technical working group 11

7/29/2019 Technical Working Group 11

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Evaluation and Enhancement of ITTOs

Statistical Functions and Networks

ITTO Pre-Project PPD 12/95 Rev. 2 (M)

Report of the Technical Working Group

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

GLOSSARY.........................................................................................................................................................III

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................................IV

1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................................1

2 THE EXISTING STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBERORGANISATION..................................................................................................................................................2

AIMSAND OBJECTIVES..........................................................................................................................................2METHODOLOGIES..................................................................................................................................................2

Details of Annual Forecasting and Statistical Enquiry Form..........................................................................3Projects..............................................................................................................................................................3

Training Workshops .....................................................................................................................................................4Infrastructure and Capacity Projects.............................................................................................................................4Market Information Studies..........................................................................................................................................4Market News Service (MNS) and Tropical Timber Market Intelligence Service (TTMIS).........................................4Analysis of Supply and Demand in the Asia Pacific Region.........................................................................................4

Miscellaneous Projects..................................................................................................................................................4Other ITTO Projects......................................................................................................................................................5

ITTO Fellowships...............................................................................................................................................5Use of other data sources..................................................................................................................................5

RESOURCES:.......................................................................................................................................................6Personnel...........................................................................................................................................................6Data processing facilities..................................................................................................................................6Member countries capabilities for producing forestry and timber statistics for ITTO..................................7

OUTPUTS:...........................................................................................................................................................7Annual Review...................................................................................................................................................8Tropical Timber Market Information Service (TTMIS)....................................................................................8

3 METHODOLOGY TO IMPROVE ITTOS STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS AND COMPLY WITHTHE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER AGREEMENT, 1994......9

AIMSAND OBJECTIVES:.........................................................................................................................................9DEFININGDATAREQUIREMENTS..............................................................................................................................10

Interpretation of Non-tropical timber.............................................................................................................10Information needs on Forest Management.....................................................................................................11

REVISIONOF METHODOLOGIES:.............................................................................................................................13Improvement in the design of the Enquiry Form............................................................................................13Co-ordination and Co-operation ....................................................................................................................14

Issues needing investigation for development of Joint Questionnaires.......................................................................14

The role of projects in the ITTO statistical network.......................................................................................15Role of training workshops.........................................................................................................................................15Role of Infrastructure and Capacity Projects...............................................................................................................15Market Information Studies........................................................................................................................................16Tropical Timber Market Information Service.............................................................................................................16

RESOURCESAND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES...................................................................................................................16ITTO Secretariat..............................................................................................................................................16Data Processing and Dissemination...............................................................................................................16

OUTPUTS..........................................................................................................................................................17Annual Review.................................................................................................................................................17The Tropical Timber Market Information Service (TTMIS)...........................................................................18

APPENDIX 1: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS OF SESSIONS I AND II OF THE TECHNICAL WORKINGGROUP.................................................................................................................................................................20

APPENDIX 2: MINUTES OF THE FIRST MEETING OF THE TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP...21

APPENDIX 3: RELEVANT ARTICLES OF THE INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBERAGREEMENT, 1983 AND 1994.........................................................................................................................26

APPENDIX 4: COUNTRY REPORTS PREPARED BY THE CONSULTANTS.......................................30

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CHINA.............................................................................................................................................................30INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................30DATA COLLECTION.............................................................................................................................................30

ITTO Proposed Project: China's Consumption of Forest Products and Its Demands for them from theInternational Tropical Forest Products Market to the Year 2010...................................................................30

GABON............................................................................................................................................................31

INTRODUCTION

...................................................................................................................................................31Data Collection................................................................................................................................................32Training Needs.................................................................................................................................................32ITTO Project - PD 36/92.................................................................................................................................32ITTO Proposed Project - PD 29/96(M)...........................................................................................................32

INDONESIA........................................................................................................................................................33INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................33FOREST LAND USEIN INDONESIA 1988..................................................................................................................33DATA COLLECTION.............................................................................................................................................33TRAINING NEEDS...............................................................................................................................................34ITTO PUBLICATIONS..........................................................................................................................................34LISTOF PERSONNEL CONSULTED...........................................................................................................................34KOREA............................................................................................................................................................35INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................35

DATA COLLECTION.............................................................................................................................................35ITTO PUBLICATIONS..........................................................................................................................................35DATAON SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT........................................................................................................35LISTOF PERSONNEL CONSULTED...........................................................................................................................35MALAYSIA........................................................................................................................................................36INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................36DATA COLLECTION.............................................................................................................................................36VIEWSONFILLING ITTO'SFORECASTINGANDSTATISTICALENQUIRYDATACOLLECTIONFORM.............................................37THE NETHERLANDS............................................................................................................................................38PERU...............................................................................................................................................................38

Data collection.................................................................................................................................................39ITTO Questionnaire.........................................................................................................................................39ITTO projects...................................................................................................................................................39

Proposed project PD 27/95 Rev 2 (M): Establishment and operation of a forest strategic informationcentre (CIEF)....................................................................................................................................................39UNITED KINGDOM..............................................................................................................................................40U.S.A.............................................................................................................................................................42

APPENDIX 5: REVIEW BY CONSULTANT OF TRAINING WORKSHOPS..........................................43

APPENDIX 6: DECISION 4 (XIV)....................................................................................................................44

APPENDIX 7: GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING FORESTRY INFORMATIONSYSTEMS.............................................................................................................................................................45

APPENDIX 8: ELEMENTS FOR PREPARING AND ASSESSING PROJECT PROPOSALS ONSTATISTICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS..................................................................................................46

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GLOSSARY

A.T.O. African Timber Organisation

A.T.T.O. Asian Tropical Timber OrganisationC.I.S. Commonwealth of Independent States

E.C. European Commission

E.I.M.I. Economic Information and Market Intelligence (a committee of ITTO)

F.A.O. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

G.R.A. Global Resources Assessment

H.S. Harmonised System

I.H.P.A. International Wood Products Association

I.P.F. Inter-Governmental Panel on Forests

I.T.T.A. International Tropical Timber Agreement

I.T.T.C. International Tropical Timber Council

I.T.T.O. International Tropical Timber Organisation

I.W.G. Inter-Secretariat Working Group (on Forest Statistics)

M.N.S. Market News Service

N.G.O. Non Governmental Organisation

O.E.C.D. Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development

P.F.E. Permanent Forest Estate

S.I.T.C. Standard International Trade Classification

T.T.M.I.S. Tropical Timber Market Information Service

T.W.G. Technical Working Group

U.C.B.T. Union Commercial Bois Tropical

U.N.C.E.D. United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development

U.N.E.C.E. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe


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Executive Summary

Pre-Project PPD 12/95 Rev.2(M) has four specific objectives:

1. To evaluate ITTO's statistical operations in the light of the ITTA, 1994, the ITTO ActionPlan, non-project and project activities, and coordination and cooperation with otherrelevant organizations.

2. To assess and evaluate the present situation regarding the information systems ofproducer and consumer countries relating to tropical forest timber, such as statistics onexports and imports, harvest volume of logs, production of sawn timber, veneer, and

plywood.

3. To provide guidance to all members regarding elements for developing forestryinformation systems and to assist producer countries in the design and formulation of

projects to establish information network systems.

4. To better enable producer and consumer countries of ITTO and others to exchangeinformation about timber and wood products trade, market, and forest management.

To meet these objectives, Mr Tong Kok Hung (Malaysia) and Dr Jon Heuch (UK) werecommissioned as consultants. A Technical Working Group (TWG) was chartered to guide thework of the consultants and review, assess and deliberate the consultants' suggestions. The TWG,composed of experts from six producer and six consumer member countries, formulated the keyfindings and recommendations that are listed below.

