KUALA LUMPUR: The Netherland’s appeals panel has rejected the Malaysian Timber Certification Council’s (MTCC) appeal against a 2010 decision by Dutch timber procurement body TPAC.

According to the Timber Industry magazine, the panel found that the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) had not met the Netherland’s procurement criteria for wood.

Timber Industry, a UK magazine for the timber trade, said on Monday, Oct 24 the independent panel SMK, had rejected the MTCC’s appeal against TPAC’s decision.

Timber Industry said TPAC’s rejection was based on the MTCS’s limited recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples and lack of adequate protection against the conversion of certified natural forest to other uses, included plantations.

The magazine also said MTCC had not provided substantive arguments in their case, hence the appeal was dismissed.

To recap, the MTCC is an independent organisation established to develop and operate the MTCS to provide independent assessments of forest management practices in Malaysia as well as to meet the demand for certified timber products.

Timber certification is a market-linked tool to promote and encourage sustainable forest management as well as to provide an assurance to buyers that the timber products they buy come from sustainably managed forests.

Timber Industry quoted the MTCC as saying it regretted the decision as it undermined the efforts by developing tropical forest countries like Malaysia to implement timber certification.

The Netherlands is the largest market for Malaysian timber in the European Union and accounts for 49% of the MTCS’s exports of certified timber products.