Foresters in the Central African Republic receive training in the application of the principles, criteria and indicators of SFM as part of ITTO project PD 124/01 Rev.4 (M), Phase 3. Photo: O. Ahimin

A trainee takes a wood sample from a tree in southwestern Ghana during a training workshop on timber tracking conducted as part of ITTO project PD 620/11 Rev.1 (M). Photo: B. Degen/Thünen Institute

ITTO project PD 620/11 Rev.1 (M) helped develop capacity in Africa in techniques to extract DNA for the identification and tracking of timber species. Photo: L. Schindler/ Thünen Institute

This wood library for species identification is being used for reference and training as part of ITTO project PD 620/11 Rev.1 (M) in Ghana. Photo: G. Breulmann/ITTO

Staff tend tree seedlings in a nursery supported by ITTO project PD 678/12 Rev.1 (M) in Benin. Photo: PAGEFCOM

A researcher in Brazil works with wood samples of lesser-used species as part of activities conducted under ITTO project PD 433/06 Rev.3 (I) aimed at adding value to the woodflooring value chain and improving the management of Amazonian forests. Photo: R. Carrillo/ITTO

Tropical lumber should supply a production chain concerned about the economic, social and environmental impacts of its products, which was the aim of ITTO project PD 433/06 Rev.3 (I). Photo: I. Jankowsky/University of Sao Paolo

Capacity building provided by ITTO project PD 540/09 Rev.2 (I) has helped small and medium-sized companies in the Peruvian Amazon increase efficiency and add value to harvested timber, thereby increasing their revenues. Photo: E. Sangama/CNF

A worker assembles a chair in a furniture factory in Peru, where ITTO project PD 540/09 Rev.2 (I) has invested in improving the manufacturing of timber products and adding value to them. Photo: E. Sangama/CNF

Bamboos are abundant and widely used. ITTO is helping member countries sustainably manage this great natural resource through projects, such as ITTO project PD 600/11 Rev.1 (I) in Indonesia. Photo: T. Yanuariadi/ITTO

Bamboo is abundant and widely used. ITTO is helping member countries sustainably manage this great natural resource through projects such as ITTO project PD 600/11 Rev.1 (I) in Indonesia. Photo: T. Yanuariadi/ITTO

ITTO is enhancing the efficient and sustainable use of bamboos in Indonesia through capacity building provided under project PD 600/11 Rev.1 (I). Photo T. Yanuariadi/ITTO

ITTO project PD 700/13 Rev.2 (I), Phase 1, has provided in-house training to mills in Côte d’Ivoire with the aim of improving the quality of timber products for intra-African trade. Photo: T. Yanuariadi/ITTO

A nursery worker tends seedlings for reforestation as part of ITTO project PD 351/05 Rev.1 (F) in Oaxaca, Mexico. Photo: F. Reygada/INIFAP

A technician demonstrates how to obtain valuable resin from (Manilkara zapota). ITTO project PD 351/05 Rev.1 (F), in Oaxaca, Mexico, has helped increase awareness of the importance of managing forests for their multiple benefits. Photo: C. Franco/INIFAP

Members of a local community in Panama participate in activities under ITTO project PD 441/07 Rev.2 (F) with the aim of rehabilitating a forest affected by fire. Photo: MINAMBIENTE

This tower to enable the early detection of forest fires in the La Yeguada forest reserve in Panama was built as part of ITTO project PD 441/07 Rev.2 (F). Photo: MINAMBIENTE

Thai children learn about the importance of biodiversity conservation in the Emerald Triangle Protected Forest Complex as part of ITTO project PD 577/10 Rev.1 (F). Photo: Royal Forestry Department

A long-running ITTO project in the Emerald Triangle—a biodiversity hotspot shared by Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand that hosts threatened animals like the leopard—is supporting transboundary cooperation in conservation management. Photo: Forestry Administration, Cambodia

Officers in the Myanmar Forest Department review a tree identification guide as part of ITTO project PD 270/04 Rev.2 (F), which has supported Myanmar in the in situ and ex situ conservation of its teak resources. Photo: Y. Minn/Forest Research Institute of Myanmar

ITTO project staff measure the diameter of taxi (Tachigalis vulgaris) in a former grazing area in the Amazon state of Pará, Brazil, which has been restored thanks to ITTO project PD 346/05 Rev.2 (F). Photo: P. Vanessa/EMBRAPA

A farmer stands alongside a paricá tree (Schizolobium amazonicum), a species used in the restoration of degraded lands on family farms in the Amazon state of Pará, Brazil, with support from ITTO project PD 346/05 Rev.2 (F). Photo: P. Vanessa/EMBRAPA

A farmer stands alongside a Terminalia superba tree, which is being planted with plantain to enrich degraded farmlands in Ghana as part of activities under ITTO project PD 530/08 Rev.3 (F). Photo: F. Tease/CSIR-FORIG

