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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
How Sustainable is Malaysia's Forest Industry?
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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises
November 28, 1995
OVERVIEW & SOURCE
The question of how sustainable Malaysia's Forest Industry is will
have great impact beyond Malaysia's dwindling forest resources and
lost tropical wilderness. This is because Malaysian style
industrial forestry is being exported to the last virgin tracts of
rainforests remaining on the planet. This sickness, once over
heavy logging under the guise of development, threatens to erase
millions of years of evolution and ecological diversification.
Bruno-Manser-Fonds, Association for the peoples of the rainforest,
reports on the the state of Malaysia's forests.
g.b.
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/** Newsletter Nov 95, Bruno Manser Fonds **/
** Topic: LOGGING IN SARAWAK **
** Written by Bruno Manser and Roger Graf **
How Sustainable is Malaysia's Forest Industry?
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Malaysia, the world's largest exporter of tropical wood (50
percent of the world market in 1990), essentially has a good
forestry law which should guarantee it a sustainable use of its
forests. It is not the same in practice. Based on the exhaustion
of its own forest resources, West Malaysia has already become an
importer of wood from the two east Malaysian states of Sarawak and
Sabah. Sarawak has too few forestry officials to enforce the law
in this respect.
Maximum felling quantities as recommended by the International
Timber Trade Organization (ITTO) have been exceeded. And
stipulations concerning the minimum diameter for fellable trees,
time spans before a second cutting, protected species (such as
abang) and the incline of the land are often disregarded. An
aerial view exposes the tremendous erosion damage. Even half of
the Magoh Biosphere Reservation has already been developed and
exploited.
The most tragic fact, however, is the disregard for the
traditional land rights of the indigenous peoples. Over 700
members of various Dayak groups have been arrested in the past
years for their determined resistance.
"Eco" labels for wood and "sustainable forestry" which are
conferred by individuals are not credible. At the present time,
hevea is the only timber on the market from Malaysia which can be
verified as sustainable. Hevea is a caoutchouc-producing tree
whose wood has acquired a useful purpose when the tree has been
"milked out"
For further information or comments, please contact:
Bruno-Manser-Fonds
Association for the peoples of the rainforest
BMF,
Heuberg 25
CH-4051 Basel
Switzerland
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You are encouraged to utilize this information for personal
campaign use; including writing letters, organizing campaigns and
forwarding. All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely
pieces; though ultimate responsibility for verifying all
information rests with the reader. Check out our Gaia Forest
Archives at URL= http://gaia1.ies.wisc.edu/research/pngfores/
Networked by:
Ecological Enterprises/ 301K Eagle Heights/ Madison, WI 53705
USA/ Phone- (608) 233-2194/ Fax- (608) 233-2193/ Emails-
grbarry@students.wisc.edu or switpi@igc.apc.org