New coalition aims to stimulate demand

Tropical timber import volumes have been falling over the past few years. The EU Sustainable Tropical Timber Coalition (STTC) is an important initiative to stimulate demand for tropical products in Europe.

It is supported by IDH - the Dutch sustainable trade initiative. Together with key partners the STTC aims to strengthen the business case for forest certification by making it more attractive for concession holders to invest in certification. The goal is to increase the sustainable management of tropical forests to at least 10 million ha by 2015.

The coalition covers the usual multistakeholder perspectives from government, private and NGO sectors.

The Timber Trade Federation's (TTF) involvement is through our membership of the two industry lead partners: the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) and Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux (ATIBT). Together they represent an industry perspective that covers the whole timber supply chain; from forests to end markets.

Our role is to support both organisations in ensuring the STTC's agenda is industry focused. Given that the project director is Hans Stout, former CEO of Precious Woods, we are confident he will also keep the needs of industry high on the agenda.

At a strategic level, the TTF will provide inputs into the working groups on behalf of the ETTF. TTF head of external affairs David Hopkins will provide his expertise at the PR and communication working group and I will work with the legality and sustainability working group. Other groups are promotion of tropical timber, business encounters and technical issues. The TTF is drumming up interest within the UK industry to join the coalition.

Initially the response was weak, however, after more focused conversations we have interest from three to join the coalition. These members have, in principle, agreed to develop an action plan to promote and grow UK demand for tropical timber.

Details of TTF members involved will be made available after the official launch of the EU STTC on November 6 in Amsterdam. Further details are available at www.eusttc.com/en/home.

? TTJ Industry Updates are a forum for trade bodies to address key issues.