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Conclusions

ConclusionsLARGE-SCALE LOGGING by TNCs takes place, in many instances, without effective controls on their operations. This is characterised by:

§ lack of transparency surrounding the awarding of concessions;

§ the lack of, or non-implementation of, adequate management plans;

§ lack of clear and effective forest management policies and regulations;

§ lack of government monitoring and enforcement capacity;

§ collusion between policy-makers and logging companies;

§ rent-seeking behaviour, with many companies looking to maximise profit in the short-term only.

As a result of this lack of control, logging has serious negative impacts on forests and forest-dependent peoples, including:

§ felling at unsustainable rates;

§ illegal logging and illegal trade;

§ disruption or elimination of successful local economies, generating poverty;

§ social instability within communities;

§ social, cultural and political oppression of parts of civil society;

§ environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity.

If large-scale logging by TNCs is to avoid these problems in the future, various measures should be considered as a matter of urgency:

§ full participation of civil society, including forest-dependent peoples, community groups, NGOs and trade unions, in decisions regarding the management and use of forests, including the allocation and operations of timber concessions;

§ the development of clear national policies and legislation within which forest management, including sustainable timber extraction, can make a positive contribution to the national interest and the long-term benefit of forest-dependent peoples and the environment;

§ the recognition, demarcation and protection of indigenous peoples' land rights claims;

§ the recognition of the international and intrinsic value of biodiversity hotspots, such as primary forests, and the exclusion of any large-scale logging in these areas;

§ regulatory standards of practice, applied to all logging companies, be developed by governments through national, regional and international co-operation, with full participation of civil society and economic interests;

§ the strengthening of government monitoring and enforcement capacity to ensure the successful implementation of national and international regulations, with international assistance where required;

§ national, regional and international recognition of the positive contribution which successful local economies make to the national economy, social stability and the environment;

§ national, regional and international support for the development of small-scale, high-value timber operations which give much greater stability of income to both national governments and local communities;

§ limiting production and consumption to sustainable levels;

§ timber products which are priced to reflect the full cost of production, rather than being subsidised by environmental degradation and negative social impacts.

Specifically addressing the Malaysian case study, the Malaysian federal and Sarawak state governments could consider enhancing their role in promoting South-South co-operation by taking the following steps to encourage best practice by Malaysian-based logging companies:

§ ensuring that Malaysian-based logging companies change their present exploitative practices by adopting clear and effective environmental and social standards when operating both domestically and overseas;

§ ensuring that companies respect indigenous and local communities' land and resource rights, now and in the future;

§ ensuring that where the companies' logging practices have already encroached and destroyed native customary lands or other lands used by local peoples, the companies provide adequate compensation for all the damage caused to lands and livelihoods;

§ taking a neutral stand between local communities and logging companies when conflicts over resources emerge, including instructing police forces not to side with logging interests;

§ ensuring justice for those people who have been treated unjustly in the past or who have had their movements restricted because of their commitment to saving forests both within Malaysia and elsewhere, and ensuring that these injustices do not happen in the future;

§ supporting community-based forest management initiatives.