Tropical Timber Trade Facility

Why this project?

In many tropical timber-producing countries, the industry is faced with persistent illegal trade, opaque supply chains and limited adoption of sustainability standards. These situations weaken forest governance, compromise the competitiveness of legal products on international markets and threaten the ecological, social and economic sustainability of forest areas.

Four strategic priorities of the TTT project:

Strengthening legality and traceability: it supports the development and consolidation of national timber traceability systems to ensure supply chain transparency and traceability of commercially harvested tree from forest to market.
Promoting private certification schemes : it supports forestry and timber companies in adopting internationally recognised voluntary certification systems (such as FSC or PEFC), which integrate environmental, economic and social dimensions. All schemes use third party auditing to ensure compliance with their standards.
Improving market access: it works to facilitate access to international markets for verified legal and sustainable tropical timber products from partner countries, including the promotion of Lesser-Known Timber Species (LKTS).
Enhancing knowledge and strengthening dialogue: it promotes structured dialogue between public authorities and private actors, while supporting the strengthening of the institutional and operational capacities of the various actors in the forestry sector, for example through trainings.

ATIBT's role in the TTT project:

As part of the TTT project, ATIBT plays a key role in promoting dialogue between federations, improving traceability systems and promoting sustainable tropical timber on global markets.

Promote dialogue and cooperation between African, Chinese and European federations, in particular through a federation commission.

Establishment of a commission of African, Chinese and European federations to structure dialogue.
Organisation of inter-federation workshops and meetings to share best practices and harmonise sustainability standards.

Analyse traceability systems to make supply chains more transparent and reliable.

Analysis of national traceability systems to identify areas for improvement.
Supporting stakeholders to enhance the transparency and reliability of supply chain information.

Supporting companies in obtaining certification and complying with environmental and social standards (FSC, PEFC, etc.).

Technical support for forestry companies to obtain FSC or PEFC certification.
Assistance with integrating environmental, social and economic considerations into everyday practices.

Capacity building for public authorities and operators, Support for training centres to offer programmes tailored to the needs of operators.

Organisation of training courses and workshops for local stakeholders and public authorities to strengthen technical and regulatory skills.
Development of educational tools and practical guides to facilitate the adoption of good practices.

Promotion of sustainable tropical timber on international markets through the Fair&Precious brand.

Promotion of verified legal and sustainable timber and wood products on international markets.
Using the Fair&Precious brand to create increased demand for certified timber and wood products
Organisation of awareness campaigns to inform consumers and partners about sustainability issues.
Increasing market acceptance of Lesser-Known Timber Species (LKTS) through promotion and awareness raising

Target groups & partners

1. Forestry companies and timber operators

2. Professional federations and associations

3. Public authoritiers and national institutions

4. Training centres and field operators

5. International markets and consumers.

Location

Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, China, European Union

Duration and funding

August 2025 – October 2026
€1.5 million funded by the German government, with co-financing from ATIBT, the European Union and FFEM.