A forest official records the coordinates of a teak plantation as part of the development of Togo’s Forest Geographical Information System, created under ITTO project PD 581/10 Rev.2 (F). Photo: G. Gbadoe/ODEF

Flamingos wade through the Chulliyache mangroves in Peru, where biodiversity is being monitored under ITTO project PD 601/11 Rev.3 (F). Photo: Mecanismos de Desarrollo Alterno

ITTO projects are helping local communities—including in Sarawak, Malaysia—increase the resilience of their livelihoods through sustainable forest management. Photo: W. Pahon  

Project PD 635/12 Rev.2 (F) is helping improve management in the buffer zone of the Pulong Tau National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. Photo: W. Cluny  

 ITTO projects help member countries assess the state of their forest resources, such as through project PD 635/12 Rev.2 (F) in Malaysia. Photo: W. Cluny

A hunter crosses a river in the Pulong Tau National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia, where ITTO project PD 635/12 Rev.2 (F) is assisting local authorities in their approach to managing the park’s buffer zone. Photo: P. Chai

The licuala palm leaf is used as thatching in roofs as well as for fans and umbrellas by local people in the buffer zone of the Pulong Tau National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, where ITTO project PD 635/12 Rev.2 (F) is helping improve forest management and boost livelihoods. Photo: W. Pahon

A large specimen of andalas (Morus macroura) stands in a forest in Sumatra, Indonesia, where ITTO project PD 710/13 Rev.1 (F) is promoting the conservation of high-value indigenous tree species. Photo: FORDIA

A shoot of kulim (Scorodocarpus borneensis) in Bukit Duabelas National Park, Indonesia, where ITTO project PD 710/13 Rev.1 (F) is supporting efforts to conserve high-value indigenous species. Photo: FORDIA

Forest officers measure the diameter of an indigenous tree in Sumatra, Indonesia, as part of ITTO project PD 710/13 Rev.1 (F), which is supporting efforts is to conserve high-value indigenous species. Photo: FORDIA

The ITTO thematic programmes are providing a vision for a better future by enhancing the value of environmental services, such as in Mexico through ITTO project RED-PD 045/11 Rev.2 (M). Photo: G. Sánchez Vigil

Mangroves are important ecosystems that support fisheries and other local livelihoods. ITTO project RED-PD 045/11 Rev.2 (M) has evaluated the value of the environmental services provided by flooded forests and mangroves in Veracruz, Mexico. Photo: R. Carrillo/ITTO

A heron in flooded forest in Veracruz, Mexico, which is home to a wide range of flora and fauna species. ITTO project RED-PD 045/111 Rev.2 (M) has assessed the full value of forests on the coastal plains of the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: G. Sánchez Vigil

Guyana’s high-value timbers have many applications, such as in construction. ITTO project TMT-PD 006/11 Rev.3 (M) has helped improve market intelligence for the marketing of the country’s timber products. Photo: P. Bholanath/Guyana Forestry Commission

The ITTO–CITES Programme supported an activity to gather information on Dalbergia tree species in Guatemala with a view to ensuring that international trade does not jeopardize their conservation. Photo: M. Morales

These flowers of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) were collected in the Peruvian Amazon, where the ITTO–CITES Programme is assisting CITES scientific authorities to assess the population dynamics of the species. Photo: L. Ríos/CANDES

Flowers of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in the Peruvian Amazon, where the ITTO–CITES Programme is assisting the CITES scientific authority in assessing the population dynamics of the species. Photo: L. Ríos/CANDES

A field officer places a camera in a mahogany tree (Swietenia macrophylla) as part of a population dynamics study in the Peruvian Amazon, assisted by the ITTO–CITES Programme. Photo: L. Ríos/CANDES

Foresters establish a monitoring plot during a national inventory of Dalbergia species in Guatemala, with support from the ITTO–CITES Programme. Photo: R. Martínez/FNPV

Foresters measure the diameter of a Brazilian cedar (Cedrelinga catenaeformis), a species often found in association with mahogany trees. The ITTO–CITES Programme is helping Brazil better understand mahogany population dynamics. Photo: S. Hirakuri/STCP

Agarwood chips are processed by hand in a community enterprise in Assam, India, where the ITTO–CITES Programme is helping improve the management of the species in both wild and planted forests. Photo: Assam Agarwood Association

A young man makes a winnower using bamboo harvested in local hill forests in Lohaghat, Uttarakhand, India. ITTO Fellow Deepti Verma has helped assess the potential of non-timber forest products as a source of livelihoods in the area. Photo: D. Verma/ITTO Fellow

ITTO Fellow Paul Kweku conducts research on the seed quality of indigenous tree species in Ghana. Photo: P. Kweku

ITTO Fellow Modhumita Dasgupta practises molecular cytogenetic techniques as part of her training at Texas A&M University. Photo: M. Dasgupta