RI, Malaysia to cooperate in forestry projects
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and Malaysia yesterday agreed to cooperate in fighting international campaigns against tropical timber and to conduct joint forestry projects with a view to increasing cost-efficiency and productivity.
Officials of the two countries also agreed yesterday, at the conclusion of the eighth ministerial meeting of the Indonesia- Malaysia Joint Working Committee on Forestry, to work against the unilateral bans imposed on the use of tropical timber by a number of regional administrations of member-countries of the European Union.
Indonesia's 40-member delegation to the two-day workshop was led by Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo, while the 35-member Malaysian delegation was led by Minister of Primary Industries Lim Keng Yaik.
"The ASEAN-Brussels Committee will discuss with the EU the possibility of eliminating the unilateral actions and bans imposed by the local governments. We will also ask the EU to encourage those governments to abide by EU regulations as well as the commitments reached through the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)," Djamaludin told a press conference.
Djamaludin, who was accompanied by his Malaysian counterpart, said both countries would explore the possibility of resolving the matter through the WTO.
"Although the ITTO has set the year 2000 as the starting-point for the introduction of eco-labeling requirements, environmentalists and non-governmental organizations in Europe have already embarked on their boycotts," he said.
Lim contended that anti-tropical timber campaigns have caused Malaysia to lose about 50 percent of its market share in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands.
"The governments of these countries do not ban the use of tropical timber, but local administrations do," he said.
Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to work together to meet the ITTO's target for the year 2000, emphasizing that both producer countries and countries consuming tropical timber must carry an equal amount of responsibility in achieving sustainable forest management.
Vice chairmanship
Malaysia also pledged its support yesterday for the nomination of Indonesia's Wisber Loeis as vice chairman of the ITTO for 1996.
Both expressed the view that close cooperation should be maintained and strengthened to ensure that the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests focuses on critical forestry issues and provides clear recommendations for concrete actions.
Such issues include the establishment of rules applicable to all types of forests, thereby avoiding double standards, discriminatory practices and bans on the sale of products of a particular type of forest, the countries' representatives said.
Djamaludin emphasized that developed countries, which mostly had boreal and temperate forests, should also implement sustainable forest management practices.
Malaysia and Indonesia also agreed yesterday to collaborate in implementing the Forest Principles established during the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
On the issue of the illegal trans-border timber trade between the two countries, it was agreed that Indonesia would step up its monitoring of the movement of timber within its jurisdiction.
The Malaysian Timber Industry Board, for its part, will provide accurate information on the certification and origin of imported timber.
A joint committee will be established to monitor the situation.
The next ministerial meeting of the Indonesia-Malaysia Joint Working Committee on Forestry will be held in Miri, Sarawak, at the end of next year. (mun/pwn)