Background

The timber industry is facing major challenges. It must produce legal and sustainable timber products while also maintaining other important forest values. It must address issues in global timber supply chains arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. And it must bridge the widening gap between demand and supply as the world population grows and requirements escalate for construction timber and other wood products.

Given these and other challenges, it is essential to maintain and increase collaboration, and exchange views and information, among timber industry stakeholders worldwide—producers, buyers, processors and market players.

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) formulated its Legal and Sustainable Supply Chain (LSSC) Programme with the aim of building legal and sustainable tropical timber supply chains through a multipronged, integrated approach of governmental frameworks, private-sector initiatives, financial resources and capacity building. In collaboration with partners, ITTO convened the international forum, Together Towards Global Green Supply Chains, in October 2019 in Shanghai, China—the first global dialogue on improving the legality and sustainability of tropical timber supply chains. As part of the LSSC Programme and given strong interest among actors in the global timber industry ITTO and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) have entered into a collaborative framework agreement to co-host the Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF) to accelerate the development of legal and sustainable wood product supply chains.

Objectives

The aim of the GLSTF is to increase networking, collaboration and business exchange among timber industry stakeholders—producers, buyers, processors and market players—with a view to promoting sustainable forest management, creating legal and sustainable wood product supply chains, facilitating the legal and sustainable use and trade of wood products in a stable, transparent and predictable business environment, and contributing to sustainable development and climate-change mitigation.

Forum structure

The Forum will be held annually starting in 2023, and it will comprise two components:

◆ The Global Legal and Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF).

◆ Several specialized sub-forums (see below).

In 2023, the Forum will:

◆ Raise the profile of productive forests and their contributions to sustainable development and climate-change mitigation.

◆ Identify challenges and opportunities for the recovery of the global wood industry.

◆ Review the role of the wood products sector in global supply chains and its contributions to sustainable development and climate-change mitigation.

◆ Discuss issues relating to sustainable forest management and deforestation-free practices within the framework of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and the CPF initiative, Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World.

◆ Promote the sustainable production and consumption of legal and sustainable wood and other forest products in international and domestic markets.

◆ Review advanced technologies and machinery for timber processing and production.

◆ Discuss green finance, blockchain-based technologies and other tools to improve legal and sustainable timber supply chains.

◆ Make recommendations to promote partnerships for further building legal and sustainable timber supply chains.

Co-hosts & organizer

The GLSTF will be co-hosted by ITTO and IPIM and organized by the Secretariat of the Global Green Supply Chain Initiative (GGSC). The specialized sub-forums will be co-organized by partner agencies; ITTO, IPIM and the GGSC Secretariat may also organize such forums.

The theme of the GLSTF 2023 will be “connect, cooperate and share to promote the recovery of the global tropical timber market”.

Specialized sub-forums will be organized by partner agencies to contribute to the theme of the main forum. These might be on selected topics related to timber legality and sustainability; sustainable timber resources, markets and trade; advanced technology and machinery for wood processing; green finance and innovative facilitating measures for green supply chains.

A legal and sustainable timber industry display will be organized in parallel with the GLSTF 2023, at a trial scale of around 30 booths.

Other events and activities

The Global Timber Index (GTI) annual report and the technical report of Blockchain-based Timber Tracking System (outputs of ITTO-IPIM collaborative activities implemented by GGSC), as well as other achievements will be released at the GLSTF 2023. Other business activities and side events, such as B2B matchings, can be arranged.

Date and venue

The GLSTF 2023 will be held on 21‑22 November 2023 at the Galaxy International Convention Center in Macao SAR, China.

Participants

The GLSTF 2023 is expected to attract around 500 participants from wood enterprises and trading companies, industrial and business associations, governments, international organizations, research institutions, etc.

Sponsorship

Select speakers and panellists will be sponsored for their participation of the forum.

Languages

The GLSTF 2023 will feature simultaneous interpretation in Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The draft agenda of the Main Forum and 4 Specialized Sub-forums, as well as the general information notes for the GLSTF 2023 are attached: 

Fourth & Final Announcement for GLSTF 2023.pdf

For more information contact:

GGSC Secretariat: Ms Gao Xuting at gaoxuting@itto-ggsc.org

ITTO: Mr Li Qiang at li@itto.int

IPIM: Mr. Steve CHAN at pcel@ipim.gov.mo