The Pilot Projects team returns to the Carrefour International du Bois in Nantes for the 2026 edition building on the momentum of the Conservation Timber Forum we convened here in 2024. This year, we arrive with something new to show.

Following the Selva Maya Conservation Timber Summit which brought together ejidos and key regional actors to co-design the supply chain, the standards, and the partnerships that make conservation timber a viable and traceable offer for European buyers and two years of development work with Rainforest Alliance Mexico, we've reached the moment to build what that gathering called for.

La Mesita Maya

Not just a table. This wood represents biodiversity conservation through people's efforts, harvested by ejido communities in the Selva Maya whose work sustains both a forest and a way of life. Machiche, Tzalam, Ciricote: lesser-known timber species that global markets have long overlooked, but whose quality, durability, and responsible sourcing make them ready for the world stage.

This is where traceability begins. Deep in the Selva Maya, community technicians measure and map each tree using the latest digital tools. By the time this timber reaches European markets, every step of its journey is documented, certified, and accountable.

Rainforest Alliance partners with 25 ejido organizations in the Yucatán Peninsula and 12 community forestry concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. About 70,000 people directly or indirectly benefit from a healthy Selva Maya and making forest conservation an economic engine, not a constraint.

Forests thrive when the people who live in them have reasons to protect them. When European buyers choose certified timber from community-managed forests, they are not just procuring a product they are helping sustain the livelihoods of an entire generation.

Roundtable — June 2, 9:30–11:00 AM

FSC-Certified Timber from Selva Maya in European Markets

Organized by ATIBT and Rainforest Alliance. Hall XXL, Stand I27. Facilitated by José Román Carrera, Rainforest Alliance. The conversation around EUDR compliance and community timber is exactly where the wood industry and conservation sector need to meet.

The work that produced La Mesita Maya started in a room like this one. Come find the team at the show.

To connect with the Pilot Projects team at CIB 2026, reach us at info@pilot-projects.org.