Published on: Friday, July 30, 2010 |
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah could do with the likes of the Lacey Act - a United States law aimed at addressing illegal logging and plant trade - and turn the State into a prime importer of timber and timber products in the world in future.
Sabah Forestry Department Director, Datuk Sam Mannan, said physically, the State does not possess the resources to compete with timber-producing states but the age-old Act, recently amended in May 2008, could make Sabah the most respected, thus, gaining the trust of importers worldwide.
"We can't compete with them (peninsula and Sarawak) on volume (of timber) simply because they have more land mass than us.
"But if we have something extra that people like (for instance) good reputation, quality and legality, people will come," he said to reporters after attending the opening of the Legality Training Workshop here, Thursday.
The event was organised by the WWF's Global Forest and Trade Network, and wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC, in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The first law of its kind to prohibit the import, sale or trade of illegally-harvested wood and wood products, the Lacey Act has also given a boost to anti-illegal logging efforts in other countries, with the European Union already negotiating bilateral voluntary procurement agreements.
A growing number of US-based forest product importers would now seek assurances from their suppliers that the products they sourced overseas have been legally produced.
This means the timber has been harvested, possessed, transported, sold or exported without breaking any relevant laws in the country where the tree was grown, even if it was processed in another country.
"In a nutshell, it means it is illegal to import timber (or timber products) that has been illegally harvested or traded to the US," said Kuala Lumpur-based US Embassy Economic Officer, Kris Kvols.
"So it provides a strong tool to combat illegal logging (and) it has been very impactful internationally," he said, pointing out, under the Lacey Act, offenders, who bring in illegal timber or its products to the US, could be investigated and prosecuted, including using the laws of the offender's land of origin.
"The US courts can interpret foreign laws (for instance) Malaysian laws to prosecute offenders (who are Malaysians).
"So, if someone violates a Federal law, regulation or conditions of their licences in Sabah, that could be grounds for their prosecution in the US courts," he said.
Towards this end, Mannan said although Sabah has its own forestry laws to curb illegal logging, there was nothing wrong to learn more about the Lacey Act, especially on how it could be used to the State's advantage, adding it will also encourage sustainable forest management efforts in Sabah.
He also said it was useful for timber product makers in the State to know more about the Act, as most of the timber or products from it end up in the United States despite being exported to other countries earlier on, with Kvols adding "paying attention to the Lacey Act will be good for business."
He said about RM100 million worth of timber and timber products were directly exported to the US from Sabah in 2009, adding over RM3 billion of the same items were exported worldwide from the State last year.
Meanwhile, Kvols said the US would continue providing assistance to conserve threatened forests and protect threatened species, for example, supporting the Sabah Forestry Department in restoring important orang-utan habitat in the Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve, among others.
Representatives from the Government and industry were briefed on the background of the amended US Lacey Act, what US importers need from Malaysian suppliers and how to help US customers demonstrate due care, among others.
