International Tropical Timber Agreement

International Tropical Timber Agreement

 

Chapter I
Objectives

Article 1
Objectives

With a view to achieving the relevant objectives adopted by the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development in its resolutions 93 (IV)
and 124 (V) on the Integrated Programme for Commodities, for the benefit
of both producing and consuming members and bearing in mind the
sovereignty of producing members over their natural resources, the
objectives of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983
(hereinafter referred to as “this Agreement”) are:

(a) To provide an effective framework for cooperation and
consultation between tropical timber producing and consuming members with
regard to all relevant aspects of the tropical timber economy;

(b) To promote the expansion and diversification of international
trade in tropical timber and the improvement of structural conditions in
the tropical timber market, by taking into account, on the one hand, a
long-term increase in consumption and continuity of supplies, and, on the
other, prices which are remunerative to producers and equitable for
consumers, and the improvement of market access;

(c) To promote and support research and development with a view to
improving forest management and wood utilization;

(d) To improve market intelligence with a view to ensuring greater
transparency in the international tropical timber market;

(e) To encourage increased and further processing of tropical timber
in producing member countries with a view to promoting their
industrialization and thereby increasing their export earnings;

(f) To encourage members to support and develop industrial tropical
timber reforestation and forest management activities;

(g) To improve marketing and distribution of tropical timber exports
of producing members;

(h) To encourage the development of national policies aimed at
sustainable utilization and conservation of tropical forests and their
genetic resources, and at maintaining the ecological balance in the
regions concerned.

Chapter II
Definitions

Article 2
Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

1. “Tropical timber”means non-coniferous tropical wood for industrial
uses, which grows or is produced in the countries situated between the
Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The term covers logs,
sawnwood, veneer sheets and plywood. Plywood which includes in some
measure conifers of tropical origin shall also be covered by this
definition.

2. “Further processing”means the transformation of logs into primary
wood products, semi-finished and finished products made wholly or almost
wholly of tropical timber.

3. “Member”means a Government or an intergovernmental organization
referred to in article 5 which has consented to be bound by this
Agreement whether it is in force provisionally or definitively.

4. “Producing member”means any country with tropical forest resources
and/or a net exporter of tropical timber in volume terms which is listed
in annex A and which becomes a party to this Agreement, or any country
with tropical forest resources and/or a net exporter of tropical timber
in volume terms which is not so listed and which becomes a party to this
Agreement and which the Council, with the consent of that country,
declares to be a producing member.

5. “Consuming member”means any country listed in annex B which becomes a
party to this Agreement, or any country not so listed which becomes a
party to this Agreement and which the Council, with the consent of that
country, declares to be a consuming member.

6. “Organization”means the International Tropical Timber Organization
established in accordance with article 3.

7. “Council”means the International Tropical Timber Council established
in accordance with article 6.

8. “Special vote”means a vote requiring at least two thirds of the votes
cast by producing members present and voting and at least 60 per cent of
the votes cast by consuming members present and voting, counted
separately, on condition that these votes are cast by at least half of
the producing members present and voting and at least half of the
consuming members present and voting.

9. “Simple distributed majority vote”means a vote requiring more than
half of the votes cast by producing members present and voting and more
than half of the votes cast by consuming members present and voting,
counted separately.

10. “Financial year”means the period from 1 January to 31 December
inclusive.

11. “Freely usable currencies”means the Deutsche mark, the French franc,
the Japanese yen, the pound sterling, the United States dollar and any
other currency which has been designated from time to time by a competent
international monetary organization as being in fact widely used to make
payments for international transactions and widely traded in the
principal exchange markets.

Chapter III
Organization and Administration

Article 3
Eesblishment, Headquarters ans Structure of the International Tropical timber Organization

1. The International Tropical Timber Organization is hereby established
to administer the provisions and supervise the operation of this
Agreement.

2. The Organization shall function through the International Tropical
Timber Council established under article 6, the committees and other
subsidiary bodies referred to in article 24, and the Executive Director
and staff.

3. The Council shall, at its first session, decide on the location of the
headquarters of the Organization.

4. The headquarters of the Organization shall at all times be located in
the territory of a member.

 

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Conventions: Chronological Index 1971-1990, Flora and Fauna – Biodiversity conventions, International Tropical Timber Agreement 2, International Tropical Timber Agreement 3, International Tropical Timber Agreement 4, International Tropical Timber Agreement 5, country.


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