timber malaysia

7/28/2019 Timber Malaysia

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1news

VOL15 NO3 May - June 2009ISSN 1394 - 6196

PUBLISHED BY MALAYSIAN TIMBER COUNCIL

Matang Mangroves: A Century oSustainable Management

MTCs Ice-Breaking Sessions with the

New Minister

Malaysias Green Building Index Launched

PEFC Endorsement o MTCSCover Story


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editorial

Congratulatory wishes are due to the Malaysian Timber

Certication Council (MTCC), whose Malaysian Timber

Certication Scheme (MTCS) has now been ocially endorsed

by the Programme or the Endorsement o Forest Certication

schemes (PEFC) rom 1 May 2009. (Report on pages 4 - 5). The

MTCS has, indeed, developed systematically since the idea o

certiying Malaysian timber was rst mooted in MTCs London

oce (then in Curzon Street, Mayair) back in 1996.

Malaysia is, indeed, blessed with much natural vegetation. In

terms o orest alone, Malaysia is home to 10 types o orest:

mixed dipterocarp, lower montane, upper montane and subalpine

vegetation, beech vegetation including strand orest, Kernagas

or tropical heath, orest over ultrabasic rock, orest on limestone,

mangrove and brackish water vegetation, peat swamp and

reshwater swamp. This issue eatures a write-up on Malaysias

mangrove orests along the coast o the state o Perak. Malaysia

has built up a reputation or the best management o mangroves

in the world. To nd out the basis or this claim, read our report

on pages 6 - 11.

We are happy to note that a Malaysian private-sector initiative has

conceptualised the countrys rst ever Green Building Index (GBI).

Launched on 21 May 2009, the GBI spells out the standards

which a new building must meet beore it can stake that green

claim. It was developed by Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM)

and Association o Consulting Engineers (ACEM) as part o the

eort to green the Malaysian property industry. It is gratiying to

note that under the criteria choice o materials and resources,

emphasis is given on the use o environment-riendly, recycled

materials and sustainable timber. The Cooperative Research

Centre or Greenhouse Accounting, Australia has estimated that

more than 25 tonnes o greenhouse gases could be saved i

timber products were used instead o the common alternatives,

to build anything. It is hoped that, in the long run,

more and more people, particularly speciers and

architects, realize how small timbers carbon ootprint

is and how using more timber actually contributes to

less greenhouse gas emissions. Our story on the GBI

is on pages 12 - 18.

Happy Reading!

The Editor

Dear Readers,

Indoor environmental quality, which includes natural lighting, is one o ve areas where

buildings are evaluated under the GBI.

We are happy to note that a

Malaysian private-sector initiative has

conceptualised the countrys frst everGreen Building Index (GBI). Launched

on 21 May 2009, the GBI spells out

the standards which a new building

must meet beore it can stake that

green claim.


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content

2 NEWSMTCs Ice-BreakingSessions With The NewMinister

3 Dialogue On FinancingActivities

12 Malaysias Green BuildingIndex Launched

4 PEFC Endorsement o MTCS

6FEATURE

Matang Mangroves: ACentury o SustainableManagement

19GLOBAL COMMUNITY

8th Session o UN Forum on Forests;17th Session o UN Commission onSustainable Development; Workshopon Forests and Water; 8th Asia ForestPartnership Meeting; Bonn ClimateChange Talks; High-level Conerence onFighting Climate Change with CarbonCapture and Storage

22QUICK TAKES

Project Near East 2009; GULFBID2009; Timber Mission; MTC TimberTalk Series; Resource and BusinessMission; Business Visit

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Timber Malaysiais published six times a year by the Malaysian Timber Council (MTC).

It is distributed to over 8,000 individuals and timber related companies, agencies and

organisations in 117 countries.

MTC holds the copyright to all its contents, unless otherwise stated. No part o this

publication may be produced or transmitted in any orm or by any means, without priorwritten permission rom MTC.

For eedback, subscription, article contribution and/or advertising, please write to:

[email protected]

With the endorsement, the MTCs has become the rst tropical timber certication

scheme in the Asia Pacic region to be endorsed by the PEFC.


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2news

Given the economic quagmire that the world is currently stuck in, it is,

indeed, a challenging time or the new Minister o Plantation Industries

and Commodities, His Honourable Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, to start

overseeing the continued growth o the Malaysian commodities sector.

MTCs Ice-Breaking Sessions

with the New Minister

evertheless, within a short time, the Minister has managed

to get acquainted with the main players o the various

sub-sectors o the industry. MTC organised a series o

events in June 2009 in an eort to introduce the Council

to the newly-appointed Minister.

The CEO and Management team o MTC gave a brieng tothe Minister at the Ministers Oce on 18 June 2009. The

brieng ocused on the Councils objectives, as well as its main

activities. A ew MTC-initiated projects, like the development o

a glu-laminated industry in Malaysia and the establishment o a

Malaysian Timber Product Centre in Warsaw, Poland, were also

elaborated on.

On the same day, the MTC Chairman, HRH Tunku Tan Sri

Osman Ahmad, hosted a dinner between the Honourable

Minister and the Trustees o the Council. This provided a good

opportunity or representatives o all Federal-based timberassociations to touch base with the Minister in an inormal

setting. Many subjects, including the laminated scantlings

project jointly undertaken by MTC, the Malaysian Wood

Industries Association, the Malaysian Timber Industry Board and

Forest Research Institute o Malaysia, were discussed at length.