For each specific objective of the pre-project, the objective is listed followed by the key findingsand recommendations (in italics) associated with it. The main report of the TWG follows.

Objective 1: To evaluate ITTO's statistical operations in the light of the ITTA, 1994, the ITTOAction Plan, non-project and project activities, and coordination and cooperation with otherrelevant organizations.

Findings and Recommendations

1. The evolution from the ITTA of 1983 to the ITTA of 1994 does not materially changethe overall goals of ITTO's statistical functions. Broadly, there are three goals for ITTO'sstatistical work:

- to enhance market transparency,- to inform members of developments in the international tropical timber market,

- to promote continuity in wood supply by providing information on members'activities to advance sustainable management of timber producing forests.

2. The first goal, seen in both the ITTA, 1983 and the ITTA, 1994 is to improve markettransparency. To do this reliable data on tropical timber production, trade and pricesare necessary. The major users of such information are the producers and traders intropical timber who are seeking opportunities and outlets for tropical timber. To beeffective, these data need to be provided in a timely fashion, at regular and frequentintervals. Another group of end users of data on market prices is in the financialcommunity, especially the company analysts located in the major stock markets of theworld. Their requirements are different to those of the traders, needing higher qualityindependent information, probably less frequently than the traders. Currently, ITTOadvances market transparency through its bi-weekly Tropical Timber Market Information


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System (TTMIS). The linkage of the TTMIS with ITTO's other statistical functions is notyet established, and long term funding has not been secured.

Recommendations: The TTMIS is valuable and should be strengthened and continued.A price database should be developed to feed into the Annual Review. Better continuityin financing the TTMIS activities is needed.

3. A new statistical function, added by the ITTA, 1994, is that of placing the production andtrade of tropical timber in an international context. This will involve obtaining andanalysing data on all timber. This information is relevant for a general understanding oftropical timber trade vis--vis the global timber trade and for monitoring substitution

between tropical and non-tropical timber. The types of market data that will be relevantto the ITTA, 1994 depend on the prevailing market conditions. While concerns existabout competition between non-tropical and tropical timber, from a practical perspectivethe collection of data on non-tropical timber will need a different approach to that takenon tropical timber. Firstly, the market for non-tropical timber is more voluminous, moreuniform and more transparent than that for tropical timber. Secondly, there is

considerably more information available, either in the public domain or from commercialorganisations. Thirdly, the UNECE and FAO already collect data on production and tradeof all timber, although this data does not differentiate between tropical and non-tropicaltimber for the range of products and countries relevant to ITTO.

Recommendations: ITTO should not use the same approaches for both tropical andnon-tropical timbers. ITTO would best serve its members if it could not only collect butalso better interpret data, putting the tropical data into the context of the global market

place, identifying trends and future developments. ITTO should only collect frommember states and other primary sources data which are not available in a reliable andtimely manner from other organizations. Resources should be used for better analysis ofall data rather than for primary collection of non-tropical data.

4. Understanding the role of tropical timber trade in the world timber economy is importantto consumer and producer countries, and other groups involved in the production, exportand import of tropical forest products. Currently, ITTO informs members ofdevelopments in the international markets for tropical timber through the Annual Reviewand Assessment of the World Tropical Timber Situation and through its quarterlyTropical Forest Update.

Recommendation: The Annual Review should focus on analysing the tropical timbermarket and providing insights rather than simply being used to compile more data.

5. The third statistical function, again added by the ITTA, 1994, is to record and makeavailable statistics and information from members on activities concerning themanagement of timber producing forests. A number of groups need this information,including industry, environmental groups and member governments. Currently, membercountries share information on their achievements in this area through national reports

provided to the Council each year using the format provided in Decision 4(XIV) (seeAppendix 6). Presently, countries are sharing information on forest resources and forestmanagement in a great variety of ways. Given this variety in data presentation, it is not

possible to compile these data in a meaningful way.

Recommendation: Members should be encouraged to follow the format proposed inDecision 4/(XIV) when submitting reports to Council.

6. For its Annual Review and Assessment of the World Tropical Timber Situation, ITTO

relies on an annual statistical enquiry to be completed by member governments.However, member submissions sometimes do not meet the requirements of ITTO and


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must be supplemented by data collected from other international organisations, throughITTO projects, and from other unofficial sources. Poor statistical responses are due

partially to problems in interpreting the questionnaires and partly to deficiencies instatistical capacity (see Objectives 2 and 3).

Recommendation: Streamline, strengthen and focus the Annual Forecasting and

Statistical Enquiry. See paragraphs 3-28 to 3-37 of the main report for specificchanges recommended.

7. Currently, ITTO is a member of an informal Inter-Secretariat Working Group on ForestStatistics (FAO, ECE, ITTO, OECD, EC and Eurostat). This group seeks to coordinateand rationalize the collection of statistics from member countries.

Recommendation: The Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Forest Statistics (IWG)represents a useful mechanism for coordination and harmonization of statisticalenquiries. ITTO should actively participate in this group and investigate the potential of

joint questionnaire(s) with FAO/ECE and/or FAO through the IWG.

8. It is clear that ITTA, 1994 demands more of the ITTO in terms of data collection,synthesis, analysis as well as liaison with other organisations. It is also clear that theexisting resources within the organization devoted to market analysis and statisticalinformation are limiting. At present, very few resources are being focused on the outlookfor trade in tropical timber. The new agreement emphasizes increased sharing ofinformation on trends and developments in the international trade of timber products. Tomeet this goal of increased information sharing, ITTO will either have to garner additionalfinancial and staff resources or reallocate its existing budgetary and staff resources.

Recommendation: Council should allocate more resources to gathering, analysing anddisseminating information as required by the expansion of these activities as called forunder the ITTA, 1994.

Objective 2: To assess and evaluate the present situation regarding the information systems ofproducer and consumer countries relating to tropical forest timber, such as statistics on exportsand imports, harvest volume of logs, production of sawn timber, veneer, and plywood.


1. Most countries have some type of information system in place. These vary widely inquality and coverage, however, with the focus usually on national needs which may not

be easily harmonized with ITTO's requirements. Several countries produce some form ofstatistical publication(s) on the forest sector which are subject to the same problem of

harmonization.


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2. Based on the information being reported by members through the Annual Forecasting andStatistical Enquiry, the TWG identified three groups of member countries.

i) Countries that respond satisfactorily to the ITTO enquiry(10-15% of producers, 60-70% of consumers)

ii) Countries that can partially respond to the enquiry(70-80% of producers, 20-30% of consumers)

iii) Countries that respond unsatisfactorily to the enquiry(10-20% of producers, 5-15% of consumers)

Recommendation: ITTO should invite members to give details of their existinginformation system(s) and estimates of resources required to meet the needs of ITTO(see general guidelines for information systems, Appendix 7).

3. Based on the information available, the TWG found that a primary issue in manycountries with problems was the lack of adequate resources and training at the field level.Countries in which the forest sector is a minor component of the overall economy are less

motivated to devote resources to monitoring it.

4. The country reports prepared by member countries as part of ITTO's statisticalworkshops have been valuable in analysing forestry information systems. The statisticaltraining workshops have significantly boosted the response rates to the Annual Enquiry.

5. Statistical correspondents often have to source the data required by ITTO from variousagencies. Correspondents in consumer countries often find it difficult to distinguishtropical timber production and trade from that of all timbers. Moreover, statisticalcorrespondents usually have a range of other tasks besides collecting statistics, and inmany countries only remain in the position for a relatively short period of time.

Recommendations: ITTO should continue the statistical workshop programme,

developing a revised curriculum as suggested in the recent review of the programme(see Appendix 5). The workshops should continue to focus on field level personnel and

statistical correspondents.

