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The Malaysian
Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS)
began operation in October 2001
using a phased approach due to the
greater challenges encountered in
managing the complex tropical
forests. The standard initially used
for assessing Forest Management
Units (FMUs) for the purpose of
certification was the Malaysian
Criteria, Indicators, Activities and
Standards of Performance for Forest
Management Certification
[MC&I(2001)] which is based on the
1998 ITTO Criteria and Indicators
for Sustainable Management of
Natural Tropical Forests.
During the second phase of the
implementation of the MTCS beginning
late 2005, MTCC has been using the
Malaysian Criteria and Indicators
for forest management certification
[MC&I(2002)] which contains nine
principles, 47 criteria and 96
indicators.
For chain-of-custody (CoC)
certification, since 1 July 2008,
MTCC has been using the Technical
Document Annex 4 of the
Programme for the Endorsement of
Forest Certification schemes (PEFC).
OVERVIEW OF
MTCS
With effect from 1 July 2008, the
MTCS is operating under a new
institutional arrangement, where
MTCC continues to play the role of
the National Governing Body (NGB)
for the scheme, while the
independent assessors become the
Certification Bodies (CBs), who will
receive and process the application
for certification, conduct the
assessment and make the decision to
award the Certificate for Forest
management and/or Certificate for
Chain-of-Custody. The CBs are
required to be accredited to the
Department of Standards Malaysia,
the national accreditation body in
Malaysia. The new institutional
arrangement is as shown in Figure 1.
(Under construction!)
Figure 1
Certificate for Forest Management
The
Certificate for Forest Management
is
issued to confirm that the Permanent
Reserved Forests (PRFs) in the FMU
have complied with the requirements
of the forest management standard
used in the MTCS. Holders of valid
Certificates for Forest Management
may use the MTCC logo off-product to
provide an assurance that their FMUs
adhere to good forest management
practices as required by the forest
management standard.
Certificate for Chain-of-Custody
The
Certificate for Chain-of-Custody
is
issued to confirm that the
manufacturer or exporter has
complied with the standard used in
the MTCS. Holders of valid
Certificates for Chain-of-Custody
may use the MTCC logo, on-product
and off-product, to provide an
assurance to buyers that their
timber products are manufactured
from MTCS-certified sources of
wood-based materials.
Details of the FMUs and timber
companies which have been awarded
the MTCS Certificates can be viewed
under
Certificate Holders.
RECOGNITION OF MTCS
Denmark
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The Danish
Ministry of the Environment has
included the MTCS as one of the
accepted certification schemes
in its document entitled
Purchasing Tropical
Timber-Environmental Guidelines,
describing the MTCS certificate
as providing a good guarantee of
legal forest management, on its
way towards becoming
sustainable. (October 2003)
United Kingdom
-
The report
commissioned by the Central
Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET),
an expert group appointed by the
Department for Environment Food
& Rural Affairs (DEFRA), United
Kingdom, continues to recognize
MTCS as providing the assurance
of legally harvested timber in
the United Kingdom government’s
timber procurement policy. The
recent 2008 review by the CPET
has acknowledged that since the
MTCS is in the process of
introducing revised
requirements, it will be able to
provide evidence of
sustainability once these
revisions are fully in place.
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The Royal
Horticultural Society (RHS) of
UK has listed the MTCS as one of
the seven recognised
certification schemes in its
Conservation and Environment
Guidelines. (May 2005)
France
-
The French
Ministry of Environment and
Sustainable Development and the
Ministry of Agriculture, Food
and Rural Affairs have listed
the MTCS as one of the
acceptable certification schemes
in the French Policy on Public
Procurement of Timber and Wood
Products entitled French
National Timber Procurement
Policy. (December 2005)
Japan
-
The MTCS is
listed as one of the
certification schemes in the
Guideline for Verification on
Legality and Sustainability of
Wood and Wood Products issued by
the Forestry Agency, Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, Japan. (April 2006)
The Netherlands
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As at 10 March
2009, MTCS has been accepted
under the Keurhout Protocol for
Legal Origin (KH-LET) in The
Netherlands (previous acceptance
is by certificate only). In
addition six forest management
units (FMUs) and 11 MTCS Certificate for Chain-of-Custody
have been accepted under the Keurhout Protocol for
Sustainable Forest Management
(KH-SFM).
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The Dutch
Ministry of Housing, Spatial
Planning and Environment (VROM)
has accepted the MTCS
certificate as meeting the
requirements for legality of
timber. (April 2007)
New Zealand
Germany
updated on 20 January 2010
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