Earlier, on 8 June 2009, the Minister also took the opportunity

to get to know members o the industry through an inormal

hi-tea get-together at a local hotel in Putrajaya. Organised by

the Ministry o Plantation Industries and Commodities, similar

ice-breaking sessions were also held or other major commoditysectors like oil palm and urniture.

Tan Sri Bernard (third right) with Tunku Osman (on the

Ministers right) and other MTC Trustees at the dinner.

MTC CEO, Mr. Cheah Kam Huan, and other members o the

MTC Management team at the brieng to the Minister.

N


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Dialogue on Financing Facilities

MTC initiated a dialogue between the industry and the local banking

sector including the countrys central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia

(BNM), to address several issues aecting the timber industry with

regard to fnancing and credit acilities.

eld on 20 May 2009, the dialogue, chaired by BNM

Assistant Governor, Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim, was

well attended by 42 bankers and 25 members rom the

wood-based industry. MTC CEO, Mr. Cheah Kam Huan

led the representation o the timber industry, and MTC Senior

Director or Trade Promotion and Marketing, Mr. SK Tham

made a presentation on the Malaysian timber industry.

The dialogue enabled the banking sector to have a better

understanding o the needs and requirements o the wood-

based industry, which contributes our per cent to the

countrys GDP annually. For the year 2008, export earnings

rom the wood-based sector was RM22.79 billion, making it

the th largest export earner ater electrical and electronic

products, palm oil and palm-oil based products, crude

petroleum and liqueed natural gas.

The dialogue has also resulted in BNM having direct

access to problems aced by the timber industry in their

daily dealings with the banks. Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim

requested that any other individual issues with the localbanks be sent directly to BNM or quick solutions. MTC will

be coordinating the issues rom the industry and submitting

them to BNM in due course.

Currently, MTC is working together with the Association o

Banks o Malaysia (ABM) to organise a regional roadshow.

ABM, together with BNM and SME Corporation Malaysia

(ormerly known as SMIDEC), is organising a Financing Fair

in Batu Pahat, Johor on 17 August 2009. In conjunction

with the air, there will also be a dialogue session between

the timber industry and the banks on 18 August 2009. Thiswould again be a good opportunity or the timber industry,

especially rom Johor, to interact with the banks on issues o

a similar nature.

H

Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim

Mr. Cheah (right) leading the representation o the timber industry at

the dialogue.


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4news

PEFC Endorsement o MTCS

he endorsement is valid or a ve-year period, with periodic

review to ensure the continued compliance o the MTCS. With the

endorsement, the MTCS, which is operated by the Malaysian Timber

Certication Council (MTCC), has become the rst tropical timbercertication scheme in the Asia Pacic region, and the second in the world

ater the Gabonese Forest Certication Scheme, to be endorsed by the

PEFC.

Ben Gunneberg, PEFC Secretary General, said: The endorsement o

MTCS is a signicant achievement or the sustainable orest management

community as a whole. While the certication movement has its origins

in eorts to protect tropical orests, over 90% o the worlds certication

today takes place in the temperate orests o Europe and North America.

Yet tropical orests in the Southern hemisphere oer the most benets totackling some o societys biggest challenges, including climate change,

combating deorestation and orest degradation, and maintaining the

worlds precious biodiversity.

The Programme or the Endorsement o Forest Certifcation schemes

(PEFC) has given its endorsement o the Malaysian Timber Certifcation

Scheme (MTCS). The decision to endorse the 2002 Malaysian

Criteria and Indicators or Forest Management Certifcation, on which

the MTCS is based, was announced on 5 May 2009. This ollowed

the outcome o the PEFC General Assembly postal vote among its

members based on the recommendation o the Board o Directorswho had made their decision on an assessment o the MTCS by an

independent assessor appointed by the PEFC Council.

Ben Gunneberg.

Photo credit: PEFC.

Backgrounder: PEFC

PEFC is a ramework or the assessment and endorsement o national orest certication systems that have been developed based on

internationally recognised requirements or sustainable orest management. Since its launch in 1999, PEFC has become the largest orestcertication umbrella organisation covering national systems rom all over the world, delivering hundreds o millions o tonnes o wood to

the processing industry and then onto the market place rom currently more than 200 million hectares o certied orests. This is an area

larger than the combined orest area o all European Union member states. PEFC has strong grassroots support rom many stakeholders

including the orestry sector, governments, trade associations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations.


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5news

Datuk Dr. Freezailah Che Yeom, MTCC Chairman said, MTCC is

proud to have obtained the PEFC endorsement, which shows that the various

aspects o the MTCS, such as the institutional arrangement and certication

standards used, have met the stringent requirements o the PEFC. It gives

urther assurance that orests certied under the MTCS are implementing

the best management practices and contributing to the challenging eorts

to achieve sustainable orest management, particularly or the tropical

rainorests.

Dr. Freezailah added that the endorsement enables the MTCS to achieve

mutual recognition with 26 other PEFC-endorsed certication schemes. This

means that the MTCS-certied timber product manuacturers and exporters

will soon be able to combine PEFC-certied material rom Malaysia with other

PEFC-certied material under the PEFC logo.