The statistical workshops should be used for more detailed consultations with individualcountries to identify problems and propose solutions. Special effort should be made to

secure the participation of and identify the problems in the countries having difficultiesin meeting ITTO's statistical requirements.

Objective 3: To provide guidance to all members regarding elements for developing forestry

information systems and to assist producer countries in the design and formulation of projects toestablish information network systems.


1. No general guidance now exists for developing forestry information systems that will helpcountries supply information that ITTO requests. The TWG developed a list of generalguidelines for developing forestry information systems that would meet ITTO's needs forstatistical information (see Appendix 7).

Recommendation: ITTO should adopt the general guidelines for the development offorestry information systems contained in Appendix 7.

2. At least one country in each region now has a reasonable statistical system in operation orunder development with assistance from ITTO


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Recommendation: Member countries should learn from successful statistical systemimplementation in neighbouring countries. ITTO should document the common

features of successful systems it has assisted in developing, for reference by allmembers.

3. Countries facing difficulty in formulating projects on statistical information systems will

benefit considerably from technical and financial assistance under existing provisions ofITTO (i.e. pre-projects and assistance under PD 73/93).

Recommendation: Member countries should be encouraged to seek assistance fordesigning and formulating projects for developing/improving statistical information

systems.

4. ITTO`s Expert Panel for Project Appraisal has developed general elements for preparingand assessing project proposals on statistical information systems. The TWG modifiedthese to better reflect elements of system sustainability and compatibility with ITTO'srequirements (see Appendix 8).

Recommendation: These elements should be widely circulated to members and shouldbe used by the Expert Panel for Project Appraisal when evaluating any statisticaldevelopment proposals.

5. Some countries have developed information systems with project assistance from ITTO.These projects benefit ITTO members by increasing the timeliness and quality of the dataavailable to them and to ITTO. Effective liaison between ITTO and the implementingagencies will enhance the value of these projects.

Recommendation: Better communication, guidance and liaison from ITTO toimplementing agencies involved in statistical development projects should be soughtthrough a combination of in-country monitoring and evaluation of projects and (whereavailable) via electronic communication.

6. Effective and timely communication and contact between member countries as well aswith ITTO is the key to a successful information network system. The Internet offers anopportunity to ITTO and member countries for a common forum for sharing information.

Recommendation: Member countries and ITTO should be encouraged to developcapacity for electronic communication via the Internet, to allow establishment of inter-country and ITTO information networks.

Objective 4: To better enable producer and consumer countries of ITTO and others toexchange information about timber and wood products trade, market and forest management.


1. Currently ITTO members share information on market conditions through the annualmarket discussions at sessions of the ITTO Council. Through completion of the annualstatistical enquiry, members share information on production and trade trends.

Industry from ITTO member countries are also active in regional associations thatpromote trade and information exchange such as ATO, ATTO, UCBT, IHPA, etc.

ITTO producer countries are rapidly moving downstream into the manufacture of value-added products from their timber resources. As a consequence, for market informationand discussion at ITTO to be relevant, more information must be shared on downstream

processing.


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Recommendations: To remain relevant to trade and industry, ITTO's statistical efforts,studies and market discussions should increase their focus on key downstream marketsand production technologies. Rather than only a broad, general discussion on the stateof the market each year, the Annual Review and annual market discussion should alsooffer some special treatment of a specific evolving market, industry or technology

affecting the use of tropical timber.2. Through their reports on progress towards the year 2000 Objective, ITTO members

share information on forest resources, forest legislation, policy, socio-economicconditions and other factors impacting sustainable forest management.

Most ITTO member countries are also actively participating in or monitoring the variousinter-governmental processes discussing sustainable forest management and criteria andindicators for measuring it, e.g. Tarapoto, Helsinki, Montreal, IPF.

As the inter-governmental dialogue on the indicators for sustainable forest management iscontinuing, it is presently difficult for ITTO members to settle upon a comprehensive listof comparable statistics to publish related to management of their timber producing

forests (see Article 29.1, ITTA, 1994).

Recommendations: It is not productive to collect annual information on forestmanagement through the ITTO Annual Statistical Enquiry. Instead, the individualcountry reports on progress towards the Year 2000 Objective remain the best availablemechanism to share information on the sustainable management of timber producing

forests.

To further facilitate data collection, a special enquiry form to be completed by membersevery three years with the country report should be developed. In the first stage, datacollection should concentrate on those basic data on timber producing forests that areeasily available in most member countries, for example: forest area (divided into

subgroups); areas of afforestation/reforestation/enrichment planting; and harvest area.

3. The recent formation of regional offices by ITTO should create new opportunities forsharing information.

Recommendation: The ITTO regional offices should be used more fully to collect anddistribute information of relevance to the organization.

4. Currently, ITTO distributes its information, project documents, project reports, etc. in awide array of formats. This confuses some readers. As a result, ITTO may not begetting full recognition for its efforts.

The Internet has created an important new means for ITTO members to share

information.Recommendation: ITTO should develop a consistent and comprehensible format for itsvarious reports and establish a Home Page on the World Wide Web to facilitate wider

sharing of its statistical and other reports.


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1 Introduction

1.1 The International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 1983 mandates theInternational Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) to compile, collate and

publish statistical information on the production and trade of tropical timber.

Since 1988 the ITTO has published an Annual Review of the World TropicalTimber Situation based to a large degree on the data that ITTO collects.

1.2 Whilst the data collected and reports published have provided useful insights into theproduction and trade of tropical timber, shortcomings have been identified. Asa result, ITTO has initiated various Pre-Projects and Projects to assist in theimprovement of the quality and range of data describing the production, tradeand utilisation of tropical timber. The Pre-Projects and Projects have consistedof training courses for statisticians, within-country projects for institutionalstrengthening, and market studies of a variety of raw materials, products andgeographical markets. Although progress has been made, further improvementin ITTOs statistical functions is both necessary and desirable.

1.3 Furthermore, the ITTA, 1994 has been drawn up to replace the ITTA, 1983. The newAgreement places further statistical responsibilities on ITTO, specifically theroles of collecting relevant data on non-tropical timber and on forestmanagement. Relevant details of the two Agreements are shown in Appendix 3.

1.4 Pre-Project 12/95 Rev. 2 (M) was initiated to improve the collection of data frommember countries and to plan for the implementation of the ITTA, 1994. ThePre-Project reviews the current statistical functions of ITTO, in light of ITTOsexperience to date and in cognisance of ITTOs Action Plan.

1.5 A Technical Working Group (TWG) for Pre-Project 12/95 Rev. 2 (M) was convened

in Yokohama April 15-18, 1996. The Technical Working Group discussed thevarious issues, needs and problems encountered during the compilation offorestry and timber statistics. Attendance at the Technical Working Group islisted in Appendix 1, and the Minutes of the Yokohama meeting of the TWGare minuted in Appendix 2.

1.6 As part of Pre-Project 12/95 Rev. 2 (M) two consultants - Mr Tong Kok Hung (fromMalaysia) and Dr Jon Heuch (from the United Kingdom) were hired to assistthe Technical Working Group. This report of the Technical Working Groupdraws from the consultants report presented to the Technical Working Group.

1.7 Between April and early June 1996 the consultants visited a number of countries andinstitutions. Representatives from Japan were consulted in early April. Gabon,Indonesia, Malaysia and Peru were visited as representatives of producermember countries, whilst China, Korea, the Netherlands, the UK and the USAwere visited as representatives of consumer member countries. In each countryvarious institutions and organisations were consulted including government,trade and NGO representatives. As part of the work visits were also made toFAO, Rome and UNECE/FAO, Geneva. Country reports following theconsultants visits are attached in Appendix 4.

