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Extracted from
Malaysiakini
Timber council
says indigenous groups back logging
Mar
17,
The majority of the villages located within Samling’s forest
management unit (FMU) in the Sela’an-Linau forest in
According to MTCC, indigenous groups in the
Long Benali, one of the villages in the Samling area certified
in 2003 by MTCC, has been protesting against logging encroachments into what
they claim is ancestral land since 1993.
The villagers also believe logging will lead to environmental degradation of
their area.
Last month, their three-year blockade at a strategic
entry point into the area was dismantled by police personnel and workers
from the company.
Villagers
face hardships
In a statement received yesterday, MTCC said the
blockade was removed by the state authorities as it had become a
"development issue" and since "there have been appeals from
other indigenous communities whose daily life has been adversely affected by
the blockade."
Among the hardships, said MTCC chief executive officer Chew Lye Teng, were the communities’ lack of easy access to the
nearest town, for their children to go to school and for emergency purposes.
The blockade had also led to problems in transporting subsidised agricultural
materials and equipments such as fertilisers and pipes, the shortage and high
price of fuel and cooking gas, problems in electricity supply and medical
treatment and equipment, said Chew.
"In this regard, the erection of the blockade by the indigenous community
in Long Benali is considered to be an infringement of
the relevant regulations," he said.
In a March 13 press release, environmental group Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)
said the dismantling of the Long Benali blockade
indicates "serious flaws" in the MTCC certification scheme as it
seems only to "provide the seal of approval to forests which have not
earned it."
"In our view, MTCC is in serious need of revamping its scheme and must
begin to address the flawed legal and governance framework in the Malaysian
forestry sector.
"A
certification scheme should not make sustainability and legality claims when it
is not able to prevent small pockets of the ancestral domains of poor
communities from being logged by a wealthy multinational timber
corporation," said SAM president SM Mohamed Idris.
Scheme
credibility unaffected
Chew, however, noted that MTCC proceeded with the assessment and certification
of Samling’s FMU (forest management unit) upon being satisfied that state and
national legislative requirements had been fulfilled.
Other issues and concerns, meanwhile, held by the indigenous communities in
relation to Samling's operations are discussed in a liaision committee whose
membership include state and company officials as well as representatives from
the indigenous communities within the FMU, said Chew.
"While it is acknowledged that the certification of the Sela'an-Linau FMU
has been challenging, it has not affected the credibility of the MTCC
scheme," he added.
Chew noted further that MTCC’s certification is recognised
by authorities in the