ENVIRONMENTAL watchdog RimbaWatch has expressed concern that most of the deforestation occurring across forest reserves in Malaysia is done through legal means.
It today reiterated a call to the Kedah authorities to explain why logging activities are taking place in close proximity to the Muda reservoir within the highly sensitive Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.
The NGO urged for an investigation on the impacts to the reservoir’s environment through the activities, and for action to halt logging activities within the reserve.
It said that the entirety of the forest complex needs to be established as a protected area to protect the Muda reservoir.
It said this in a statement denying that it is making any claim that there is illegal logging in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, as asserted by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
“The allegation that we produced data to claim there is illegal logging in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve is incorrect.”
Last Sunday, Nik Nazmi had said that the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM) confirmed that there is no illegal logging or encroachment in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.
He said that they will continue investigating “because we receive complaints from NGOs and so on.”
To this, RimbaWatch stressed that in its original statement last week, it had stated that “through monitoring of satellite imagery, RimbaWatch has noticed that the Muda reservoir is being muddied through deposits from the Ulu Muda river, which flows through logging operations upriver.”
“Throughout our original press statement, we had neither explicitly nor implicitly stated that illegal logging was occurring within the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.
“Importantly, the key purpose of our press statement was not to present conclusive findings on the contamination of the Muda reservoir, but rather to urge the Kedah state government to investigate the impact of these logging operations on the reservoir’s environment,” it said today.
“If there is no illegal logging in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, then it openly implies that there is legal logging occurring,” it added.
RimbaWatch stressed that based on data from Global Forest Watch (GFW), deforestation alerts were clearly indicated occurring within the boundaries of the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve in 2023 (see image above).
It pointed to evidence showing logging, whether legal or not, taking place in the reserve since 2021.
Revoke timber certification for Kedah forestry unit
The watchdog also referred to Sirim Bhd’s 2023 audit report of the Kedah Forest Management Unit (FMU).
Sirim is formerly known as the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia.
It said that that the report factually notes that legal logging in compartments 122 and 40 of the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve are not being adequately monitored.
“Sirim has established that logging in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve is insufficiently monitored, yet the federal and Kedah state governments have not addressed this finding in their responses to us, nor have they openly acknowledged or communicated this fact to the public in their denials of our findings,” RimbaWatch said.
“In particular, we are concerned that the relevant authorities are attempting to sweep this issue under the carpet by saying that there is no illegal logging, while not acting on, or being transparent about, the issue of legal logging in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve.”
RimbaWatch called on Sirim to revoke the MTCS (Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme) certification for the Kedah FMU, which is under the state Forestry Department.
The NGO also called on the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) headquartered in Geneva to investigate Sirim’s certifications of FMUs, and declare a moratorium on its endorsement of the MTCS.
Top consumer countries such as Japan, the Netherlands and the UK are also urged to stop importing MTCS timber until all the issues identified can be rectified.
Additionally, RimbaWatch demanded that the Kedah government release the list of licences and concessions for logging within the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve boundaries.
It also demanded the environment ministry act on past commitments to transparency and release the relevant environmental impact assessments for logging activities in the reserve. – The Vibes, January 30, 2024
