Up to 800 government officials, industry executives and researchers from around the globe will convene in Macau next week for the third Global Legal & Sustainable Timber Forum (GLSTF) at MGM COTAI on Sept. 23–24. Co-organized by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and Macau’s Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute, with support from the Global Green Supply Chains Initiative Secretariat, the event aims to align booming consumer demand with transparent, low-carbon timber supply chains.
Under the banner “From Forest to Home – An International Dialogue on Emerging Consumer Trends and Supply Chain Innovation,” delegates will attend a single plenary session and four specialised sub-forums. Sessions will address timber legality and sustainability, blockchain-based traceability, green finance, and market innovations for the furniture and home furnishings industries.
“We aim to bridge policy and practice by bringing together government, industry and research leaders,” said Samuel Vira, Secretary-General of the ITTO. “By sharing case studies on certified wood products and advances in traceability, we can accelerate the shift toward legally sourced, climate-friendly timber.”
Running alongside the sessions, an exhibition will feature companies from Germany, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan and China. Exhibitors will showcase certified wood products, low-carbon building materials and emerging traceability technologies, including the latest updates to the Global Timber Index and a blockchain-based Timber Tracking System. “This display highlights practical solutions that reinforce legal supply chains and drive down emissions,” said Elena Rossi, director of the Global Green Supply Chains Initiative Secretariat.
Macau’s role as host underscores China’s dominance in global timber markets. In 2021, China accounted for 18% of worldwide forest-product demand and 71% of Asia’s consumption. The country now imports more than half of its wood requirements—including sawn timber, logs, pulp and paper—and brought in 41 million cubic meters of logs and sawn wood that year alone, much of which is processed locally before re-export.
