Emanuel ZeMeka makes an exit from ITTO

 Monday, November 16, 2015

After 24 years of dedicated service to ITTO in support of the promotion of sustainable management of the world’s tropical forests, ITTO Executive Director, Mr Emmanuel Ze Meka, make an exit from ITTO. During the period of his tenure as Executive Director of ITTO (2007–2015), the Organization’s membership grew from 60 to 72 parties, its largest ever.

Mr Ze Meka joined ITTO in 1991 as Project Manager in the Division of Reforestation and Forest Management. He was appointed Assistant Director for the Division of Forest Industry in 2000 and later for the Division of Reforestation and Forest Management. The International Tropical Timber Council elected him Executive Director In May 2007, and he assumed office on 6 November 2007.

Mr Ze Meka’s career before ITTO included senior governmental positions in Cameroon, his home country, where he will now return. ITTO bids farewell to a good friend and leader.

Mr Ze Meka spearheaded many notable achievements for ITTO during his term. Among these were:

•    Establishment of the ITTO Thematic Programmes, thereby opening a new window for the Organization and its members in addressing emerging issues on tropical forests.
•    Knowledge management strategy.
•    Field training activities, such as the promotion of efficient wood-processing technologies in tropical timber producing countries.
•    Updating of landmark policy documents and guidelines produced by the Organization, including:
    Voluntary Guidelines for the Sustainable Management of Natural Tropical Forests
    ITTO/IUCN Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Tropical Timber Production Forests
    World Atlas of Mangroves
    Status of Tropical Forest Management 2011.

And many more services that he had offered to the ITTO.

More than 200 field projects were financed in the three tropical timber producing regions during Mr Ze Meka’s tenure as Executive Director. Information on these projects can be obtained using the project search tool on the ITTO website, which was also created during the period of his administration.

Tags: emanuel zemeka, executive director, forest management, ITTO, world tropical forest