ID :
375713
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 06:52
Auther :

MTCC Instrumental In Inspiring Forest Certification In Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) has been instrumental in inspiring forest certification development in Asia, with 4.66 million hectares of forest areas certified for sustainability currently. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Secretary-General of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), Ben Gunneberg, said well-managed forests were vital for promoting and safeguarding rural livelihoods. "Forest certification has proven to be an important tool in addressing issues related to deforestation, illegal logging and ensuring good forest governance," he said in a statement Wednesday. Timber certification is one of the effective measures to ensure forests are managed in a way that is environmentally sound, socially acceptable and economically viable. "MTCC's leadership in promoting tropical timber certification, which has in turn inspired other countries in the Southeast Asian region, such as China, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and India, to pursue sustainable forest management and PEFC certification," said Gunneberg. MTCC CEO Yong Teng Koon said he was proud that tropical timber products certified under the council are exported to 45 countries, with an accumulative volume of more than one million cubic metres. "We have made steady progress over the past 14 years since the scheme was launched in 2001," he said. -- BERNAMA

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