How does dirty timber from Sarawak get to the USA?

Many consumers want to make responsible choices when it comes to their purchases, but sometimes it’s hard to know what the safer, more ethical choice is. Certification schemes are a tool that many people (understandably) use to help them make those choices. Unfortunately, the credibility of these schemes is not...

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Penan nomads fed up with being ignored

Certification body SIRIM uses Penan rejection of logging as a reason to reinstate certificate – Penan ask Samling representatives and SIRIM auditors to leave (LIMBANG / SARAWAK) During the January audit of timber giant Samling’s Ravenscourt Forest Management Unit (FMU) in Northern Sarawak, the local semi-nomadic Penan communities boycotted the...

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6 things you need to know about our latest report

Our new report is titled “Lost in Certification: How forest certification greenwashes Samling’s dirty timber and fools the international market”. It is a comprehensive analysis of the most recent land conflicts in the Baram region of Sarawak. It looks at the most shocking community claims against logging company Samling and...

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Indigenous delegation from Borneo expects Dutch government to suspend Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme

May 13, 2022 Indigenous delegates from Malaysia visit the Netherlands, top importer of MTCS certified timber, to raise concerns about the certification scheme(THE HAGUE / NETHERLANDS) An Indigenous delegation from Malaysia is currently in the Netherlands to speak to the Dutch government about suspending its endorsement of the Malaysian Timber...

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NGOs demand MTCC acknowledge certification scheme’s shortcomings and take action

In conjunction with MTCC’s participation at PEFC International’s upcoming members meeting in Dublin, civil society organisations argue MTCC is unable to uphold timber certification standards. May 10, 2022(MIRI / SARAWAK / MALAYSIA) As the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) attends the members’ meeting for the Programme for the Endorsement of...

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Baram Communities Lodge Complaint about MTCC Failures with International Certification Body PEFC

Civil society organisations argue MTCC dispute resolution process is faulty, standards not met for Gerenai Forest Management Unit under timber giant Samling(MIRI / SARAWAK / MALAYSIA) A group of organisations lodged an official complaint with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the international body based in Switzerland...

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Logging company sues environmental defenders for RM5 million

Samling Group is suing local Sarawak civil society organisation and its directors in a SLAPP suit (MIRI / SARAWAK / MALAYSIA) Local Sarawak civil society organisation SAVE Rivers, as well as its directors, have been served with notice that Samling Plywood is filing suit against them for publishing allegedly defamatory...

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