A Report on the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme - Rengah ...

The list of organisations attending the informal consultations in Peninsular Malaysia shows a balance
of interests. However, in Sabah and Sarawak there was no organisation in the stakeholder group to
represent social and independent environmental interests (NTCC 2000a, Annex I, in Sandom & Simula
2001:11). In addition, the timeframe for these state-level consultations was very limited. From the
available documentation, it appears that only about one month was available before the national
consultation and finalisation of the MC&I took place (Sandom & Simula 2001:9).
Sandom & Simula’s study of the process reveals that, from the beginning, the scheme initiator lacked
a comprehensive understanding of the need for the broad-based participation of all interest groups.
The process was therefore seen as an after-thought and there was insufficient preparation and little
room to properly equip the stakeholders with the necessary information and skills for meaningful
participation. It should, however, be acknowledged that in the Malaysian context a multi-stakeholder
consultation was a relatively new approach. MTCC acknowledges it was on a steep learning curve in
facilitating and organising these consultations. 9
A national–level consultation on the MC&I was held in October 1999: 85 interested groups were
invited and 58 organisations participated. Of those invited, more than half of them (44) represented
economic interest groups, while 17 of them were social and environmental organisations. The rest
were government, research and academic institutes. There were 111 participants representing the 58
organisations that attended this national consultation. Approximately 28% of the participating organisations
were government agencies, 46% were trade and industry associations, 5% were academic/
research institutions and 21% were NGOs (NTCC 2000a).
The first version of
the MC&I was
adopted during
the national consultation,
despite
the reservations
The first version of the MC&I was adopted
despite the reservations of five NGOs who
stressed the importance of recognising native
customary rights, rules, practices and values.
of five NGOs who stressed the importance of recognising native customary rights, rules, practices
and values in the MC&I (Yong 2001:43-45) and proposed that certification in Sarawak be deferred.
The national level consultation was followed by a Workshop on Forest Certification jointly organised
by the NTCC, FSC, WWF, TFT (Tropical Forest Trust) and GTZ (German Agency for Technical
Cooperation) in December 2000 had 167 participants. Discussions focused on issues surrounding
the harmonisation of standards between the FSC and the MC&I, and also on the formation of a
National Steering Committee (NSC) to oversee standards development. From the minutes of the
workshop, it seems that economic interest groups, forest managers and other government organisations
dominated the discussion. They insisted on a fourth chamber for ‘Direct Resource Managers’ in
addition to the existing social, environment and economic chambers. In the subsequent NSC meeting,
a WWF Malaysia representative questioned the interests of the direct resource management
group and flagged the fact that this group could be biased towards one particular interest (NSC
Minutes 24 April 2001). Nevertheless, this expanded structure of the NSC went unchanged.
Of the 20 organisations representing social and environmental interests in the Workshop on Forest
Certification, half of them issued a joint statement to express their concern that they had not been
adequately consulted. A total of 13 NGOs eventually withdrew from the process in July 2001 in
protest that their views and opinions had not been taken into consideration, particularly on the issue
of indigenous peoples’ rights within FMUs (Yong 2002:133-135). These groups formed JOANGOHutan,
Malaysia – a network of non-governmental, community and indigenous peoples’ organisations. They
demanded that ‘… the process for the development of standards and criteria for timber certification
be participatory, consultative, open, transparent and involve representation of all key stakeholder
groups at all levels who have a genuine interest in forest management and conservation in Malaysia’
(Yong 2002:130).