Global forest guardian gives up deforestation goal

December 19, 2000

The International Tropical Timber Organization has failed to meet its

primary goal of having all tropical timber products traded internationally

by its member states originate from sustainably managed forests by 2000,

sources said Monday.

The ITTO has also given up setting a new deadline to achieve the goal,

triggering criticism from environmental groups that the organization is not

doing enough to reduce deforestation of the world's tropical forests.

Environmentalists are expected to criticize Tokyo because Japan is the

world's largest importer of lumber and Tokyo invited the ITTO to set up its

head office in Yokohama in 1986.

The ITTO reached the conclusion in two sessions of its governing body, the

International Tropical Timber Council, this year. Most of the organization's

55 member countries failed to meet the goal set in 1990 due to insufficient

human resources, technologies and funds, they said.

Experts said only six countries, including Ghana and Cameroon, showed

improvement in managing their forests.

In its 29th session held in early November, the council reaffirmed its full

commitment to moving as rapidly as possible toward achieving exports of

tropical timber and timber products from sustainably managed forests.

Takahiro Kohama, a member of the Japan Tropical Forest Action Network,

criticized the ITTO for failing to set a new deadline for the decade-old

project and decide on penalties against illegal deforestation.

The Japan Times: Dec. 19, 2000

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