10 March 2014: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has released its Tropical Forest Update, highlighting progress in assessing and monitoring sustainable forest management (SFM).

Based on the ‘Criteria for the sustainable management of natural tropical forests,’ ITTO has developed a number of measures and indicator sets, which have evolved as data availability and assessment technologies have progressed. The Update notes that in 2014, a new set of criteria and indicators will be published as voluntary guidelines.

The Update also explores the implementation of criteria and indicators in Africa and Europe. The bulletin focuses on the lessons learned and achievements of the promotion of sustainable management of African forests project and the pan-European criteria and indicators process led by FOREST EUROPE.

Finally, the Update calls for further promotion of the update of criteria and indicators, stronger partnerships with the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF), and the comprehensive review and revision of the ITTO criteria and indicators framework. [Publication: Tropical Forest Update – Volume 22 – Number 4]