09.01.2026
To kick off 2026, ATIBT invites you to take a look at the various technical publications from 2025 that were produced as part of its activities by various researchers, partners and members of the association's team.
Guide to the performance and functional requirements of African tropical timber structures.
The year 2025 saw the publication of the guide to the performance and functional requirements of African tropical timber structures. This guide, translated into English and with German and Italian versions planned, responds to a request from project owners, mainly architects, who wish to use tropical woods in public procurement contracts due to their specific performance characteristics, and who may encounter certain difficulties when drafting the special technical specifications (CCTP). This guide was produced by CIRAD (Jean Gérard and Paul Cuveillier) with financial support from the PPECF (Program for the Promotion of Certified Forest Management). It also benefited from contributions from LCB (Le Commerce du Bois). The guide covers trends in the production and markets of tropical woods in Central Africa, as well as eco-certification and legality. The performance and functional requirements of thirteen families of tropical wood products are then described.
Two scientific articles for the UFA-Reforest project in 2025
The UFA-Reforest project, which ended in December 2025, resulted in the publication of two articles written by researchers from the University of Gembloux (see the links below for the names of all the authors):
With the aim of improving knowledge on the enrichment of logging gaps, researchers from Gembloux-Agro Bio Tech, University of Liège, conducted a study in southeastern Cameroon. This study tested 15 species of high commercial value planted in logging gaps and monitored over a period of 14 to 19 years. It presents fraké (Terminalia superba) as a species with high potential for planting in logging gaps. The scientific article can be found here.
Researchers at the University of Liège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, also conducted a scientific study to identify the factors that promote the performance of local species in plantations in the Guineo-Congolese region of Africa. Find the full scientific article here.
A study on sustainable management in Asian forest concessions in Gabon:
As part of the dual degree program between Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech and AgroParisTech, Élise Cambier wrote a thesis at ATIBT on the challenges of sustainable management in Asian-owned forest concessions in Gabon. This work, supported by GIZ and defended in September 2025, is part of the ongoing efforts of ATIBT and GIZ to help forestry companies better integrate sustainability principles.
The study was conducted in the field in three Asian concessions with different levels of certification (certified sustainable, certified legal, and uncertified) and is based on a qualitative and comparative approach. It analyzes how these companies understand, interpret, and implement sustainable management requirements in an often complex institutional and economic context.
Find the article on this study here.
Update to Technical Data Sheet No. 4
Finally, as part of its technical information mission, in 2025 the ATIBT published an updated version of its Technical Data Sheet No. 4 on the natural durability of wood.
This update includes a few improvements:
This sheet is intended for all players in the wood industry and is available on our website in the technical publications section, under the category wood materials & standardization, via this link