1.8 The Technical Working Group met in Kuala Lumpur July 1-5, 1996 where theconsultants report was considered, and the following report agreed.

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2 The Existing Statistical Functions of the International TropicalTimber Organisation

Aims and Objectives

2.1 The ITTA, 1983 provides a framework for ITTOs current statistical functions. TheAgreement defines the types of data that have to be collected, and describes thetypes of output required from ITTO, in particular the Annual Review of theTropical Timber Situation.

2.2 The ITTO has an Action Plan which details Strategy elements, Programme Areas andProgrammes of Work.

2.3 ITTOs current statistical roles are defined in Articles 27 and 28 of the ITTA, 1983.Article 27.1 states that the Council should help ensure the availability ofrecent and reliable data and information on all factors concerning tropicaltimber. Furthermore, the ITTO shall compile, collate and, as necessary,

publish such statistical information on production, supply, trade, stocks,consumption and market prices of tropical timber, and on related areas.

2.4 Article 28.1 mandates the Council to annually review and assess the world tropicaltimber situation and exchange views on the outlook for, and other issuesclosely related to, the world tropical timber economy, including ecological andenvironmental aspects. Article 28.3 states that this review should be carriedout in the light of information supplied by members on national production,trade, supply, stocks, consumption and prices of tropical timber, and on theareas listed in annex C.

2.5 The ITTO has a further statistical function of calculating the distribution of votes and

administrative expenses between ITTO member countries. This calculation isbased, in part, for producer members, on the distribution of tropical forestresources (Article 10.2b), and the average of the values of ... net exports oftropical timber during the most recent three year period (Article 10.2c). Thedistribution of votes between consuming members is calculated, in part, on theaverage volume of ... net imports of tropical timber during the three-year

period commencing four calendar years prior to the distribution of votes(Article 10.5). The ITTO faces a problem with respect to this task in that thedefinition of tropical forest resources used in Article 10.4 (productive closed

broad-leaved forests as defined by... FAO) is no longer universally recognisedand therefore, data based on this definition is not readily available. Whilst this

internal function clearly overlaps with the external market functions, the needsof both are not identical.

2.6 Article 2 defines tropical timber as non-coniferous tropical wood for industrialpurposes which grows or is produced in the countries situated between the Tropic ofCancer and Capricorn.

Methodologies

2.7 The ITTO employs various methods to implement its Action Plan and comply with theITTA, 1983. Its primary source of data is the Annual Forecasting and StatisticalEnquiry Form. Completed returns of this form to ITTO are compared to other datasources, especially those from FAO, UNECE and timber trade publications.


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Details of Annual Forecasting and Statistical Enquiry Form

2.8 The present Forecasting and Statistical Enquiry Form (1995) follows severalprecursors and has been approved by Council based on earlier experience andDecision 4(XIV) on Information Sharing. It consists of seven tables with two

pages of notes:

2.9 Table 1 is titled Production, Trade Balance and Domestic Requirements by ProductVolume (000 cu m) and collects data on Production, Imports, Exports, StockChanges and Domestic Requirements for Logs, Sawnwood, Veneer andPlywood.

2.10 Tables 2 (Imports) and 3 (Exports) are titled Tropical Timber by Source and Volume(000 cu m). These collect volumes of Imports and Exports for Logs,Sawnwood, Veneer and Plywood by country. A final row is for value ofImports (Table 2) and Exports (Table 3).

2.11 Table 4 is titled Tropical Forest Areas by Forest Type and Status (000 ha).

2.12 Table 5 is titled Tropical Wood Processing Industry Structure, Capacity andEmployment, collecting data on Number of Enterprises, Installed Capacityand Number of Employees by Enterprise type defined as Logging, Sawmill,Veneer, Plywood, and Others.

2.13 Tables 6 a/b/c/d are titled Major Species in International Trade for Tropical Logs,Tropical Sawnwood, Tropical Veneer and Tropical Plywood.

2.14 Table 7 collects Miscellaneous information using seven questions on a variety ofmatters from trade barriers to general economic factors.

2.15 The data returned from the Enquiry forms are used to produce the Appendices in theAnnual Review. After initial poor responses, most, but not all, Enquiry forms

are now returned. Identification of individuals for Statistical Correspondentsand the provision of training courses have been largely responsible for theimprovement. However, the data returned is often far from complete withsignificant errors and omissions being common. The ITTO Statistician oftenhas to compare returns with other data sources for accuracy, and, as a lastresort, alter returned data.

2.16 The poor quality of the Enquiry returns has two causes. The first lies in the membercountries ability to provide suitable data (in agreement with ITTO definitionsand in the right format) in a timely fashion. In some cases, countries may regardthe information requested as commercially sensitive. The second lies with the

design and use of the Enquiry form itself. Methods to address both these issuesare outlined in Section 3.

2.17 The Form is normally sent out annually in June for return by August. The data is thenprocessed for the Annual Review, which is presented in draft to the ITTC inNovember. The final version is distributed for the next ITTC meeting in May.

Projects

2.18 The ITTO has undertaken a significant number of Projects in the statistical field. Inaddition the ITTO have supported a large number of other projects in the fieldsof Reforestation and Forest Management, and Forest Industry. These latter

projects are discussed below under Other projects.


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2.19 The Economic Information and Market Intelligence projects have varied in nature andare best classified into four types: Training Workshops, Infrastructure and CapacityProjects, Market Information Studies and Miscellaneous Projects.

Training Workshops

2.20 Altogether nine workshops have been conducted to date. These have been very usefulin raising the awareness of ITTOs statistical needs and have contributed to improvingthe returns of the ITTO Enquiry Form. The training workshops have been reviewedrecently (see Appendix 5). There is potential to improve the effectiveness of theseworkshops, and suitable methods are discussed in paragraphs 3.46-3.47.

Infrastructure and Capacity Projects

2.21 Most Infrastructure and Capacity Projects are at an early stage of implementation. As aresult, it is not easy to say whether these projects have improved the quality ofstatistics available either within country or to ITTO. Several of the projects are quitelarge in size and it is hoped that the outputs from these projects will be sustainable in

the long run without ITTO support.

Market Information Studies

2.22 Of the four types of EIMI projects, market information projects have been the mostnumerous. These vary from analysis of geographical markets, the Market NewsService and Tropical Timber Market Information Service to the Analysis of Supply andDemand in the Asia- Pacific region. There have also been individual projects onmarketing of wood from Papua New Guinea and on markets for furniture. These

projects have generated large amounts of information that it is hoped will be widelyavailable.

Market News Service (MNS) and Tropical Timber Market Intelligence Service (TTMIS)

2.23 This service has recently transferred from Geneva to Yokohama. The move hasinevitably caused disruption, and combined with a number of other changes varyingfrom staff, information sources to an ambitious new format to the output, theYokohama service is not yet fully developed. By April 1996, six fortnightly editionshad been distributed without charge to around 900 addressees. There is clearly greatinterest in the service, and a need to develop it further. Further details are provided

below under Outputs.

Analysis of Supply and Demand in the Asia Pacific Region

2.24 This clearly was an ambitious project with a great deal of potential. However, thenature of the project, as documented in one of the early project reports, means that itsusefulness is totally dependent on the quality of the data available for the variousmodels produced. The Phase I report lists (on page 2 of the report) a number of areasof concern, and some of these have been addressed in Phase II of the work. However,

before the model is taken further there is a need to ensure that data of sufficient qualityand range is available. ITTO may need to provide encouragement to countries for thisto happen.

