International Forum of Sustainable Forest Products Industry - Sustainable Wood for a Sustainable World

The meeting held on 23-25 November 2019, in Nanning, China promoted an exchange among China and some of its main trade partners from the developing world on how to make international timber trade work for improving sustainability of wood value chains and unlocking their contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals. During two days of discussions and one day of field visits, representatives from public and private sector from more than fifteen countries and international organizations had in-depth discussions on how to collaborate to reduce pressure on forests, in particular the “boom and bust” of species which are high in consumer preferences, improve forest governance with understanding and respect of countries’ laws, and increase employment opportunities in wood supplier countries.

Participants provided concrete suggestions for South-South cooperation, including: training for wood processing to increase generation of skilled jobs; investments and technology transfer for increased wood processing; generation of evidence to support better integration of sustainable wood value chains in REDD+ strategies, increase exchanges for better understanding and respect of national legal systems, technical exchanges and capacity building on plantation systems.