As the third most-forested country in the world, Canada is the steward of nine percent of the world's forests and has a role to play in forest conservation and sustainable forest management globally.
That's why today, on COP28's Nature, Land Use, and Oceans Day, Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, announced that Canada has rejoined the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).
By rejoining the ITTO, Canada further demonstrates its ongoing commitment to halting and reversing deforestation by 2030 as agreed to in the Glasgow Leader's Declaration on Forests and Land Use, at a time when the role of forests in addressing global climate and biodiversity goals has never been so important.
The ITTO carries out programming on issues of interest and importance to the global community and Canada, including climate change mitigation and adaptation, landscape restoration, sustainable and transparent forest supply chains, and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Gender equality also features in its work through a dedicated focus on women's empowerment.
As a member of the ITTO and a leader in sustainable forest management, Canada will work constructively on these issues and, with its global partners, address conservation and sustainable forest management of tropical forests and promote legal and sustainable tropical timber supply chains.
Canada looks forward to once again being part of ITTO and to advancing the promotion of sustainable livelihoods, further contributing to the fight against climate change.
