and Activities to receive funding; the re-appointment of Emmanuel Ze Meka as Executive Director until 5 November 2015; the celebration of International Year of Forests (IYF) and ITTO’s 25th anniversary in 2011; procedures to respond to additional funding opportunities; and a multi-donor mechanism to facilitate enhanced cooperation between the ITTO and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). [IISD RS Coverage]