The endorsement is urther testimony that the MTCS has made tremendousprogress and improvements since it began operation in October 2001. I would

like to attribute this success to the hard work o the MTCC management and

sta, as well as all the Malaysian stakeholder groups or their contributions

and inputs which have been very helpul in improving the scheme to meet the

requirements o the PEFC, added Dr. Freezailah.

Note: The ull report o the conormity assessment o the MTCS can be

obtained rom the PEFC website at www.pec.org.

Datuk Dr. Freezailah Che Yeom

Photo credit: MTCC.

This success is attributed to the hard work o the MTCC management and sta, as well as all the Malaysian

stakeholder groups or their contributions and inputs. Photo credit: MTCC.

Backgrounder: MTCC (www.mtcc.com.my)

MTCC was established to develop and operate a voluntary national timber certication scheme, now known as the MTCS, in order to

provide independent assessments o orest management practices to ensure sustainable orest management in Malaysia as well as tomeet the market demand or certied timber products. Currently, nine Forest Management Units (FMUs) accounting or a total area o 4.84

million hectares o Permanent Reserved Forests (PRFs) in Malaysia are certied under the MTCS. 141 timber manuacturers and exporters

have been awarded the chain-o-custody certicate, which qualies them to supply MTCS-certied timber products to the market.


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6news

Matang Mangroves: A Century o

Sustainable Management

Up to 73.6 per cent have been classifed as

productive orest while the balance o 26.4 per cent

consists o non-productive or protected orest.


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7eature

atang Mangroves is located in the north-western coast o Peninsular Malaysia, within

the administrative district o Larut Matang, and Krian in the State o Perak. Larut Matangwon the Ministry o Primary Industries (now renamed as Ministry o Plantation Industries

and Commodities) 1996/1997 Green Award or the Best Managed Forest District in

Peninsular Malaysia.

Up to 73.6 per cent have been classied as productive orest while the balance o 26.4 per

cent consists o non-productive or protected orest. The productive orests are assigned or the

purpose o timber production and the non-productive orests are or the purpose o bio-diversity

conservation, erosion mitigation, research and education, recreation, local communitys needs

and settlement.

Numerous waterways including rivers orming important means o transport divide the orestreserve where more than 85 per cent are tidal swamps, which are naturally fooded during high

tide. Its complex and ragile ecosystem plays an important role in conserving the bio-diversity o

the fora and auna in the orest reserve.

M

Numerous waterways including rivers orming important means o transport divide the orest reserve where more than 85 per cent are tidal

swamps, which are naturally fooded during high tide.

The Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, or Matang Mangroves, has been

acknowledged as the best-managed mangrove orest in Malaysia. Covering

slightly more than 40,000 hectares, it is the largest single mangrove orestin Peninsular Malaysia and is an exemplary sustainably managed mangrove

orest which has been able to successully balance the continuing demand

or wood resources and preservation o the mangrove ecosystem.


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8eature

Management of Matang Mangroves

Matang Mangroves is divided into our zones based on careully delineated orest types. This in turn, is

the basis or a silviculture system based on ecological considerations. At the heart o the management

system are the Perak State Forest Departments 10-Year Working Plans and detailed Control Maps,

which meticulously outline how the orest reserve is to be managed. The rst Working Plan covered the

period 1950-1959, and has been revised consistently every 10 years.

Hence, the management system o MatangMangroves, which has evolved on many levels,

rom silviculture to zoning and conservation,

has not only allowed or timber to be harvested

but also or shing to take place all year round.

In addition, it has allowed the mangroves

to play their natural and important roles o

stabilising the riverine coastlines and be home

to unique plants and animals. Ultimately, the

aim o the management system o Matang

Mangroves is sustainability.

Matang Mangroves have contributed signicantly to Peraks high sheries

production, which is the highest in Malaysia.

Fauna of Matang Mangroves

Besides fora, Matang Mangrove is also home o 156 species o birds. O these, 49 species are

migratory. At least two important species are listed in the IUCN/ICBP Red Data Book o endangered

bird species, which are the Milky Stork (Mycteria cinerea) and Lesser Adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos

javanicus). Matang is also home to the Grey Heron (Ardea cinera), and during wintering, to hundreds

o migrating Great Egrets (Egretta alba).

Other auna ound in Matang includes the Smooth Otter (Lutra perspicillata). Matangs Dryland

Forest is rich in mammals such as Leopard Cat (Felis bengalensis), Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca

ascicularis), Silvered Langur (Presbytis cristata), and a variety o bats, squirrels, civets, mongooses,

pangolins and wild boars. Underwater, Matang Mangroves wildlie is equally rich; scientists have

identied 114 species o sh, 20 species o prawns and 48 species o crabs.

A crab species ound in Matang.Long-tailed Macaque.


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9eature

Major Tree Species of Matang

The major tree species ound in Matang are Bakau Minyak (Rhizophora apiculata) and Bakau Kurap (Rhizophora

mucronata ) along the riverbanks and in more tide-submerged areas. These two species occupy up to 85 per

cent o the total orest area and are the main commercial species.

Small channels usually bring in large quantities o Lenggadai (Bruguiera parvifora) propagules. Being

opportunistic plants, they take root very quickly in areas that had been clear-elled, impairing the growth o

Bakau. Another Bruguiera species that occurs mainly seawards is the Bruguiera cylindrica (Seaward Berus

Forest). As it is inerior to Rhizophora as a raw material or charcoal production, large areas o this species

remain unexploited.