Miscellaneous Projects

2.25 These projects have covered a variety of topics varying from certification studies, a

study on the linkages between trade and forest management, and a study on incentives


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2.31 The ECE/FAO send out a separate forecast form later in the year (i.e. not to tropicalcountries). The completed forms are brought to Geneva for the Softwoodconference held in the latter part of each year. This meeting allows forecastingdata to be brought together on a timely basis, and also allows technical aspectsof data collection, compilation and dissemination to be discussed. This forum

provides an ideal level of support to the notion of continuous improvement.2.32 FAO collects information on forest industry through periodic surveys from its Forest

Industries Division of FAO.

2.33 FAO have been co-ordinating the Global Resources Assessment (GRA) that producesthe best worldwide estimates of forest cover. The most recent estimatesavailable are those for 1990, and an update is planned for the year 2000. Thedetails of the GRA 2000 were being planned at a meeting in Kotka, Finland inJune 1996 to which ITTO was invited, but was unable to send a representative.At this meeting, plans to incorporate, within the GRA, data needs formonitoring Criteria and Indicators were due to be discussed. The GRA no

longer recognises the definition of Tropical Forest Resources described inArticle 10.4 of the ITTA, 1983 and the ITTA, 1994, and uses a ecofloristicdefinition instead, without reference to forest function.

2.34 At present, the FAO and ITTO statistical functions operate independently. The FAOcollect information on forest resources, timber production and trade and forestindustry, using different methodologies for each, depending on the frequency ofdata collection, and the type of data required. The three FAO Divisions haveseparate contact points within a country, although the first point of contact isoften the Head of the Forestry department, or equivalent.

2.35 An informal Inter-Secretariat Working Group has been set up, which ITTO staff haveattended in June and November 1995. The other members of the group (FAO, ECE,OECD, EC and Eurostat) are all based in Europe so it is likely that future meetingswill be held in Europe. Of the organisations involved, only FAO is concerned with the

production of data from tropical producing countries, whilst Eurostat and ECEcollect data on the trade and utilisation of tropical timber within their membercountries.

Resources:

Personnel

2.36 The ITTO Secretariat currently has three permanent posts dedicated to the role of

Statistics: a Statistician, a Systems Analyst and a Statistical Assistant. The Statisticianhas five years experience in post, whilst the Statistical Assistant has only been in postfor a few months. The Systems Analyst post is currently vacant. In addition, theSecretariat has a Market Information Service Co-ordinator position funded underProject PD16/93 Rev.4 (M). There is some concern that the present level of staffing isinadequate for the present functions envisaged. With the limited numbers of staff in theITTO Secretariat devoted to statistical work it will be very difficult to maintain thecurrent extent and quantity of information let alone increase current activities asenvisaged in the ITTA, 1994.

Data processing facilities

2.37 The ITTO Draft Report for 1994 lists the details of the ITTO Secretariat computernetwork as at May 1995. Some of the older computers that the Secretariat use are not


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ideal for running Microsoft Windows on a network. The situation is likely to improveas these old machines are replaced, but until all statistical and support staff arenetworked with adequate machines, aspects of the statistical activities may behindered.

Member countries capabilities for producing forestry and timber statistics forITTO

2.38 At the heart of the problem of the poor quality of the data on Enquiry returns is thelack of capacity to capture data, and compile and publish statistics in producerand developing consumer member countries. The reasons for this vary fromcountry to country, but there are some common causes. Some countries mayhave suitable methods to capture data, but have inefficient or ineffectivemethods of data compilation. Reasons for this situation vary from lack of inter-agency co-ordination, to lack of resources within any one agency. Somecountries can provide the data required, but not within the timeframe requested

by ITTO.

2.39 Some countries face the problem that ITTOs definitions (and therefore data requests)are not easily reconcilable with data held by that country. Another problem isthat the level of detail required by ITTO may not be possible with anyacceptable degree of accuracy (e.g. breakdown of trade by country). A problemthat almost all countries face is to analyse trade by species, since trade data isrecorded using the HS or SITC classification that does not provide the level ofdetail required.

2.40 The paper PCM (XIV)/6 Elements for preparing and Assessing Project Proposals onStatistical Information Systems lists the necessary information required toallow an assessment to be made of the current statistical situation in a member

country. These have been followed to varying degrees in the preparation ofproject documents.

2.41 Extra information about various countrys statistics and systems are contained incountry reports submitted to the statistical workshops sponsored by ITTO.However, both these types of assessment are ad hoc and no attempt has beenmade to systematically describe what resources are available in membercountries (producing and consuming) to produce forestry and timber statistics.Such an exercise is useful for determining the scale of the problem, and forestimating the resources required for addressing it. Similarly, there has been nodescription of what is the minimum or even ideal level of resources, in order toact as a baseline for proposed projects.

2.42 Developed consumer member countries capabilities for forestry statistics are on thewhole considerably more advanced than those of other member countries. However,they often face the problem that existing systems of data capture do not differentiate

between tropical and non-tropical timber. The significance of the problem varies fromcountry to country.

Outputs:

2.43 The current statistical functions of ITTO produce several outputs. The two mainreports directly associated with the work of the statistical staff in the Secretariat arethe Annual Review and the Tropical Timber Market Information Service (TTMIS).

Other important outputs or outlets for information generated by ITTO are project


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reports and the ITTO Tropical Forest Update. Data and information generated byITTO also provide inputs to other ITTO projects.

Annual Review

2.44 This document is mandated under Article 28.2 of the ITTA, 1983. The content of the

Annual Review is based to a large extent on the information provided on theEnquiry forms returned to ITTO.

2.45 Tables in the Annual Review are of varying quality. This mostly reflects the pooroverall quality of data and information returned to ITTO. The Tables for total trade bycountry are useful, and now that data has been collected for a few years trends are

becoming obvious. However, detailed analysis by individual country shows many gapsin the database. Whilst data for some countries are reasonably complete, others apartfrom a total, are virtually blank. In the forest area and industry tables, completion of atotal is only possible by using estimates from FAO or other sources. The range of dataquality make it very difficult to produce meaningful tables as some figures are only

partly analysed, and figures in columns do not add up to the totals stated.

Tropical Timber Market Information Service (TTMIS)

2.46 This fortnightly newsletter was started at the beginning of 1996, following the transferof the Market News Service (MNS) project from Geneva to Yokohama.Information for this service is compiled from 11 correspondents. These havehad to be identified from scratch starting in November 1995, since contactswere not passed from ITC. Two correspondents are based in consumercountries (one in Europe and the other in North America) and the remainder in

producer countries. Each correspondent is paid a modest sum by ITTO fortheir services, and current budgetary restraints restrict any increase in the

number of correspondents at the present time. Each correspondent reports toYokohama every fortnight, to a deadline appropriate to the production of the

Newsletter.

2.47 The European correspondent reports on each of the four major country markets(Germany, France, Italy and the U.K.) in turn, returning to each cyclically,every two months. In contrast, the North American correspondent reports onmarket conditions every month whilst providing more qualitative analysis onthe alternate fortnights. On the whole, the information that the correspondentscan provide is not very comprehensive on downstream products. Arrangementsfor the collection of information from the Japanese markets are not yetcomplete.

2.48 The TTMIS is emailed, faxed and mailed without charge to around 900 addressesworldwide. The number of copies circulated is restricted at present due to

budgetary constraints, although email distribution is relatively cheap. TheTTMIS is still in a development phase and the range and depth of analysis thatcan be achieved with the current resources is still being investigated. Manyinvolved in the trade in tropical timber are aware of the previous MNS, but notthe TTMIS. The TTMIS has not been widely distributed as by early April 1996only six issues had been produced.

2.49 The form of the TTMIS is a considerable improvement on the telegraphic style MNS.However, it takes considerably more effort to produce, and it is difficult to see how the

present service can be sustained with only one member of staff committed to it, letalone develop it to its full potential.


