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Malaysian Timber Certification Council

Tracking illegally logged rainforst timber leaving Indonesia
Tracking illegally logged rainforst timber leaving Indonesia

Key flaws in the Malaysian Timber Certification Council

Several Malaysian social, environmental, and community-based organisations were involved in reviewing the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) scheme in 1999. 14 of these groups (collectively named JOANGOHutan) withdrew from the scheme in July 2001, when it became clear that it did not guarantee legality and sustainable forest management, and did not respect the basic rights of indigenous peoples, thereby fuelling human rights conflicts. The serious flaws within the MTCC scheme include:

MTCC doesn't recognize the customary tenure and user rights of indigenous peoples and local forest communities. For example in May 2003 14 villagers from a Temuan indigenous community were arrested when they tried to stop a logging company from carrying out its work on their ancestral land in Pahang. This encroachment on indigenous land took place despite the fact that Pahang has been certified by MTCC as "sustainably managed forest" since 2001.

MTCC has also recently certified a concession in Sarawak, despite an unresolved land claim by the indigenous Penan people which is currently before the Malaysian courts. In February of this year, 19 Penan leaders and 582 Penan from a remote area of Sarawak demanded an immediate withdrawal of the MTCC certificate, and called on the company to cease the destructive logging in the area. Greenpeace has satellite images illustrating the extent of destructive logging that we would be pleased to provide to the committee if requested.
Greenpeace research has identified other serious concerns about the MTCC scheme, including:
  • MTCC criteria and indicators fail to adequately safeguard social values and environmental conservation;
  • MTCC certifies on the basis of whole states in Peninsular Malaysia, thereby disregarding the variable practices within concrete forest operations in a given Malaysian state;
  • MTCC lacks a well-defined performance based standard;
  • MTCC Chain-of-Custody procedures and standards allow for up to 30 per cent uncertified wood and fibre products up to 70 per cent with no adequate requirements on the uncertified material. Thus the MTCC labeled products can be intermixed with illegally acquired wood.

For example, it is clear that large amounts of illegal timber are being trafficked from Indonesia to Malaysia. Figures from the Malaysian Statistical office record log production of one species, selangan batu, as 404 000 m3 in the year 2004; yet record log exports of the species as 585 000 m3, and sawn timber exports of the species as 210 000 m3. This means that legal exports of selangan batu products from Sarawak are nearly double legal production.






Tags: forests, certification schemes, MTCC
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UK government makes 'clear-cut' decision on timber

Posted by admin on 29 November 2005.

In July 2000 the UK government introduced a policy requiring all of its departments and agencies to 'actively seek' to buy timber from legal and sustainable sources. Given that central government procurement accounts for approximately 15 per cent of timber used in the UK (and that the broader public sector may account for as much as 40 per cent), this was seen as a positive move to push the wider UK timber market towards environmentally and socially responsible sources.

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FSC, forests, illegal timber, government, certification schemes, PEFC, MTCC, SFI, CSA, CPET
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MTCC rainforest certification scheme exposed as seriously flawed

19 May 2005
Malaysian rainforests are still under threat from illegal logging

Malaysian rainforests are still under threat from illegal logging

Greenpeace today (17th May 2005) released Missing Links, a report that identifies serious gaps in the certification standards of the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC), and highlighting its lack of credibility as a certifier of legal or environmentally responsible forest management.

The report shows:

  • MTCC procedures do not ensure certified products are legal.
  • The MTCC chain of custody system does not require independent tracking of wood from forest to first point of timber processing - a missing link that means all MTCC chain of custody claims have no credibility.
  • There are no requirements to ensure independent verification of the chain of custody of MTCC timber exported to the Europe or elsewhere.
  • There are no credible checks on the origin of uncertified material that is allowed to be mixed with certified material timber. This means that illegal timber can enter the chain of custody and be sold as MTCC-certified.
  • Contrary to international treaties and standards, the MTCC system does not address indigenous peoples land rights.

Click here to download a copy of the report in .PDF format.

The MTCC recently awarded certification to a company, Samling, for controversial logging operations in the tropical rainforests of Borneo, despite two decades of protest by indigenous people including the Penan tribe.

A review of new rules, to be phased in during 2006, will not require an effective chain of custody from stump to sawmill, or third-party checks on the origin of uncertified timber. This means that illegal timber may continue to enter European markets as MTCC certified.

"European timber buyers should be aware that MTCC certification is not a guarantee of either legality or environmentally responsible forest management, and worse still MTCC timber may be stolen from indigenous peoples' lands," said Pat Venditti, Senior Forest Campaigner at Greenpeace. "This also calls into question paper assessments by the UK government that MTCC wood can be deemed legal."

Greenpeace urges timber buyers, governments and public authorities to preference the standards and requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and to avoid buying, specifying or recommending MTCC timber. The FSC is widely recognised as the international standard for responsible forestry and currently the only credible certification scheme.

For more information contact:
Pat Venditti, Greenpeace UK Forest Campaigner: +44 207 865 8250.
Greenpeace UK press office: 00 44 207 865 8225.
Grant Rosoman, Greenpeace International Forests Campaigner and certification advisor: +643 382 5476

Tags: forests, press releases, south east asia, MTCC, rainforest