Tree-Harvesting Rotation

In Matang Mangroves, productive orests are clear-elled once they reach 30 years old. This has been in

practice since 1950. Silviculture practices see intermediate elling carried out twice, i.e. during years 15 andyears 20. Where necessary, intensive planting is done two years ater nal elling. The 30-year rotation gives

the highest net return on capital value. Most o the present stands within the productive areas o Matang

Mangroves consist o second rotation crop except or an approximate 15% o the total area.

Yield

Yield regulation serves to ensure a constant supply o greenwood as raw material or the charcoal industry

in the State, which is concentrated in the Kuala Sepetang district. It also ensures that only economically

productive areas are harvested. At the same time, it provides assurance to contractors that areas allocated to

them yield a minimum volume o greenwood.

Yield is regulated based on area and volume.

It is also dependent on each compartments

productivity, which diers year to year. By dividing

orest into productivity classes, all productive

areas in Matang Mangroves are identied

or nal elling, and hence coupes and sub-

coupes allocated. It is estimated that productive

mangrove areas in Matang in this second rotation

will be able to yield between 140-190 tonnes

o greenwood per hectare, mainly rom the

Rhizophoraceae amily during nal elling.

Silviculture

The objective o silviculture practices in Matang

Mangrove is to create a sustainable high-yielding

stand o the highest ecological ramework o a

dynamic mangrove orest. The system employed

in Matang Mangroves is reerred to as the Clear

Felling and Planting silviculture system.

Yield regulation serves to ensure a constant supply o greenwood as raw

material or the charcoal industry in Perak.


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10eature

Socio-Economics

Charcoal is Matang Mangroves primary economic timber product. The estimated annual value o charcoal

during 2000-2009 is RM27.2 million. Besides its usage as uel, charcoal is also urther processed into other

products such as soap, cigarette lters, shoe soles and water lters.

Matang Mangroves is the largest supplier o mangrove poles in Peninsular Malaysia. The poles are used as

piling materials in housing and construction. The expected annual value o poles during 2000-2009 is RM2.6

million.

Others products rom Matang Mangroves include the making o shingles (attap)

rom the ronds o Nipah and also wood vinegar, which is a by-product oconverting greenwood to charcoal, produced exclusively or the Japanese market.

Matang Mangroves have contributed signicantly to Peraks high sheries

production, which is the highest in the country. O the species identied by

marine scientist, 60 to 100 per cent o sh and 75 to 99 per cent o prawns were

juveniles, indicating the importance o Matang Mangroves as a nursery ground.

Cockle arming around Matang Mangroves meanwhile has also made a signicant

contribution, recording an annual market value o RM32.45 million.

The uniqueness o the Matang Mangrove ecosystem makes it attractive or

education and eco-tourism. Tourism not only serves to increase awareness oand appreciation or mangrove conservation, it also provides income to locals as

operators o tours, boats, homestays and eateries.

To produce the charcoal, mangrove billets or poles o 1.6m long will

be placed inside each kiln or up to 28 days.

The uniqueness o the Matang Mangrove

ecosystem makes it attractive or education

and eco-tourism.

FROM GREENWOOD TO CHARCOAL

The avai lability and yield o the orest or nal el ling determine the volume o greenwood that could

be harvested or charcoal production, as well as the number o charcoal processing kilns to beoperational. For 2000-2009, the charcoal-processing rate per kiln was set at eight burns per year,

and greenwood requirement or a single burn is 40 tonnes.

To date, the number o ki lns approved and

operational in Kuala Sepetang is 348. This works

out to having 2.3 hectares o orest to provide the

greenwood or each kiln, which resembles an igloo.

They are built with bricks. Clay and sand are mixed

to be used as plaster. The standard diameter or

all the kilns at ground level is 6.7m with a height o

about 7.1m. Each kiln has an economic lie span o

seven to 10 years.

To produce the charcoal, mangrove billets or poles

o 1.6m long will be placed inside each kiln or up to

28 days. The charcoal is then let or a week to cool

beore being taken out rom the kiln. The charcoal

production rom each burn is around 10.5 tonnes. All

the charcoal produced rom this industry in Matang,

which started o in 1930, is exported to Japan.


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11eature

Mangrove itsel is a unique ecosystem, which requires special attention and management. Its location, which

is between the land and the sea, plays an important role in sheries, coastal protection and conservation o

biodiversity o both fora and auna. This is no dierent in Matang, where it has been a provider o numerous

renewable products o commercial value, which have generated economic opportunities or the local

communities.

The reservation o Matang Mangroves started way back in 1902 and continued until the ull gazettment o the

present area by 1906 makes it a national heritage and asset. Ater a hundred years, Matang Mangroves are

the best-managed mangrove orests in the world and are a living proo that sustainable management o thisecosystem can preserve its numerous environmental, economic and social roles.

Source:

Matang Mangroves: A Century of Sustainable Management. Matang Mangrove Forest by Perak State Forestry Department

Eighth Malaysia Plan, 2001-2005. Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006-2010.

CONSERVATION

To preserve the environmental protective unction o Matang Mangroves, buer zones have been established.These buer zones also serve various other unctions, such as:

protectingtheriverbanksfromexcessiveerosion;

minimisingtheimpactofclear-fellingoperationsonthemarineecosystem;

preventingunnecessarylosstothemostaccessibleproductiveforestareas;

actingasasourceofpropagulesfortheimmediatefelledareas;and

providingapleasantlandscapeforvisitorsandtourists.

