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Last Updated on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:29

Persbericht Onafhankelijk College van Beroep: 'Hout uit Maleisië is echt niet duurzaam'

Amsterdam, 19 oktober 2011 - Maleisisch hout met het MTCS-keurmerk voldoet niet aan de inkoopcriteria van de Nederlandse overheid voor duurzaam hout. Dat heeft het onafhankelijke College van Beroep van de Stichting Milieukeur vandaag bevestigd. Greenpeace, het Nederlands Centrum voor Inheemse Volken, Milieudefensie, ICCO en het Wereld Natuur Fonds zijn blij met deze uitspraak. Het is ook duidelijke taal aan Staatssecretaris Atsma, die gedurende de beoordelingsprocedure al drie pogingen ondernam om MTCS eigenhandig goed te keuren en daarmee zijn eigen adviesorgaan negeerde.

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TPAC file Malaysia

Worldwide many indigenous peoples depend on the forests for their livelihoods. According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), half of the indigenous population lives in the tropical rain forest, which is known to harbour 80 per cent of the world's biological diversity. The Netherlands is one of the world's largest importers of tropical timber, importing 700,000 m3 annually in the period 2007-2008.

In the past years, together with other NGOs and parts of the business sector in The Netherlands, NCIV lobbies to make the timber market sustainable. As a result of this, from 2010 on, the Dutch government aims that all its administrative bodies purchase 100% sustainable timber. In order to be able to decide what can be considered to be sustainable timber, the Dutch government developed the Dutch Timber Procurement Criteria. In this process, NCIV successfully advocated the inclusion of safeguards for the rights of indigenous peoples in these criteria. Subsequently, the Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC) was appointed to judge which timber certification systems are conform with these sustainability criteria.

NCIV now actively monitors the work of TPAC. This led NCIV, in cooperation with Greenpeace and ICCO, to initiate additional research on the way the Malaysian Timber Certification System (MTCS), which had applied to be judged by TPAC, implements the criteria related to the rights of indigenous peoples, together with some of the other criteria. In March 2010 TPAC initially judged that MTCS was conform the Dutch Criteria, but after NCIV together with Greenpeace, ICCO, WWF and Friends of the Earth filed an objection against this judgement TPAC came to a final judgement in October 2010 that MTCS is not conform the Dutch criteria. The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) then filed an Appeal against TPAC´s final judgement to the Board of Appeal of SMK (Stichting Milieu Keur) in December 2010. On 19 October 2011 this Board of Appeal will deliver its judgement on MTCC´s appeal.

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About NCIV

Since 1969, NCIV is an NGO that supports the promotion, recognition and protection of indigenous peoples' rights. NCIV brings the issues and views of indigenous peoples to the attention of the Dutch government, civil society, business and science and works to encourage them to make a positive contribution to improving the situation of indigenous peoples at national and international levels.