KUCHING: Seven areas covering 12,097 ha of forests in East Malaysia have been certified under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS).
MTCS chief executive officer Yong Teng Koon said 2,500 ha are in Sabah while 9,500 ha are in Sarawak.
He explained that the scheme, which began in 2001, seeks to sustain the development of a green economy.
“As of Feb 28, 2019, primary forests in 15 areas covering 4.49 million ha have been certified under MTCS. Of these, 35 per cent are forest reserves,” he said in an interview with Bernama Radio on Thursday.
Touching on the Chain of Custody certification, he said 363 companies had already obtained the certification, of which 10 per cent came from the timber industry.
Yong said timber exports stood at 348,801 cubic metres last year, with 70 per cent exported to Europe.
He said many European nations required certification or the timber products would not be accepted.
He added that 1.96 million cubic metres of timber in Malaysia had been certified since MTCS was launched.