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3 Methodology to improve ITTOs statistical functions and comply withthe requirements of the International Tropical Timber Agreement,1994

Aims and Objectives:3.1 The replacement of the ITTA, 1983 by the ITTA, 1994 does not change the overall

aims and objectives of ITTOs statistical functions very greatly and theseremain to provide market transparency and assist in the development of theinternational tropical timber market. However, the range of data to be collectedhas expanded, creating a potential significant increase in workload due to theneed to collect data on non-tropical timber and forest management. Therelevant differences are shown in Appendix 3.

3.2 Whilst the overall remit for data collection remains the ITTA., there is a need to takeend-user requirements into account. At present, the statistical needs of theCouncil are stated in such texts as Annex C of the ITTA, 1983 and the Annexto Decision 4 (XIV) (see Appendix 6). However, there is little indication thatthese represent the real needs of all users. Neither is there much informationavailable on who the real users of ITTOs statistics are.

3.3 As a first attempt, the objectives of ITTOs statistical functions are defined asthreefold, with groups of end users for each:

3.4 The first objective, stated in both the ITTA, 1983 and the ITTA, 1994 as an objectiveof the ITTO, is to improve market transparency. To do this reliable andtimely data on tropical timber production, trade and prices are necessary. Themajor users of such information are the producers and traders in tropical timberwho are seeking opportunities and outlets for tropical timber. To be effectivethis data needs to be provided in a timely fashion, at regular and frequentintervals. Another group of end users of data on market prices may be thefinancial community, especially the company analysts located in the major stockmarkets of the world. Their requirements are likely to be slightly different tothat of the traders, needing higher quality independent information, probablyless frequently than the traders.

3.5 The second objective, added by the ITTA, 1994, is that of placing the production andtrade of tropical timber in an international context. This will involve collecting,compiling and analysing data on non-tropical timber, which will be of use to

both member consumer and producer countries, and other groups involved in

the export and import of tropical forest products. This information is relevantfor ITTOs Annual Review of the Tropical Timber Situation, for monitoringsubstitution and for a general understanding of the relative impact of thetropical timber trade vis--vis the global trade in timber.

3.6 The third statistical function, again added by the ITTA, 1994, is to record and makeavailable statistics and information from members on activities concerning themanagement of timber producing forests. A number of groups need thisinformation, including industry, environmental groups and membergovernments. Currently, member countries share information on theirachievements in this area through national reports provided to the Council eachyear using the format in Decision 4 (XIV). Presently, countries are sharing

information on forest resources and forest management in a great variety ofways.


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3.7 Another beneficiary will be the ITTO projects and pre-projects, particularly thoserelating to the development of market transparency. Many of these projectsutilise data on production, trade and prices.

3.8 In order for ITTOs statistical work to take on board these needs, a process ofcontinuous improvement is required, working closely with both producers and users of

forestry and timber statistics. This will only happen if close relationships are developedthrough regular contact between ITTO Secretariat statistical staff and statisticalcorrespondents in member countries.

Defining data requirements

3.9 No comprehensive market research has been undertaken on the information needs ofall end users of ITTO data. As a result defining data requirements has todepend firstly on those stated in the ITTA, 1994, and secondly informalfeedback obtained by the consultants to the Technical Working Group from avariety of end users.

3.10 Article 29.1 of the ITTA, 1994 defines the type of data that ITTO needs to collect.This includes data on the production, supply, trade, stocks, consumption andmarket prices of timber. Additionally, ITTO has to collect relevant statisticalinformation on the extent of timber resources and the management of timber

producing forests. The phrase as deemed necessary for the operation of thisAgreement precedes the above definitions of data requirements. This isinterpreted to mean data that is relevant to the production and trade of tropicaltimber.

3.11 Article 27.1c adds to the functions of the Committee on Economic Information andMarket Intelligence the need to keep under continuous review the internationaltimber market. To do this specific indicators for the monitoring of theinternational timber trade including undocumented trade have been decided bythe Council. It is unclear how data on undocumented trade will be captured.

3.12 Most data listed above is already requested on the Enquiry Form and methods forimproving this are discussed later. However, the ITTA, 1994 lists new informationareas and these are discussed immediately below.

Interpretation of Non-tropical timber

3.13 Article 29.1 of the ITTA, 1994 mandates the Council to establish close relationshipswith relevant .... organisations, in order to help ensure the availability of .....relevant information .... on non-tropical timber.....This new statistical function

places the production and trade of tropical timber in an international context.This will involve obtaining and analysing data on all timber. This information isrelevant for a general understanding of the tropical timber trade vis--vis theglobal timber trade and for monitoring substitution between tropical and non-tropical timber. The types of market data that will be relevant to the ITTA,1994 depend on the prevailing market conditions. While concerns exist aboutcompetition between non-tropical and tropical timber, from a practical

perspective the collection of data on non-tropical timber will need a differentapproach to that taken on tropical timber. Firstly, the market for non-tropicaltimber is more voluminous, more uniform and more transparent than that fortropical timber. Secondly, there is considerably more information available,

either in the public domain or from commercial organisations. Thirdly, theUNECE and FAO already collect data on the production and trade of all


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timber, although this data does not differentiate between tropical and non-tropical timber for the range of products and countries relevant to ITTO.

3.14 Understanding the role of the tropical timber trade in the world timber economy isimportant to consumer and producer countries, and other groups involved inthe production, export and import of tropical forest products. Currently, ITTO

informs members of developments in the international markets for tropicaltimber through the Annual Review and Assessment of the World TropicalTimber Situation and through its quarterly Tropical Forest Update.

3.15 Data on non-tropical timber is available from a number of sources. The mostcomprehensive information is available from both FAO and UNECE.Commercial sources of information can provide up to the day informationnormally on a more restrictive geographical basis. These sources include thefortnightly Export for reviews of major markets worldwide by RandomLength Publications, various publications on the North American market fromCrows including a Weekly Market Report of Lumber and Panel Products.

Market information can be found in Widmans World Wood Review andMadisons Market Report. There is also information available on the Internetvia the Forest Industry Network ([email protected]) on various areas of NorthWest America. Trade newspapers from North America that may be of use onother aspects of the North American lumber market include Import/ExportWood Purchasing News and the Weekly Hardwood Review.

3.16 Market information from Japan is readily available in English in the Japan LumberReports. Information on European markets is more fragmented, as isinformation on smaller markets. Several of the timber trade organisationscollect price data, and distribute this to their members. It may be possible forITTO to use some of this information, but this will require negotiation with the

individual organisations. Because such information is provided as a membershipbenefit of an individual organisation, it is unlikely to be fully available on atimely basis to ITTO, especially if ITTO are wanting to distribute it. However,there is likely to be less sensitivity to the situation, if ITTO only wants tocollate prices over a longer period (e.g. one year) and publish a summary inretrospect.

3.17 It is therefore recommended that ITTO sources its data on non-tropical timber fromthe UNECE and various commercial sources as listed above. Where relevant data onnon-tropical timber is not available it should request this from member countries. TheSecretariat should identify, through the sources it has in the Market InformationService, those areas where non-tropical and tropical timber compete or could compete,and limit its activities to these. Examples of current areas of interest include the use of

peeled radiata logs in eastern Asia, and, the relative roles of non-tropical and tropicalhardwoods.

Information needs on Forest Management

3.18 Article 29.1 of the ITTA, 1994 mandates the Council to establish close relationshipswith relevant .... organisations, in order to help ensure the availability of .....relevant information .... on the management of timber producing forests. TheArticle continues As deemed necessary for the operation of this Agreement,the Organisation shall compile, collate and ... publish statistical informationon ..... the management of timber producing forests.


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3.19 Article 29.2 of the ITTA, 1994 states: Members shall .... furnish ...statistics andinformation on .... the activities aimed at achieving sustainable management oftimber producing forests.....

