Malaysia's poor management of peat swamp forests and harvesting of the tropical hardwood ramin has been queried by the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species' (Cites).

At a meeting last week in Geneva, the government was told to explain its failure to provide proper 'non-detriment findings' for ramin, which specify the quantity that can be harvested and exported without harming survival of the species or its role in the ecosystem.

This was among factors that have allegedly led to unsustainable logging of ramin ( Gonystylus spp ) from Malaysia's peat swamp forests, said two environmental groups which had submitted a briefing document to the committee. Malaysia ratified Cites in 1978.

Cites imposes strict regulations and conditions for the legal and sustainable trade of species - including ramin - listed under Appendix II. Efforts have been made to upgrade ramin to Appendix I, which carries a full ban on trade except for research or conservation purposes.

In their report, the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Indonesia-based Telapak claimed that Malaysia's 2006 harvest and export quotas of 45,000 cubic metres were doubtful.

"There have been a lot of doubts cast on the quota... Malaysia must do a detailed study and survey of the existing distribution of ramin and come up with a quota based on that survey," said EIA forests campaigner Julian Newman when contacted.

Citing the briefing document - entitled 'The Illegal and Unsustainable Trade in Ramin' - he said Malaysian officials had admitted that the 2006 export quota for Sarawak at 22,000 cubic metres of ramin was based on the level prior to Cites listing.

The document said the committee had been alerted to the "disturbing finding" that only 1.5 percent remain of Sarawak's original peat swamp forests, and that "there is an almost total lack of information on the status and distribution of ramin".

Although regulations limit the maximum quantity of timber which can be removed from a forest concession in each cutting cycle, these do not specify limits for particular species such as ramin.

"It is therefore quite possible for a concessionaire to remove almost every ramin tree in a section of forest while staying within the cutting limits," the report said.

Major transit point

Newman claimed that the committee had also grilled Malaysia over its failure to clamp down on exports of illegally-sourced Indonesian ramin.

"The market for timber has moved (significantly) from ramin to other species, but the effort (to prevent purchase of illegally-sourced ramin) has been undermined by Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, which continue to sell (exported) illegal ramin," he said.

Newman cited cases of stolen Indonesian ramin being laundered through Malaysia into US and European markets, saying Malaysia has some way to go to fulfil international obligations to reduce trade in illegal and unsustainable timber supply.

Ramin, he noted, holds a small proportion of the larger trade of illegal timber that includes merbau, balau, kerungi, meranti, birch and Burmese teak.

"If we cannot even do it right with this one species of timber, how can we regulate the trade of the many other species that are illegally-sourced and exported around the world?" he asked.

EIA and Telapak have called on Cites members to unilaterally suspend trade in ramin with Malaysia and are pushing for the standing committee and secretariat to issue recommendations to this effect.

Case 'over-stated'

When contacted, a spokesperson for the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said EIA and Telapak had over-stated their case and that this had not found a receptive audience among Cites parties.

"Our data-gathering is in process as it is incomplete for the whole of Malaysia, but it was wrong of them to claim we do not have any data. The data will be acquired by June next year," said the official.

"Cites parties have accepted Malaysia's report and reply to the NGOs. Their only request was for us to have the complete NDF (non-detriment findings) by June for the Conference of Parties. Otherwise, (our report) was well supported."

She further denied that ramin was in danger of being depleted, as alleged by EIA and Telapak.

"Ramin in Malaysia is not in any danger of being depleted any time soon," she said, claiming that these groups had misunderstood the context of findings that only 1.5 percent of peat swamp forests remain in Sarawak.

"They are referring to virgin peat swamp forests. In that case, yes, only 1.5 percent remains. But there remains in Sarawak 300,000 ha of state land forests and 81,000 ha of totally protected areas."

The official also said it was expected that non-governmental organisations would present a picture of illegal log exports in Malaysia that fits their agenda.

"They spoke of documented cases that occurred before 2003. Why didn't they talk of more than 28 seizures of illegal logs from Indonesia that have occurred since then? This year alone, we have made two seizures of consignments in Muar, but that was not highlighted," she said.

She added that it was unfair to blame Malaysia for the export of illegal ramin from Indonesia.

"Logs are not something that can be hidden in your pocket. They are conspicuous. If they arrive at our shores from Indonesia, don't you wonder why they were allowed to leave in the first place?" she asked.