ATIBT's commissions at the heart of the actions for our association

There is no shortage of actions within the ATIBT! They are organized around a sectoral dialogue on tropical wood, for all the actors concerned closely or remotely by the sector, by the activities of sustainable management and marketing of tropical wood.

All the actions carried out by the association can be found in three instruments which form the cogs of the ATIBT and are intertwined:

(i) Events: Forum, Racewood, and Think Tank, which are based on the projects and commissions

(ii) Commissions, which are directly involved in ATIBT's activities and rely on their members, ATIBT projects, and events.

(i) Projects financed from own funds or from our donors that mobilize the ATIBT on key issues in the forestry sector that originate in the discussions of the commissions and events

Therefore, the commissions are the essential instrument to ensure good coherence between the actions of the ATIBT and the wishes of the members. They bring together the Members of the Association who wish to contribute to discussions on the main issues facing the tropical timber sector, sometimes with external speakers. In addition to these committees, there is also the Scientific Council.

Here is a summary of ATIBT's commissions:

Marketing Commission

The Marketing Commission is chaired by Mr. Olman Serrano, President of the ATIBT, and its secretary is Benoit Jobbé-Duval, with the support of Bertrand Faucon, Project Manager of the program.

This Commission is responsible for the deployment of the "Fair&Precious" brand and the "African wood, much more than wood" campaign. At present, the main challenges of these programs include advocacy against illegal timber, dialogue with Chinese buyers with their good information on sustainable management issues, and the better valorization of certification on European markets.

Certification Commission

The Certification Commission is co-chaired by Nicolas Perthuisot and Sophie Dirou. The secretariat is provided by Caroline Duhesme.

This commission took off in 2020, to reach a cruising speed on the following topics in 2021:

• Monitoring of certified areas
• Monitoring the PPECF coaching process
• Monitoring of HCV and IFL work in the framework of FSC standards (in connection with the preparation of the FSC GA)
• Follow-up on the development of the Congo Basin PAFC regional scheme
• Reflections on legal incentives for certification
• Follow-up of the Strategies against Imported Deforestation (France, EU...)

This commission includes :

• an IFL sub-group dedicated to the preparation of the next FSC GA, and the debate on the IFL issue and
• another sub-group, under construction, on Imported Deforestation. 

 Training Commission

Due to its role as a technical reference for the "tropical wood" sector, and awareness of the changes in the sector, the ATIBT is a strategic player in raising awareness, training, and informing the various players in the forestry sector. ATIBT has thus made training a key part of its strategy, which contributes to the sector's profitability, flexibility, and personal development.

The year 2020 saw the launch of the ADEFAC project, the establishment of a technical implementation team for the project by ATIBT and RIFFEAC, and the start of activities, despite the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the work of the ATIBT Training Commission will be relaunched around actions chosen and carried out by its members and linked to the activities of the ADEFAC project, whose implementation will accelerate.

The commission is chaired by Patrick Charpentier and the secretariat is provided by Elise Mazeyrac.

Forestry & Industry Commission

The Forestry & Industry Commission was re-launched in 2018. Its chairman is Nicolas Bayol, and its secretary Jacqueline Lardit van de Pol.

The main topics in 2021 are the following:

- A continuation of the activities concerning the renewal of the development plans:

• Finalization of the concept note;
• Exchanges with the Ministries in charge of forests;
• Search for funding.

- A continuation of activities related to the development of the processing industry, with particular attention to :

• Processing and market research for as yet unexploited species
• African market opportunities for wood products from sustainably managed forests

- Several members are contributing to the new edition of the "State of the Forest", in the chapter on the wood sector;

- The committee is looking for industrial members, including those specializing in 2nd and 3rd transformation, whether they are based in Africa or elsewhere.

Agroforestry Commission

This commission was created this year. It is open to members of the ATIBT but also to the entities of the Cité du Développement Durable de Nogent su Marne, at the initiative of the Cité's agroforestry working group.

It summarizes the activities carried out over the last 3 years by ATIBT "Agroforestry Group".

Register for the commission.

Scientific Council 

The Scientific Council, formed in 2017, is chaired by Professor Jean-Louis Doucet. It brings together scientific partners specialized in issues related to the sustainable management of tropical forests.

The Council can be consulted by the ATIBT or can call upon the Association to give an opinion on a scientific problem in a well-defined theme deemed a priority for the ATIBT. The composition of the Council allows a neutral and independent diagnosis.

The Scientific Council is particularly involved in the scientific steering of the DynAfFor and P3FAC projects on the future of sustainable management in the Congo Basin.