To urther conserve the primarily important Rhizophoraceae, a pristine area o 42 hectares o predominantly

Rhizophoraceae orest has been designated a Virgin Jungle Reserve (VJR) since the ormulation o the rst

10-Year Working Plan. Rhizophora trees in the VJR attain an average girth o 115cm at breast height and total

height o 28m.

Mangroves location, which is between the land and the sea, plays an important role in

sheries, coastal protection and conservation o biodiversity o both fora and auna.

Prospects for Mangroves in Malaysia

During the Eighth Malaysia Plan (2001-2005) period,

measures were already taken to intensiy the conservation

and rehabilitation o mangrove orests, to serve as an

eective shoreline deence system against erosion, waveaction and tsunamis. This approach to manage the natural

resource is being continued in the Ninth Malaysia Plan

(2006-2010), through:

adoptinganIntegratedCoastalZoneManagement

Policy to promote the conservation and preservation o

marine and coastal resources;

intensifyingtherehabilitationandimprovementof

coastlines through regeneration and re-vegetation

programmes;

developingacomprehensivemanagementplanfor

mangroves and coastal orests to arrest the mangrovedepletion rate to ensure a continuous supply o

resources as well as to mitigate the impact o coastal

erosion and tsunamis; and

developingaCoastalVulnerabilityIndextoguide

the design o programmes to enhance coastal zone

management.


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12news

Malaysias Green

Building Index Launched

Century-old timbers recycled rom a demolished

bottling actory was judiciously used as beams,

window rames, verandah and roo trusses in this

triple-award winning house in Sierramas, Selangor.


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13eature

In tandem with its leaders aspiration or Malaysia

to become a developed nation by the year

2020, a Malaysian private-sector initiative has

conceptualised the countrys frst ever Green

Building Index (GBI). Launched by Works Minister,

Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor on 21 May 2009, the

GBI spells out the standards which a new building

must meet beore it can stake that green claim.

It was developed by Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia

(PAM) and Association o Consulting Engineers

(ACEM) as part o the eort to green the Malaysian

property industry.

When PAM and ACEM started drating the green building criteria

in 2008, they drew upon industry views and existing schemes

such as Singapores Green Mark, Australias Green Star and

the United States Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design (LEED). A private company, Greenbuildingindex Sdn Bhd

(GSB), has been ormed to manage the certication scheme.

To comply with the GBI, buildings must have an energy consumption

o below the national guideline o 150 kilowatt hour per square metre

per year (kWh/m/year). Studies show that existing commercial

buildings in Malaysia are now at 250 to 350kWh/m/year.

In order to be GBI-certied, ones building must rst be assessed by a

certier appointed by GSB. A provisional award is then issued. Once

the completed building has been veried according to the design,

the ull award is given. The building must be reassessed every three

years to maintain the award. Points are given or perormance abovebenchmarks and current industry practice. Depending on the scores

achieved, the buildings will be awarded one o our types o ratings:

certied, silver, gold or platinum.


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14news

Only recycled timber is used in the construction o

this house in Pulau Langkawi, Kedah.


17/28

15eature

Dierent criteria are employed based on

each buildings unction. Residential buildings are

assessed based on sustainable site planning and

management. For commercial buildings, however,

energy-eciency and indoor environmental quality are

paramount issues.

Buildings are evaluated in ve areas:

(1) Energy eciency: use o renewable energy,

lighting zoning and low energy consumption;

(2) Indoor environmental quality: mould and

air pollutants prevention, thermal comort,

natural lighting, volatile organic compounds-

ree paints and ormaldehyde-ree composite

wood, particleboards and plywood;

(3) Sustainable site planning and management:

site selection, access to public transport,

community services, open spaces and

landscaping, redevelopment o existing sites

and brownelds (abandoned land or ormer

industrial sites), avoidance o environmentally

sensitive sites, construction management

(proper earthworks and pollution control) and

stormwater management;

Maximisation o natural lighting.

This award-winning house in Kuang, Selangor incorporates a rainwater harvesting system and 100% recycled timber in its design and construction.


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16

Use o particleboards and plywood

enhances indoor environmental quality.


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17eature

(4) Materials and resources: use o environment-riendly, recycled materials and

sustainable timber; storage and collection o recyclables; construction waste

management; and reuse o construction ormwork; and

(5) Water eciency: rainwater harvesting, water recycling and water-saving ttings.

The rst listing o the GBI would be out in August 2009, based on a pi lot project involving

the assessment o 11 buildings, ranging rom oce towers to malls, mixed developments

and even a car showroom.

The GBI calls or sustainable site planning and management, which include open spaces and landscaping.

The interior o a house in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur, where the minimal use o ans and air-conditioning is achieved through architectural elements that

shade the house. This idea o achieving low dependency on mechanical cooling has resulted in signicant savings in electricity bills or the owners.


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18eature

Although the GBI labelling is voluntary, all new structures

should strive to be GBI-certied mainly because buildings generally

have a large carbon ootprint. Many buildings are major emitters

o greenhouse gases, which have an enormous impact on the

environment, human health and the economy. The World Green

Building Council has estimated that buildings collectively emit 33% oglobal carbon emissions, through the processing o all the glass, steel

and concrete that are needed or their construction, plus the energy

needed to power, heat and cool these structures.

