IUCN signed a Memorandum of Understanding yesterday with the Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux (ATIBT) – a key player in the tropical timber industry specialized in sustainable forestry, local processing of timber and forest certification schemes.
The two organizations will now work together on the assessment of timber species for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ to help improve the way forest resources are managed. They will also explore the important role that forest certification plays for biodiversity and for local social and economic development.
During its initial years, the new partnership will focus on the West and Central African sub-region.
“Well-managed areas host a much greater abundance and variety of species than areas that are not properly looked after,” says IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefèvre. “This, in turn, contributes to enhanced livelihoods of local people who depend on these places for food and income. We’re very excited about this new partnership and look forward to working closely with ATIBT towards a more sustainable management of our forests.”
Actively involved in the forestry sector since 1951, the ATIBT provides information, training and technical and scientific support to the tropical forest-timber industry through a network of more than 250 professional members from 39 countries. It encourages best practices throughout the timber industry ensuring the sustainable exploitation of tropical forests and helping regulate the trade in tropical timber. Its work focuses on the timber sector in West and Central Africa with expanding operations in Asia.
For more information, please contact:
Ewa Magiera
IUCN Communications
ewa.magiera@iucn.org
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