3.20 Article 30.4 of the ITTA, 1994 states: The Council shall promote the exchange ofviews among member countries regarding ... The status of sustainable

management of timber producing forests and related matters in membercountries....

3.21 These components of the ITTA, 1994 provide a clear mandate to collect informationon forest management, and as part of this, ITTO needs to collect relevant dataon aspects of forest management.

3.22 ITTO has defined sustainable forest management1 as: the process of managingpermanent forest land to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives ofmanagement with regard to the production of a continuous flow of desiredforest products and services without undue reduction of its inherent values andfuture productivity and without undue effects on the physical and social

environment.

3.23 Following this definition, ITTO has provided National Level criteria and examples ofindicators of sustainable forest management, stating that these are neitherexhaustive nor exclusive and that the determination of sustainability ..... must

be specific to each nation or each management unit. In other words, eachcountry has to interpret the specific details of sustainable forest managementfor its own circumstances in terms of natural resources, institutions, and socio-economic and legal conditions.

3.24 ITTOs National Level criteria are:

i) The Forest Resource Baseii) The Continuity of Flowiii) The level of Environmental Controliv) Socio-Economic Effectsv) Institutional Frameworks

3.25 ITTO may face several challenges in collecting comparable statistics on sustainableforest management using ITTOs Criteria and Indicators. First, it is not clear ifall member countries have developed indicators for monitoring forestmanagement at the national level. Second, where developed, indicators offorest management may be different between countries. Third, it is likely thatmost data are not strictly internationally comparable.

3.26 Currently member countries share information on their achievements in this areathrough national reports provided to the Council each year using the format

provided in Decision 4 (XIV) (see Appendix 6). Presently, countries aresharing information on forest resources and forest management in a greatnumber of ways. Given this variety in data presentation, it is not possible tocompile these data in a meaningful way.

3.27 To further facilitate data collection, a special enquiry form, attached to the Countryreport, should be developed by ITTO, and completed by members every three years. Inthe first stage, data collection should concentrate on those basic data on timber

producing forests that are easily available in most member countries, for example:

1 ITTO (1992): Criteria for the measurement of sustainable forest management. ITTO Policy DevelopmentSeries No 3. 5 pps.


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forest area (divided into subgroups); areas of afforestation/reforestation/enrichmentplanting; and harvest area.

Revision of Methodologies:

3.28 Several methods can be used to collect data. At present the primary source of data is

the Annual Enquiry Form, and this is likely to remain a major source of information.

Improvement in the design of the Enquiry Form

3.29 The need to minimise duplication of activity between International organisationsnecessitates that further consideration is given to the production of a jointEnquiry form with organisations such as FAO, UNECE and Eurostat. Havingsaid this, there is also a need to ensure that any Enquiry Form that ITTO has aninput into is sound both in design and technically. The comments below aretherefore valid regardless of whether ITTOs questionnaire stands alone, or is

part of another form.

3.30 In its consideration of the Tables of the Annual Forecasting and Statistical Enquiry, theTechnical Working Group recommended that members should indicate thesources of all data included in the Tables, as well as clearly indicating anyestimates or unofficial figures used. In addition, notes for individual Tablesshould be included on the Table itself, where possible. With respect to theindividual Tables the following recommendations were made:

3.31 Table 1: (Production, Trade Balance and Domestic Requirements by ProductVolume (000 cu m)): Delete the columns for stocks and domesticconsumption. The ITTO Secretariat will calculate apparent domesticconsumption (Production + Imports - Exports), except where members haveidentified, and quantified, the existence of significant stock changes. Reformat

rows to assist the completion and checking of the form, including rows fortotals, where necessary. Retain current year columns, but allow data to beentered as % deviation from previous year (e.g. +5%, -10%). Members should

be urged to provide updated forecasts of production and trade for the currentyear during consideration of the draft Annual Review at the November CouncilSession.

3.32 Table 2: (Imports: Tropical Timber by Source and Volume (000 cu m)): Deletecurrent year columns.

3.33 Table 3: (Exports: Tropical Timber by Source and Volume (000 cu m)): Deletecurrent year columns.

3.34 Table 4: (Tropical Forest Areas by Forest Type and Status (000 ha)): Delete Tablefrom Annual Enquiry. The TWG considered that information on forestmanagement does not vary very much every year to justify an annualsubmission. The TWG recognised that the ITTA, 1994 put emphasis on ITTOto collect from member countries information and statistics on forestmanagement. The TWG suggested that data related to forest management be

provided by members at a frequency of every three years, through theirprogress reports towards the year 2000 objective, in a format to be determined.

3.35 Table 5: (Tropical Wood Processing Industry Structure, Capacity andEmployment): Delete Table from Annual Enquiry. The Technical Working

Group recognised the importance and value of information on industrystructure, employment etc., but suggested that greater detail is required. The


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TWG recommended that this data be collected on a periodic basis via moredetailed surveys of particular tropical wood processing industries (e.g.sawnwood, panel products) on a regional or worldwide basis. The TWGrecommended that ITTO maintains a database of tropical wood processingindustry structure, but that this be updated via periodic surveys suggested

above. Such surveys could be supported through project funds.3.36 Table 6: (Major Species in International Trade): Limit each product to five major

species and a row for others. Allow members to provide more detail usingfurther separate pages if required. The TWG recommended that ITTO should

promote the establishment of species groups of tropical timber species that aremeaningful to the trade (e.g. Malaysian MLH - mixed light hardwoods).

3.37 Table 7: (Miscellaneous information): No change recommended.

Co-ordination and Co-operation

3.38 The TWG recognised that ITTO has a special role in situating the tropical timber

economy in a global context that distinguishes it and its data requirements fromother international organisations involved in forestry data collection anddissemination.

3.39 The TWG felt that the roles of the various international organisations active in thisfield needed clarification, but agreed that ITTOs strength lay in its closerelationship with the tropical member countries and its knowledge andexperience of promoting market transparency for tropical timber.

3.40 The TWG recognised the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Forest Statistics as themost appropriate forum for discussing and implementing Inter-Agency co-ordination and liaison. It recommended that the potential of a joint

questionnaire with FAO and FAO/ECE should be investigated further throughthis forum. It noted that the current questionnaires being distributed by thesetwo organisations do not cover the full range of information required by ITTO,in particular with respect to data on tropical veneer and plywood productionand trade, species data and general socio-economic information. Theinvestigation of joint and/or supplementary questionnaires will need toencompass all ITTO members.

3.41 The TWG recommended that, regardless of the development of joint questionnaires,ITTO should make full use of existing data generated by other organisations, inso far as it is reliable, timely and relevant to ITTOs needs.

3.42 There is also a need to ensure that regular consultation with other relevant agenciesand meetings, such as the Global Resources Assessment, is supported.

3.43 It may be possible for ITTO to run country capacity statistical projects with FAO.ITTO projects seek to improve tropical timber statistics, whilst FAO projects couldfocus on other matters such as fuelwood and the needs of the Global ResourcesAssessment.

Issues needing investigation for development of Joint Questionnaires

3.44 There are several issues that currently prevent joint questionnaires being used. ITTOcurrently uses different definitions to FAO. FAO does not currently collect separatedata on tropical production and trade that is required by ITTO. It also does not collect

data on forest areas as defined by ITTO. The ITTO form also requests a far widerrange of information than the current FAO Forest Products Questionnaire or the


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UNECE/FAO/Eurostat Timber Bulletin Questionnaire. If the changes to the ITTOForm discussed above are accepted, this difference is reduced, but there still remainsome differences. FAO and ITTO often send their respective forms to different peopleand institutions. This may have important implications for the completion of forms,especially with respect to the data reported and the timing of return. ITTO, having

developed methods to collect the data required must be careful when investigatingalternatives.

