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commons.wikimedia.org and biodiversity conservation research.
FRIM Director-General, Datuk Dr. Ismail Parlan, is confident
that with the continued support from all parties the institute
will remain relevant and authoritative as the leading research

institution for the well-being of the people and future generations.
“FRIM will continue to play a key role in the fields of tropical
forestry research, biodiversity, climate change, biotechnology,
forest products and development based on natural resources,”
he was reported as saying.

Ghani, said the review covers the assessment of country INDONESIA
benchmarking criteria that fall under the responsibilities of SVLK ensures legality
various ministries. The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry has reaffirmed that

“Among the steps are the coordination of forest data all timber exported from Indonesia is verified as legal and
reporting and enforcement of forestry-related laws by the sustainable through the Timber Legality and Sustainability
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Assurance Programme (SVLK).
compliance and enforcement of laws protecting human rights, According to Erwan Sudaryanto, Director of Forest Product
including the rights of indigenous communities, by the Ministry Processing and Marketing Development, the SVLK demonstrates
of Rural and Regional Development and the inclusion of Indonesia’s commitment to ensuring that exported forest
sustainability elements in free trade agreement negotiations products are both legally sourced and produced through

by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI)” he responsible and socially equitable practices.
reported to parliament. The system is supported by the National Forest Monitoring
Johari said the government has established a national System (SIMONTANA) and involves independent third-party
traceability system for the palm oil sector as part of compliance verification under the supervision of Conformity Assessment
with the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification to Bodies and a consortium of NGOs to maintain its credibility.
ensure that palm oil exports are not limited to large companies Erwan also addressed recent concerns raised by nonprofit
only. “Through this system, all geomaps and geo-locations of organisations claiming that Indonesian timber sold in European
each smallholder will be recorded.” markets may still come from deforested areas.
Meanwhile, more than 1.6 million hectares of forest areas He clarified that under Indonesian law, deforestation refers

in Sarawak have been certified under the internationally specifically to the permanent conversion of forested land into
recognised Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS), non-forest uses and not all forest clearing constitutes illegal
reaffirming the State’s strong commitment to sustainable forest activity.
management and environmental stewardship. The government distinguishes between unauthorised
deforestation and officially permitted land use changes which
40 years of Forest Research may occur for forest plantations, infrastructure projects or
Four decades since its establishment, the Forest Research other national development purposes.

Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) is poised to elevate its national This differentiation, Erwan emphasised, ensures that
contributions through high-impact research, green innovation Indonesia’s forest management practices remain transparent,