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 No mercy for controversial Malaysian tropical timber certificatesBy Robin Wood Robin Wood 2003-05-31 | 29th May 2003 - The German government is asked to stop purchasing timber of uncertain origin -This morning, ROBIN WOOD activists were present at the international trade fair for timber and forestry LIGNA in Hanover to protest against the German government's continuous purchase of tropical timber regardless of the over exploitation of tropical rainforests. ROBIN WOOD particularly criticises the government's intentions of officially recognising the controversial certificate for tropical timber issued by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC). At the trade fair the activists visited the delegation of the Malaysian Minister of Primary Industry, Dr. Lim Keng Yaik, and presented him with a wreath bearing the inscription: "In remembrance of Malaysia's rainforest and forest nomads". They also displayed banners which read: "Right to their land and right to a say for Malaysia's forest peoples" and "MTCC - Malaysian Timber Cannot Convince". The Malaysian Minister is currently on a European tour to promote the Malaysian certificate and his country's export of tropical timber. The recognition of this certificate would undermine the official agreement on the purchase of timber. The coalition contract of the Social Democratic Party and the Green Party states that "Tropical timber may only be purchased for public use if certified by the FSC". The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) currently issues the only certificate for ecologically and socially acceptable forestry which is recognised by environmental organisations. The German government has not been meeting its obligations to comply with the coalition contract. To make matters worse, a temporary recognition of deficient certificates is currently being discussed behind the scenes. "The people in Germany do not wish for their tax money to be spent on plundering rainforests," says Jens Wieting, ROBIN WOOD's Expert on Tropical Rainforests. "We would like to ask the German government to only recognise certificates which meet the requirements of the FSC as a minimum." The MTTC's certificate does not meet FSC standards as it fails to ensure the recognition of the native forest peoples' land claims and lacks a credible monitoring body. Malaysia's tropical forests are decreasing dramatically. In the 90s alone, Malaysia lost 13 per cent of its native forest area. In the process of granting logging concessions the local population continuous to be ignored. On the island of Borneo, the forest nomads Penan are struggling to find enough remaining forest area to survive in. In addition, large quantities of illegally logged timber are being sold to Europe via Malaysia. 40 environmental organisations from all over the world have therefore signed a common declaration to point out the weaknesses of the MTCC certificate and oppose Malaysia's policies on exporting timber. Contact: Jens Wieting, Expert on Tropical Rainforests (On site in Hanover) PH: 0171 / 835 95 15 tropenwald@robinwood.de Ute Bertrand ROBIN WOOD Press Officer PH: 040 / 380 892-22 presse@robinwood.de Go here to read the environmental organisations' resolution against the MTCC:http://www.robinwood.de/tropenwald Reference LinksImage Links
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