MTC is happy to note that or choice o materials and resources,

emphasis is given on the use o environment-riendly, recycled

materials and sustainable timber. The Cooperative Research Centre

or Greenhouse Accounting, Australia has estimated that more than 25

tonnes o greenhouse gases could be saved i timber products were

used instead o the common alternatives, to build anything. Projects

like Londons Murray Grove, the UKs rst multi-storey modulartimber housing development with 30 apartments, are also pushing

the boundaries on cost and energy-eciency through the use o

engineered timber as the main building material.

A GBI certication criteria is also planned or existing buildings and new

townships. This means old buildings which are retrotted to be energy

ecient and less polluting can apply or the GBI award in uture.

For urther inormation on the GBI, please go to:

www.greenbuildingindex.org

Having strips o timber placed vertically as bars in place o walls allows or cross-ventilation or natural

cooling o the interior o this award-winning house in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Murray Grove. Photo credit: Waugh Thistleton.


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19global community

UNCSD

17th Session oUN Commission onSustainable Development

The eighth session o the United Nations Forum on Forests

(UNFF8) was held on 20 April - 1 May 2009 at the UN

headquarters in New York. Over 600 participants attended the

two-week session, to address:

forestsinachangingenvironment,includingforestsand

climate change, reversing the loss o orest cover and

degradation, and orests and biodiversity conservation; and

meansofimplementationforsustainableforestmanagement

(SFM).

At the end o the session, delegates adopted a resolution on

orests in a changing environment, enhanced cooperation and

cross-sectoral policy and programme coordination, and regional

and subregional inputs. Delegates did not agree on a decision on

nancing or SFM, and decided to orward bracketed negotiating

text to the Forums next session, scheduled to be held in January 2011.

During the meeting, delegates also participated in two Multi-

stakeholder Dialogues, and panel discussions on orests and

biodiversity, climate change and desertication, the nancial crisis

and SFM, and regional perspectives on orests in a changing

environment. While the discussions on nancing did not lead to

an agreed outcome, the extended discussions on orests in achanging environment, the panel presentations and the Multi-

stakeholder Dialogues allowed a glimpse o the Forums potential

uture role as a body or interaction, dialogue and cooperation in

support o SFM implementation.

Two years ater the adoption o the Non-legally Binding

Instrument on All Types o Forests (now reerred to by many as

the orest instrument) and the Global Objectives on Forests, the

UNFF8 concluded without coming to an agreement on how to

nance their implementation. This leaves the Forum somewhat

in limbo, at the very moment that it is beginning to emerge as a

body or interactive dialogue the only such orum supported by

universal membership, and capable o delivering a 360-degree

perspective on orests, as depicted by UNFFs new Director

Jan McAlpine.

Source: ENB Vol. 13 No. 174, 4 May 2009

The two-week UNFF8 was attended by over 600 participants. Photo credit: IISD.

The 17th session o the UN Commission on Sustainable

Development (CSD 17), which convened on 4-15 May 2009,

was held at the UN headquarters in New York.

The CSD meets annually in two-year Implementation

Cycles, with each cycle ocusing on one thematic cluster

alongside cross-sectoral issues. This approach was outlined

in a multi-year programme o work (2004-2017) adopted

at CSD 11 in 2003. Each cycle is comprised o a Review

Year and a Policy Year. CSD 16, in May 2008, conducted

a review o barriers and constraints in implementation,

as well as lessons learned and best practices, in relation

to the thematic cluster. CSD 17 negotiated policy

recommendations based on CSD 16s review o the issues

and the development o a drat Chairs Negotiating Text

during an Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting, which

convened in February 2009.

The agenda or CSD 17 covered a complex cluster o

interrelated issues - agriculture, rural development, land,

drought, desertication, and Arica - and took place against

the backdrop o a confuence o related global crises - ood

prices, energy and nancial, in addition to global attention to

the challenge o climate change.

Delegates at CSD 17 were expected to respond by

identiying meaningul policy options to issues that reach to

the heart o sustainable development. It did respond, with

a lengthy and detailed consensus decision, and a Shared

Vision statement rom ministers. However the decision

was not particularly orward-looking as it did not quite

send a clear message as to how sustainability, in particular

sustainable agriculture, can be part o the solution in

addressing poverty and climate change. The session thus,

provided a cause to refect on the place o CSD in the

universe o sustainable development governance.

Source: ENB Vol. 5 No. 281, 18 May 2009

The CSD 17 ocused on the thematic cluster o agriculture, ruraldevelopment, land, drought, desertication and Arica. Photo credit: IISD.

UN Forum on Forests

8th Session o UNForum on Forests


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20global community

UNECE Water Convention

Workshop onForests and Water

Asia Forest Partnership

8th Asia ForestPartnership Meeting

More than 270 participants rom over 50 countries met on27-29 May 2009 in Bali, Indonesia to discuss about illegallogging, and how it might aect a mechanism to reducegreenhouse gas emissions rom deorestation and orestdegradation - or REDD.

The two-day 8th Asia Forest Partnership (AFP) Meetingprovided an opportunity or stakeholders in tropical oreststo share inormation, establish partnerships and proposerecommendations to policymakers. The AFP meeting examined

the links between mechanisms to compensate countries orREDD and eorts to combat illegal logging and the associatedtimber trade.

