The ATIBT Forum includes:

• International professionnel meetings
• Industrial visits to plywood, parquet and furniture factories and to the large commercial port of Zhang Jia Gang on the 19th, 20th and 21st September.
• Presentations and technical, economic and political debates to be made during the two conference days on the 22nd and 23rd September.

Forum Debates

On Thursday 22nd September, the debates will be on the following themes:

Commission I Forest

• The situation of management in tropical forest concessions, in particular Central Africa: the state of play, difficulties encountered, the consequences for exploitation under management, the challenge of managing small concessions: on average 50 000 hectares, importance of social and wildlife aspects of the management plan and in the daily activities of the company. (Dr. B. Cassagne, FRM)
• Carbon sinks: eligibility criteria for forest plantations, methods of measuring Carbon fixation, expected benefits for investors and host States, and problems of land tenure…) based on recently conducted feasibility studies in Gabon, Columbia and the Brazil project. (J.Plan, ONFI)
• Technical point of view on Certification procedures: from legality to certification- choice of certification system. (P.Hol, Form International)
• An example of procedure for putting a management unit into place in a company: costs/ expected benefits – interests: source of progress for the company. (F. Pesce, Fortea)

Commission II Wood

• The Asian tropical timber network : challenges and opportunities (Dr. C. Sales, CIRAD Forest)
• Consequences of the management plan: the necessity to use secondary species and to exploit the lower grades- An Italian case study (S. Morasso)
• Current state and changes in the European environmental and technical regulations: opportunities and constraints for Tropical Timber (Dr. C. Sales, CIRAD Forest)

Commission III Standards and Uses

• Definition and management strategy for the new economic risks in the tropical timber industry (M. Rouer, Becitizen)
• Evolution of standards in the trade of timber/ timber products (S. Morasso
• Changes in the standards and uses of veneer and plywood (S. Clark, Clark Veneer)
• Rules of Mensuration– Refraction allowed and trade in logs below the MHD (expert ATIBT)
• Regulations of CITES species, management of timber imports/exports (Representative from CITES China)

Commission IV Transport

• Problem of the cost of fuel and rules of mensuration (D. Raux/ A. Henry, Delmas/Secam Armament)
• Promotion of secondary species and value added products: response of the transporters (D. Raux/ A. Henry, Delmas/Secam Armament)
• General context of maritime transport: world fleet, the renewal, needs by geographical zone… (D. Raux/ A. Henry, Delmas/Secam Armament
• Transport and transit of timber products as seen by the Director of the port of Zhang Jia Gang, the largest Chinese port for the import of timber
• Outline of the loading manual

The Friday 23rd September

Policy day: information and debates

•  Presentation of the Chinese import/export market with representatives of the Shanghai Timber Association and the Beijing Forestry Institute
• Debates on the relationships of other continents who are faced with the Asian phenomenon; moderated by S. Poynton (NGO TFT): 
• International forest dialogue, ITTO, FAO, COMIFAC, S.E. Asia, S.America, N. America, Europe on the Forum theme:

Discovering the current and future Asian market for wood products:

- its needs and supply sources of raw material
- its local market and its capacity to export processed products
- its sensitivity and its demands for legal and sustainable products

For information,