The work of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is the formal, institutionalized part of a complex system of interactions occur­ ring in the international tropical timber economy. This chapter will not deal with the full range of these activities, although due consideration will be given to those that have affected the work of the ITTO. Consideration will first be given to the background to and contents of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983 (ITTA 1983), the first commodity agree­ ment to include a conservation component, which gave birth to the ITTO. This agreement would have expired on 31 March 1994 if the negotiation of a successor agreement had not been concluded. Shortly before that deadline, in January 1994, the negotiation of the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994 was concluded. The negotiations leading to this agreement will be considered in Chapter 5. This chapter will analyse the history of the ITTO. At the time of writing (July 1996) the ITTA 1994 has yet to enter into legal effect, and until such time as it does the ITTA 1983 may remain in effect by special vote of the International Tropical Timber Council.