The major issues concerning orest-dependent people inrelation to REDD and illegal logging, which were elaboratedduring the meeting, included: raisingcommunityawarenessofREDD; buildingcapacityofcommunitiestorespondtoREDD

threats and opportunities; clarifyingforesttenureandownershipofcarbonrightswithin

the REDD ramework; addressingtheneedformeaningfulparticipationof

communities in processes to ormulate and implement

REDD demonstration activities and national REDDrameworks; enhancinglivelihoodopportunitiesforcommunitiesaspart

o avoided deorestation strategies; developingequitableandsustainablenancialdistribution

mechanisms; facilitatinginteractionsbetweencommunitiesand

concessionaires under REDD; and employingandrewardingcommunity-basedforest

management or climate change mitigation.

Participants at the AFP were strongly in avour o a REDDmechanism to preserve the worlds orests. Many wereconcerned, however, about the workability o REDD and

whether or not the money would go to those who need it most.Forest-dependent communities are oten poor and marginalisedbut it is their livelihoods that could be jeopardised i they arenot properly compensated under REDD or reduced access toorests or income and ood.

Source: AFP, http://www.asiaforests.org.

Seventeen presentations were made at the workshop.

Photo credit: MCPFE.

Participants were strongly in avour o a REDD mechanism to preserve the

worlds orests. Photo credit: AFP.

The workshop on orests and water entitled Sustainable

Forest Management and Infuences on Water Resources -

Coordinating Policies on Forests and Water, was held on 12-14

May 2009 in Antalya, Turkey.

The workshop was based on the Ministerial Conerence on the

Protection o Forests in Europe (MCPFE) Warsaw Resolution

2: Forests and Water and work under the United Nations

Economic Commission or Europe (UNECE) Water Convention

on ecosystem services. It examined the complex interrelations

and mutual infuences o orests and water, how countries

approach these topics, and how this is and could be refected

in orest and water policies in the pan-European and UNECE

region and neighbouring states.

The objectives o the workshop were to:

exchangeexperiencesonforestandwatermanagement

tools and policies that contribute to realise water related

orest ecosystem services;

explorecross-sectorialworkandhowthecoordinationof

orest and water policies could be conducted at national

and regional levels; and

explorepaymentforecosystemservicesschemesand

other measures that broaden and diversiy the nancial

basis or sustainable orest management and help maintain

the protective unctions o orests.

Source: MCPFE, http://www.mcpfe.org.


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21global community

Over 3,500 delegates convened in Bonn, Germany, rom

1-12 June 2009 to participate in our meetings as part o

ongoing negotiations under the UN Framework Convention

on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The

Conventions Subsidiary Body or Implementation (SBI) and

the Subsidiary Body or Scientic and Technological Advice

(SBSTA) held their 30th sessions. The sixth session o the AdHoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under

the Convention (AWG-LCA 6) and the eighth session o the

Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments or Annex I

Parties under the Protocol (AWG-KP 8) also took place. The

participants represented governments, intergovernmental and

non-governmental organisations, academia, the private sector

and the media.

The main ocus in Bonn was to enhance international climate

change cooperation, including in the post-2012 period when

the rst commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires.

The long-term issues were considered by the AWG-LCA andAWG-KP, which are both scheduled to conclude their work by

the teenth Conerence o the Parties (COP 15) to be held in

Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.

Eighteen months ater parties to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto

Protocol adopted the Bali Road Map, consisting o two

negotiating tracks to enhance international cooperation to

address climate change, comprehensive negotiating texts

are now on the table but it remains to be seen how these

documents will evolve over the next six months and what may

eventually be adopted in Copenhagen in December. However,

whatever the outcome in Copenhagen, the main ideas willmost likely be contained in documents that were developed in

Bonn during the rst two weeks o June 2009.

Source: ENB Vol. 12 No. 421, 15 June 2009

Climate Change

High-level Conerence

on Fighting ClimateChange with CarbonCapture and Storage

The High-level Conerence on Fighting Climate Change with

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) took place in Bergen,

Norway on 27-28 May 2009. The conerence sought to

provide an arena or high-level policy makers and other key

stakeholders to discuss concrete experiences, priorities,

ideas and initiatives to achieve a comprehensive global

approach or delivering climate solutions.

At the close o the conerence, Jonas Gahr Stre, Norways

Minister o Foreign Aairs, presented a Chairs summary o

the meeting. The summary concluded that:

acomprehensiveapproachtoreduceCO2emissions

must include CCS;

CCScanplayakeyroleinthetransitiontoalowemission

society;

morelarge-scaledemonstrationplants,moreR&Danda

major scaling-up o present CCS eorts are needed;

stimulatingframeworkconditionsarenecessaryto

encourage wide-scale capture and storage;

transportandstorageprojectsmustminimisetheriskof

negative impacts to the environment, health and saety;

privatesectorcompanieshaveaparticularroletomake

CCS commercially viable;

CCSmustbemadeaccessibletodevelopingcountries;

and

CCSshouldfeatureindiscussionsattheUN

Copenhagen Climate Change Conerence in December

2009 and in other relevant fora.

The Chairs summary also indicated that the international

community must move orward with a suite o options,

including CCS as a key technology. It stressed that thedeployment o new technologies, including CCS, depends

on public condence and strong political leadership to build

public condence on saety and environmental impacts.

Source: ENB Vol.163, No. 1, 1 June 2009

The main ocus in Bonn was to enhance international climate change

cooperation. Photo credit: IISD. Eight key messages were raised during the conerence.Photo credit: IISD.

