ITTA2006
International Tropical Timber Agreement
The International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) is an international Treaty that focuses on ensuring the sustainable management of tropical timber. The ITTA of 2006 entered into force on December 12, 2011 and takes over the place of its predecessor agreement ITTA 1994. The Treaty’s two key goals are to promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests and to promote the sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests. The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) which operates under the ITTA, helps countries to achieve these goals by helping to improve the competitiveness of wood products, boosting the marketing of sustainable and legal tropical timber, and sharing information on certification. The organization also helps countries to improve forest law enforcement and governance, address illegal logging and related trade in tropical timber, and undertake sustainable forest management and forest restoration. The ITTA 2006 has created thematic programmes on forest law enforcement, governance and trade, reducing deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing environmental services, community forest management and enterprises, trade and market transparency, industry development and efficiency. The agreement of 2006 will be in force for a period of 10 years, with the possibility of extensions of up to eight years.