During 2024, ATIBT continued its work to promote economic, social and environmental development based on the tropical wood value chain.
We have supported forestry companies in Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Guyana, Brazil and Peru. We have also initiated actions to promote the sustainable management of the community forests of the Selva Maya in Mexico and Guatemala.
Our action was deployed on the markets through initiatives carried out directly in producer countries, while maintaining close links with numerous players in the trade and processing industry, both in producer countries and in Europe, America and Asia.
The year was marked by a number of challenges, both old and new, which provided lessons on the strategies to be implemented to defend the sustainable tropical timber sector. Although the context was varied, a number of common objectives emerged: preserving a significant number of jobs, reducing the risk of deforestation through sustainable management of tropical forests, capitalizing on the knowledge of certified players to ensure the sustainability of resources, and the emergence of new economic opportunities. The difficult market situation was of course an omnipresent topic, impacting the entire sector.
ATIBT's priorities were discussed at board meetings and at the two General Assemblies held in 2024, as well as during exchanges in Nantes and at the Antwerp forum. Among the topics addressed were professional training, support for certification, technical assistance to encourage investment, innovative financing mechanisms and support for export and import procedures for CITES-listed species.
These themes were then explored in greater depth within the Commissions, which play an essential role in the association's operations.
All ATIBT members can take part.
The year 2025 will begin with a particular focus on the challenge of understanding and recognizing the ATIBT's actions. The aim will be to make the ATIBT's message better heard by public players, both in producer countries and in European capitals, in Brussels and by international bodies such as IUCN and CITES. In particular, this approach will aim to promote sustainable management as a key lever for achieving climate and biodiversity objectives, to facilitate market access for certified tropical products, and to integrate criteria favourable to sustainable tropical wood into regulations.
The entire ATIBT team and its President would like to thank its members and partners for their trust, commitment and support for its vision.
The ATIBT team