UNFCCC / Kyoto Protocol

Bonn Climate

Change Talks


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22quick takes

Enquiries being attended to at the MTC booth.

Jordan

Project Near East 2009

Bahrain

GULFBID 2009

MTC participated in the 6th edition o Project Near East

2009, which was held at Amman Exhibitions Park in

Amman, Jordan on 4-7 May 2009. Project Near East 2009

was a construction exhibition serving the markets o Jordan,

Iraq, Syria and Palestinian territories. Among the building

materials exhibited were sawntimber, plywood, MDF,

wooden doors, veneer, wood-based fooring and claddings.

The event eatured 240 companies rom 28 countries,

which displayed their products spread over a total exhibition

space o 9,000m. The exhibitors included 11 national

groupings rom Italy, France, Turkey, Indonesia, India,

Pakistan, Germany, Kazakhstan, China, UAE and Saudi

Arabia. The total number o registered trade visitors was

7,104 including 1,279 rom neighbouring countries.

Malaysian wood-based companies intending to enter

the Jordan market used the exhibition as a platorm to

introduce their range o products, assess market potential

and establish initial contact with the local timber tradingraternity.

MTC participated in GULFBID 2009, which was the ourth

edition o the Gul International Exhibition or Construction,

Interiors and Furniture. The exhibition showcased a broad

range o building materials including wood-based products

such as sawntimber, plywood, MDF, veneer, wooden

doors, wood-based fooring and urniture. Woodworking

machinery was also among the exhibits.

A total o 177 companies exhibited their products and

services in the air spread over 7,000 m2 at the Bahrain

International Exhibition and Convention Centre in Manama

City, Bahrain on 5 - 7 May 2009. These included 53

Bahraini and 122 international companies. Trade visitors to

the three-day air totalled about 3,500. Most o the visitors

were rom Bahrain ollowed by Saudi Arabia (mainly rom

Al Khobar and Dammam) and the rest were rom UAE,

Kuwait, Qatar, UK, Germany, Lebanon, Oman and India.

Although the air was relatively small compared to

the other similar regional airs, the growing number oparticipants showed that GULFBID 2009 had good

potential or showcasing ones products to Bahrains

construction and interior urnishing sectors. The air

was also a useul platorm or Malaysian wood-based

companies seeking to establish initial contact with

importers and market players o Bahrains wood-based

and urniture sectors.

Trade visitors at the MTC booth.


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23quick takes

MTC organised a Timber Mission to Germany on

16-24 May 2009. The mission delegation included nine

participants rom six companies.

The mission provided opportunities or members o the

Malaysian timber industry to gain in-depth knowledge and

understanding o the current status o the German timber

industry as well as create business contacts or possiblejoint-ventures to promote product diversication in the

Malaysian timber processing and manuacturing sector.

Besides visiting some wood processing actories such as

urniture and glu-laminated timber manuacturing plants,

the delegation also attended a Timber Frame Construction

Symposium, Designing With Wood on 19 May 2009.

The symposium was organised by Deutsche Messe AG

in conjunction with LIGNA 2009, the World Fair or the

Forestry and Wood Industries, held in Hannover on 18-22

May 2009.

The MTC Timber Talk Series on Timber Roos was held

on 9 June 2009 at MTC HQ, Kuala Lumpur. It was the

second o our Timber Talks scheduled or this year.

The talk was attended by 45 participants comprising

architects, students as well as members o the timber

industry and representatives rom government agencies

who were interested in learning more about timber roosystems.

The speaker, Mr. Ng Wun Pin rom Multinail Asia Sdn.

Bhd., discussed the usage o timber as a material in

roo construction as well as covered topics and issues

related to timber roo truss and preabricated timber

truss systems. He elaborated on the advantages o using

timber roos instead o steel roos by comparing actors

such as saety, strength, environmental impact and re

perormance o these materials. He also showed examples

o projects using timber roos.

Germany

Timber Mission

Malaysia

MTC Timber Talk Series

The mission delegates at a wood processing actory.

Participants at the Talk.

Mr. Ng Wun Pin elaborating on the advantages o using timber roos.


26/28

24quick takes

Meeting at Myanmar Timber Enterprise.

Myanmar

Resource and

Business Mission

Italy & France

Business Visit

MTC organised a Resource and Business Mission

to Myanmar on 10-12 June 2009 to create business

opportunities and linkages between members o the

timber sectors o Myanmar and Malaysia. The mission

also provided opportunities or participants to strengthen

cooperation with suppliers and manuacturers o timber

materials and products in Myanmar.

A total o nine participants rom our Malaysian wood-based

companies participated in the mission.

The delegation visited the state-owned Myanmar Timber

Enterprise as well as participated in a business-matching

session with members o the Myanmar Forest Products and

Timber Merchants Association. The participants also visited

three woodworking actories during the mission.

MTC organised a Business Visit to Italy and France on

7-13 June 2009.

The objectives o the visit were:

Toenhancetraderelationsandincreasethetimber

trade;

TostrengthenMalaysiaspresenceintheItalyand

France timber product markets; Toseektradeopportunitiesinthetimbersector;and

Toexchangeideasandinformationontimber

utilisation.

A total o six Malaysian wood-based companies

participated in the business visit.

A B2B meeting in Paris, France.

Visit to an importer in Milan, Italy.


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