Joint study to review criteria for forest certification
Copyright 2000
Business Times (Malaysia)
December 7, 2000
By Ariff Awang
THE US-based Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the National Timber Certification Council (NTCC) will conduct a study to amend the Malaysian Criteria, Indicators, Activities and Standards of Performance (MC&I) for Forest Management Certification.
NTCC Malaysia chairman Datuk Dr Freezailah Che Yeom said this will make the MC&I compatible with the FSC's criteria on sustainable forest management.
He said the FSC and NTCC have agreed to jointly fund a study to review the MC&I. For this, two independent consultants will compare the MC&I for Forest Management Certification and the FSC's guidelines.
Based on this study, the consultants will then recommend appropriate amendments to the certification considered necessary to complement the FSC's principles.
"Both consultants have been appointed to carry out the study, which isscheduled for implementation in January next year," he said at the two- day FSC-NTCC Collaboration Workshop on Forest Certification in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Freezailah said reports from the appointed consultants will be useful as input to the FSC and NTCC in their attempts to revise the MC&I for Forest Management Certification.
Forest certification is a procedure whereby an independent certifier gives a written assurance that a forest is being managed in accordance with agreed ecological, economic and social criteria.
The MC&I for Forest Management Certification was finalised and adopted by 111 participants from 58 organisations at the national level consultation held in October 1999 in Kuala Lumpur. It is the document used for forest management certification.
Since the early 1990s, forest certification processes have been initiated by various interest groups in many countries.
Founded in 1993, the FSC has established an accreditation programme under which independent certification bodies can operate.
The FSC has developed globally applicable principles and criteria for responsible forest management.
The council encourages national working groups to adapt these to the specific local context. In early 1999 more than 15 million ha of forest had been certified according to FSC guidelines.
Freezailah said forest certification based on the shared principles and fundamentals of the FSC and NTCC is complex. This is the reason that progress on forest certification has been slow.
"Even in Malaysia, a relatively small country, we have to address differences in the three regions of Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. On a global level, the FSC is confronted with more daunting problems because no two forests are similar," he said.