The role of projects in the ITTO statistical network

3.45 There is potential for many ITTO projects to integrate with the mainstream statisticalactivities of the ITTO Secretariat. Full advantage of this is not currently being used.Projects (from all three Committees) can act as data sources for the ITTO Secretariat.The potential for new projects to build on data already collected must be fullyinvestigated.

Role of training workshops

3.46 Regional Training Workshops can provide only part of the answer to improving incountry personnel skills. For one, the workshops are of relatively shortduration and little follow up and support is available. For another, only alimited number of personnel from any one country can attend these workshops.It is important that Regional workshops are supplemented by in-countrytraining programmes, especially where there is an ITTO supported statistical

project. In countries where English, French or Spanish are not widelyunderstood (e.g. China) special courses in Forestry and Timber statistics needto be developed. Turnover of staff in some countries is high, multiplying thetraining needs, and making it more difficult to build up the critical mass ofexpertise needed to create an effective statistical service.

3.47 The recommendations of the review that has been conducted on the Regional TrainingWorkshops, once implemented, will assist future workshops to improve furtherforestry and timber statistics (see Appendix 5). As part of the workshops attendees

produce a country report. If such reports are carefully structured they will provideuseful sources of information for the ITTO statistical system. These reports mustdescribe the current resources available, methodologies used in particular countries andidentify priority areas needing assistance. Careful consideration must be given todesigning a structured check list of information needed in these country reports. Suchreports should be used as background information when designing appropriateInfrastructure and Capacity Projects.

Role of Infrastructure and Capacity Projects

3.48 Several of these projects place emphasis on computing inputs, especially hardware.There is a need to consider the whole information system required to produce forestryand timber information, including the requirements of efficient and effective datacapture in the field. Emphasis must also be given to the institutional component thatwill allow forestry sector planners to gather information from Industry Ministries,Customs/Finance Departments and other relevant agencies. Much relevant informationis already collected by such institutions, and separate Forestry Institutions mayduplicate existing sources of information. It is also important to ensure that all projectsin this field are capable of generating statistics that satisfy ITTO requirements.


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Market Information Studies

3.49 The information from projects on individual geographic markets is likely to becomeout of date quite quickly. There is a need to update these as markets change (e.g.China and Japan), and as new markets develop (e.g. in terms of value added products).There is also a need to determine who might use such information and design projects

and resulting reports accordingly. With the internationalisation of world trade theprovision of market study information in at least English, French and Spanish must beconsidered. The market studies conducted to date are of variable content. One

particular item that is missing from some is a list of contact addresses (preferably withphone and fax numbers) of traders and purchasers of tropical timber.

Tropical Timber Market Information Service

3.50 This service is currently funded via project funding. The TWG recommend that thisservice, being a core activity of ITTO, must be funded on a more secure basis, andwith greater resources. Ways of developing the service are discussed below underOutputs.

Resources and Institutional Issues

ITTO Secretariat

3.51 The Secretariat currently has three full time and one project-funded posts devoted toforestry and timber statistics. If all four positions are filled and devoted full-time to statistical functions, the Secretariat will have a small core team capableof handling the requirements of the ITTA, 1983.

3.52 However, there are currently barely more than two full-time staff spending significanttime covering ITTOs statistical work, and this must be cause for concern. It is

possible that the detailed work necessary for the 1996 Annual Review isthreatened by this shortage of staff.

3.53 In terms of expanding statistical activities to comply with the ITTA, 1994, this isclearly going to be difficult with current staffing levels. The Agreement requires datafrom areas beyond the role of Economic Information and Market Intelligence, and stafffrom other sections of ITTO may be able to assist, particularly in gathering informationon forest management and industries as proposed in paragraphs 3.27 and 3.35.However, if a greater expansion of statistical functions is envisaged, this will only beachieved with an enlarged Secretariat.

Data Processing and Dissemination

3.54 Compilation of data and producing information with the data in such a way that theinformation is actually used are equally essential. If the information is not used,the effort to collect the data will have been wasted.

3.55 A well-designed database system is a powerful tool for compiling data to produce usefulinformation. Such a system should have the following characteristics:

* a good user-interface to enable various people to work easily with the system

* facilities to combine and distinguish various sources of data

* facilities to combine various categories of information to allow analysis.

3.56 A database system must be a powerful and flexible instrument for reporting, able to giveanswers to various questions. Different interest groups have different needs and


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these needs change over time with the problems that arise. The database shouldbe able to easily cope with the changing and variable needs of data users.

3.57 Statistical reports have to reach the user to be appreciated. Every report has to competewith other information, and therefore needs to be clear, concise and attractively

presented.

3.58 Designing and implementing a good database system requires adequate time and funding,as does preparing well-written and well-presented reports. Adequate resources shouldtherefore be allocated to these tasks within ITTO.

Outputs

3.59 The statistical outputs of the ITTO are currently defined largely by the ITTA, 1983.The ITTA, 1994 does not change the nature of these outputs, but expands therange of this work to include aspects of forest management and non-tropicaltimber.

3.60 In order to improve the usefulness of ITTO statistical work, resulting outputs mustreflect the requirements of end users of ITTO statistics. To do this ITTO needsto be in closer contact with end users. With regard to end user requirements,the Technical Working Group has proposed three groups of end users of ITTOstatistics and outlined methods needed to generate information for their use.

3.61 Existing statistical outputs are optimistic in comparison to the data coverage collectedfrom the Annual Enquiry to date. Comprehensive annual assessments of anumber of factors has not been possible. Some flexibility in output is requiredso that the details of any table or discussion reflects the type and quality of datareceived. There is little point in publishing tables on an annual basis if the datais both very similar to previous years, and has significant gaps.

3.62 There is also a need to concentrate on increasing the amount of interpretation of data,adding value and providing explanations for trends that have been discovered.The data and information collected must be used to provide a predictiveapproach where possible. To develop this further greater allocation of humanresources are required.

3.63 Outputs can be improved by creating greater uniformity in publications. At presentITTO produce a large number of publications, with a variety of covers and paper sizes.The list of publications is based largely around the administrative and fundingmechanism for the work, rather than about the information content. It is appropriateto consider creating series of reports with similar information content (e.g. Market

reports; Forest management reports).

Annual Review

3.64 To be useful, the Annual Review must document market conditions over the last yearin detail, preferably on a month by month basis in each of the major producerand consumer countries and/or markets. Thus the Annual Review must providea review at the micro level (e.g. particular species or product types in individualmarkets/countries) as well as the macro level (worldwide figures for tropicaltimber).

3.65 The move of the Tropical Timber Market Information Service to Yokohama will assistin improving the information available for use in the Annual Review and animprovement in the depth and range of coverage provided in the AnnualReview can be expected. However, this transfer and interpretation of


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information will require human resources which are only nominally available tothe Secretariat at the moment.

3.66 The Annual Review can also be enhanced if timely reviews are included on specificaspects of the tropical timber market. Examples of suitable topics include generaleconomic factors, the increasing interest in African and American woods by Asian

users, certification, environmental concerns in Europe and long term forecasts oftimber from South East Asian forests or plantations. These reports can be sourcedfrom reports of ITTO projects, from consultancy reports commissioned by theCouncil, or specially written for the Review, if necessary.

The Tropical Timber Market Information Service (TTMIS)

3.67 The Tropical Timber Market Information System is currently funded from projectfunds although the collection of price data for tropical timber is a core functionof the ITTO described in Article 27 of ITTA, 1983 and Article 29 of ITTA,1994. There is significant potential for this service to assist both producer and

consumer countries in the development of transparency for markets of tropicaltimber, but to do this the servi

technical working group 11

Documents