SARAWAK’s sixth largest logging company, the Miri-based Samling, has lost its forest certificate for the Ravenscourt Forest Management Unit (FMU), a forest conservation group said.

The FMU is a certified natural forest under the Malaysia timber certification scheme (MTCS).

The Borneo Project claimed Sirim withdrew the certificate after Samling “failed to provide effective corrective actions for issues found through previous audits”.

“These issues concerned non-compliance with the MTCS standard.”

It said Sirim suspended the certificate on March 28 and withdrew it on July 11.

“Civil society groups discovered that the Ravenscourt FMU had disappeared from the MTCS list of certified areas in July. In July and August 2023, the groups repeatedly enquired about the certification status and the results of the last audit, however Sirim did not answer questions about the withdrawal of the MTCS certificate,” Jettie Word, The Borneo Project director, said in a statement.

She said only the Malaysian Timber Certification Council provided the information when asked.

The withdrawal of the MTCS certification comes in just under a week of their court date for a defamation suit Samling filed against local indigenous grassroots organisation Save Rivers.

The case is scheduled to be heard in a Miri high court from September 18.

Word said apart from losing “one of its most contentious FMUs”, Samling also faced increased international scrutiny, including an investigation by the Forest Stewardship Council, online petitions, and email campaigns.

She said last Saturday, the Clean Up The Tropical Timber Trade campaigners protested Samling at the London Zoo, asking for an investigation into their practices.

The civil society organisation is demanding that the Zoological Society London (ZSL) review its sustainability policy transparency toolkit (SPOTT) ranking evaluation on Samling whose position has recently improved in the ranking.

The Clean Up The Tropical Timber Trade campaigners said ZSL should consider field evidence, rather than “just paper claims of companies, and submitted evidence regarding Samling’s questionable practices on the ground”.

SPOTT is a platform and tool used to assess and promote the transparency of environmental, social, and governance policies and practices within companies and organisations operating in the natural resource sector, particularly in industries like forestry, palm oil, and natural rubber.

It provides stakeholders, including investors, civil society groups, and the public, with a way to track and evaluate the sustainability performance and commitments of these organisations.

SPOTT aims to encourage greater transparency and accountability in the natural resource sector, helping to address issues related to deforestation, biodiversity conservation, labour rights, and other sustainability concerns. – September 12, 2023.