Japanese companies are buying illegally-logged timber from Sarawak’s endangered rainforests and labelling much of it as “legal” under a government-sanctioned certification scheme.
In its latest report on illegal logging in the state, Global Witness said two Japanese companies, Sojitz Corporation and Itochu Corporation, as getting timber from two of Sarawak’s largest logging companies – Samling Global and Shin Yang Group – both of which it said were also involved in “systematic illegal and destructive logging”.
“Recent investigations by Global Witness and others have provided unprecedented insight into the depths of the crisis in Sarawak.
“Corruption in the allocation of land and forestry licences are systematic and involves the highest levels of the government. Weak enforcement and unscrupulous behaviour by logging companies are resulting in widespread illegal and unsustainable logging,” the global environment watchdog said in its 24-page report.
Samling and Shin Yang have close ties with Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud, alleged the report.
In March this year, Taib was cast into the international spotlight after Global Witness released a video documentary showing he received millions of ringgit in kickbacks over land deals that have stripped bare the Borneo state.
In response, Taib challenged the activist group to debate with him on the issue and accused them of having a hidden agenda by visiting Malaysia’s biggest state in a “sneaky way”.
He also stressed that Sarawak had scaled down the annual timber cut to ensure sustainability of timber production in permanent forest estates as part of the Sarawak’s commitment to the International Tropical Timber Organisation’s recommendation that timber trade must be from sustainably managed forests.
Global Witness said despite evidence, Sojitz and Itochu continued to source from its Malaysian partner and have not put in place measures to independently verify that timber products sourced from the two companies were produced legally and free from human rights abuses.
The non-governmental organisation noted that most of the timber products coming from Sarawak, including those sourced from logging concessions where systematic illegal logging was documented, were likely to be certified as “legal” under the Goho-wood legality verification system promoted by the Japanese government and industry.
Under Goho-wood, Japan accepted the assurances of the Sarawak government as sufficient proof of legality.
“The fact that so much timber from Sarawak received the stamp of approval from Japan’s Goho-wood legality verification system despite the evidence of systematic illegal logging by major logging companies is cause for serious concern,” said Global Witness head of international forest policy Rick Jacobsen.
He said since Sarawak is Japan’s largest source of tropical timber, it might explain why the Japanese government and logging industry were turning a blind eye to the rampant illegal and unsustainable logging in Sarawak.
In response, both Japanese companies said additional assurances have been sought from the Sarawak government and industry in response to allegations of illegal logging.
Sojitz Corporation denied that Samling and Shin Yang have been involved in illegal logging.
Itochu Corporation stated that it surveys suppliers yearly and has not found any evidence of the alleged unsustainable logging or human rights abuses against Samling or Shin Yang and that 2012 both Japanese companies were found to have met its Corporate Social Responsibility guidelines.
Japan is the largest importer of timber from Sarawak for the past 20 years, accounting for half of all tropical plywood export.
The trade in timber between Japan and Sarawak is dominated by some of the largest trading companies in Japan, many of which are long-term trading partners with Sarawak’s largest logging companies.
But rampant and often illegal logging is devastating the state’s rainforests and threatening the livelihoods of the indigenous communities whose rights to their ancestral lands are often ignored by the state.
Deforestation rates in Sarawak are among the highest in the world, and only 5% of the state’s original forest cover remains unaffected by logging or clearance for plantations, noted Global Witness. – September 10, 2013.
