Current Status and Experience of Cooperation and Efforts
Towards Mutual Recognition -
National Timber Certification Council
Malaysia
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NATIONAL TIMBER CERTIFICATION COUNCIL, MALAYSIA
(NTCC)
· NTCC - independent non-profit organisation created to establish
and operate voluntary national timber certification scheme
· Board of Trustees - representatives from timber industry,
academic/research institutions, non-governmental organisations and
government agencies
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CERTIFICATION SCHEME
· Standard for forest certification is "Malaysian Criteria,
Indicators, Activities and Standards of Performance (MC&I) for Forest
Management Certification"
· Standard for chain-of-custody is "Requirements and Assessment
Procedures for Chain-of-Custody Certification"
· Assessment Procedures for Forest Management and Chain-of-Custody
Certification
· Assessors - terms & conditions for registration
· Peer reviewers - criteria for registration
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STANDARD FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION
· Based on ITTO Criteria and Indicators (1998) as framework
· Regional and National-Level Consultation with interested parties in
1999
· Malaysian Criteria, Indicators, Activities and Standards of
Performance (MC&I) for Forest Management Certification adopted
· Finalisation of Assessment Procedures in Using the MC&I for
Forest Management Certification
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STANDARD FOR CHAIN-OF-CUSTODY CERTIFICATION
· Finalisation of Requirements and Assessment Procedures for
Chain-of-Custody Certification
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COOPERATION OTHER SCHEMES - FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
(FSC)
· Since 1999 - discussions with FSC to promote cooperation
· FSC's participation in formulation of MC&I for Forest
Management Certification
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COOPERATION WITH FSC
· Resulting from follow-up discussions, FSC and NTCC have agreed on the
following activities:
· Joint study (in January 2001) by two independent consultants to
examine process followed in formulation of MC&I for Forest
Management Certification, and to compare MC&I with FSC
Principles and Criteria - recommendations for amendments to
MC&I
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COOPERATION WITH FSC
· Workshop on Forest Certification (6-7 December 2000)
- to initiate work towards formation of Working Group to formulate
FSC-compatible MC&I for Forest Management Certification, with
recommendations from joint study as one of the inputs
- FSC-compatible MC&I for Forest Management Certification to
be submitted to FSC for endorsement
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COOPERATION WITH FSC
Decisions of Workshop
· To form a National Steering Committee to examine terms and conditions
for collaboration with FSC
· NTCC Malaysia will consult with FSC on terms and conditions for
collaboration based on recommendations of Committee
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MALAYSIA-THE NETHERLANDS COOPERATION IN TIMBER
CERTIFICATION
· Joint Working Group on Forestry (JWG) - pilot study on timber
certification started in 1996
· Three products subject to certification process to enter Keurhout
Hallmark System
· Assessment of Forest Management Units (FMUs) by independent assessor
(SGS Malaysia) using agreed standard (MC&I)
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MALAYSIA-THE NETHERLANDS COOPERATION IN TIMBER CERTIFICATION
· Three states in Peninsular Malaysia (Pahang, Selangor, Terengganu)
assessed and awarded `Audit Statements'
· Keurhout Foundation issued `Declarations' that states concerned would
make continuous improvement to achieve full compliance with MC&I by
2000
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MALAYSIA-THE NETHERLANDS COOPERATION IN TIMBER CERTIFICATION
· Up to November 2000, 85,360 m3 of `audited' timber products exported
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· 1998 & 1999 - discussions regarding assessment of FMUs to the
requirements of the Dutch Minimum Requirements and to the 1998 ITTO
criteria & indicators
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MALAYSIA-THE NETHERLANDS COOPERATION IN TIMBER CERTIFICATION
· 2000 - discussions regarding assessment of FMUs to the newly
formulated MC&I for Forest Management Certification
· Assessment of States to new standard by SGS Malaysia - major
Corrective Action Requests (CARs) issued
· Surveillance audit of States to `close-out CARs'
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MUTUAL OR MULTILATERAL RECOGNITION OF CREDIBLE CERTIFICATION
SCHEMES
· Difficulties faced by developing countries with limited resources to
meet individual certification requirements of different markets and to
compete with more well-known schemes
· Urgent need for an international framework for mutual recognition so
as to facilitate acceptance of certified products from all credible
schemes
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MUTUAL OR MULTILATERAL RECOGNITION OF CREDIBLE
CERTIFICATION SCHEMES
· Proposed International Framework for Mutual Recognition - must be
able to accommodate credible schemes from developing countries
· Should aim for mutual recognition of different schemes/systems and
logos/labels
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