IISD Reporting Services at ITTC-34, 12-17 May 2003, Panama City, Panama

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34th Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees
12 - 17 May 2003 Panama City, Panama

SIDE EVENT: BOOK LAUNCH: �Changing Landscapes � The Development of the International Tropical Timber Organization and its influence on Tropical Forest Management�, by Duncan Poore.

Bin Che Yeom Freezailah, ITTC Chair (center), introduced Duncan Poore on the occasion of the launching of his book, Changing Landscapes: The development of the ITTO and its influence on tropical forest management. Freezailah stated that Poore is a world authority on the subject of tropical forests and that his contribution to the ITTO has been monumental.

Duncan Poore recalled that 18 years ago, he chaired a meeting at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) that stimulated States to sign on to the ITTA and to bring it into force. He underlined that his book is a culmination of efforts to this effect. Poore stressed the need to make ITTO�s achievements better known. He outlined the theme of the book from its opening chapter, which starts at the appearance of closed-canopy tropical rain forests 66 million years ago, goes through the challenges and successes that the ITTA faced in the 1990s, and ends with a review of its future prospects. He stressed that the ITTO has had an influence much greater than its size and that it has evolved to deal with issues that are much broader than the specific concerns that it was originally envisioned to address. In terms of future direction, Poore emphasized that the ITTO must focus on the real issues and should not be distracted by less significant matters.

Gonzalo A. Men�ndez, read a statement on behalf of Ricardo Anguizola, General Administrator of the National Environment Authority of Panama, honoring Poore. He noted that the book leads toward a greater society and provides the basis for new strategies and actions for the ITTO.

Jan McAlpine, ITTO Vice-Chair, expressed her enjoyment in reading the book. She glowingly stated that the book is innovative and interesting and noted that it is relevant to the upcoming renegotiation of ITTA, 1994. She enthusiastically endorsed it as the best tropical forests book that she has ever read.