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Annabelle McGuinness* talks to S.K.Tham about the work of the Malaysian Timber Council in tackling both sustainability issues and international NGOs’ sceptism of the industry Established
in January 1992, in response to the anti-tropical timber campaign in Europe and
promote Malaysian timber products abroad, the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC) has
grown from a three-man team to a legitimate national institution. S.K.Tham,
Director of the MTC in London, is a quietly spoken yet resolute individual, who
remains extremely frustrated by the efforts of some international non-Government
organisations (NGOs) to discredit the Malaysian timber industry abroad and
hinder the growth of the international Malaysian timber market. I spoke to S.K.
Tham and asked him what systems have been put in place to placate the concerns
of critics and to encourage sustainable timber practices.
“The Ministry of Primary Industries sets the policy guidelines and the Forestry Department actually manages the forests and ensures that logging is carried out according to various guidelines. “Forestry management has been established in Malaysia since 1901, more than 100 years of forestry management. The British set up the first Forestry Department and since then guidelines have been developed, learning from experience. “The timber industry now accounts for 4.5 per cent of GDP in Malaysia, with 62 per cent of the country under natural forest. In 1992, total timber exports to the EU totalled RM1.5 billion; this figure increased to RM2.0 billion by 2002. This is no coincidence, but as a result of a long and concerted effort by Malaysia to tackle head on the issue of sustainable timber production and raise the profile of the Malaysian timber industry abroad. “In Malaysia, we have what we call Permanent Reserved Forest, totalling 14.45 million hectares or 71.5 per cent of total forest land. Of this, 74 per cent are Production Forest, which are managed for the sustainable production of timber. The remaining 26 per cent is Protection Forest and a further 1.83 million hectares are national parks, wildlife and bird sanctuaries where logging is not allowed. Serious allegations by NGOs against Malaysia incorrectly surmise that there are no more virgin forests left in Malaysia. This is blatantly incorrect. There are a substantial amount of virgin forests untouched by any logging activity. Almost 17 per cent of the total land in Malaysia or 28 per cent of total forest land is virgin forest, that’s an area greater than the UK’s total forestation. ”What measures have been put in place to ensure sustainable forestry management. “Malaysia has set up its own certification system (Malaysian Timber Certification Council or MTCC) and has worked with the FSC to establish a new set of Malaysian Criteria and Indicators (MC&I) that are compatible with the FSC principles. At the moment, the MTCC scheme is based on the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)’s criteria and indicators. In its next phase, the MTCC will be switching from its present ITTO-based criteria to the new FSC-based MC&I. But this does not mean that we automatically get FSC certification, we are still discussing this. It does mean, however, that we will be working to standards comparable to the FSC." This practical policy is making an impact on exports to Europe. The Danish government has formally recognised the MTCC scheme for its timber procurement guidelines. S.K. Tham hopes that the UK Government will follow suit, with the UK Government now formulating its public timber procurement guidelines. Nevertheless, the tropical timber industry is beset by the perennial problems associated with illegal logging that threaten to undermine the sustainable timber industry. S.K. Tham identified two separate strands of the problem, which need to be recognised and addressed. “We have to focus on two separate aspects here: illegal logging within Malaysia; and illegal logging practised outside Malaysia, but where the illegal logs are finding their way into Malaysia. “We do not have a problem with illegal logging within Malaysia. As specified by two previous reports carried out by WWF and the World Bank, the incidence of illegal logging in Malaysia is less than one per cent. This is primarily because we have introduced very strict penalties for illegal logging, There is a minimum mandatory jail sentence of one year for illegal logging, which can be extended to twenty years and a fine of RM500,000. We are the only country in the world that has a mandatory one-year jail sentence for illegal logging. “Nevertheless, we have a major problem with Indonesia, because illegal logging there is so rampant and the country seems powerless to stop it. It is those logs that are finding their way into Malaysia. Since June last year, we have banned the import of Indonesian logs. We are now tightening up on enforcement throughout the industry to curb the problem. Unfortunately, Indonesian inaction is impacting on our market. ” While S.K. Tham argues that much is being achieved within Malaysia to counter international concerns, he remains frustrated by NGOs apparent indiscriminate criticisms of tropical timber practices that effectively brand all tropical timber as unsustainable. “We do not mind legitimate and constructive criticism, we can try to respond to that, but sweeping statements not based on any concrete facts are not constructive and are very misleading and irresponsible. Responsible NGOs should not just only criticize and find faults but also give credit to progress that have been achieved and to encourage and work constructively with tropical timber countries in their efforts.” In response to the problem of the illegal log trade, the Malaysian Government is seeking to establish working arrangements with the EU. “The EU has launched a new action plan – FLEGT, the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade to combat illegal logging and the trade in illegal timber. After the launch of the plan in March of this year, the Malaysian Minister of Primary Industries visited Brussels and we were one of the first countries to state our preparedness to work with the EU to achieve its objectives.” Criticised for not signing the Asian FLEG, an initiative aimed at halting illegal logging within the individual Asian countries, S.K Tham distinguishes fundamental differences between the two initiatives. “The EU initiative includes the international trade in illegal logs and timber, while the Asian FLEG only addresses illegal logging within the Asian countries and do not address the issue of the illegal trade in logs. If we sign up to the latter declaration this is tantamount to admitting that we in Malaysia have a serious problem in tackling these problems internally; this is simply not true. We have a working relationship with Indonesia, a Bilateral Ministerial Working Committee on Forestry, which we feel is a more effective channel to address the problem. Malaysia cannot enter Indonesia to stop the illegal logging. This has to be resolved by Indonesia itself as a sovereign nation. The EU FLEGT deals with the illegal trade in logs and this has a direct impact on Malaysia, this is the problem, not illegal logging within Malaysia itself.” It is fair to say that the Malaysian timber industry has worked hard to establish itself as a one-stop tropical shop for sustainable high- quality timber products. Well-established trading links with the West, together with an internal system which guarantees a high standard of workmanship and timber quality sets this industry apart from its competitors in the tropical timber market. It seems the only, but perhaps crucial, barrier to further progress is that of political will and a reluctant acceptance by those critics to recognise the legitimate efforts of the Malaysian timber industry to change and progress. A final plea from S.K. Tham: “Certainly there is always room for improvement and we are not perfect, but we are doing our best and progress has been made. We merely ask to be treated fairly and to be recognised for the progress we have achieved. * from SDUK - Sustainable Development UK Magazine |
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MTC’s
