First VLC
The Malaysian concessionaire Yayasan Sabah has obtained the very first Verification of Legal Compliance statement ever issued by the Rainforest Alliance to a Forest management enterprise.
The statement covers almost 190,000 hectares of tropical forest in the Malaysian state of Sabah, home to a large number of precious hardwood species.
Safe play with Verified Legal Compliance
"Yayasan Sabah is pioneering a wider perspective on the issue of legal wood, which is in line with the approach taken by the world's strictest law on illegal wood products trade, the US Lacey Act. With this move, a number of tropical tree species are now available for purchase with a verification statement that effectively reduces the risk of illegality in a wider sense", says Christian Sloth, Manager of the Rainforest Alliance's Legality Verification Program.
"Our Verificaton of Legal Compliance (VLC) goes further than just looking at the act of logging per se; it also looks into compliance with laws on for example environmental protection and regulations pertaining to workers' conditions. It is a more comprehensive verification process than our more basic Verification of Legal Origin (VLO) program, which was the one followed by Yayasan Sabah until they decided to embark on this next step. Companies concerned about potential non- compliance with the strict requirements of the Lacey Act are demanding this sort of assurance".
Sloth adds: "If you wish to play it safe as a trader of wood products and can not obtain them as FSC-certified, then VLC is a very good choice. Moreover, by buying VLC-timber you are supporting the FSC system. Those who enroll in our legality verification systems are required to move further towards FSC certification.
Pull from Carl Ronnow and DLH
The DLH concern with the Malaysia-based company Carl Ronnow has played a major role in the decision by Yayasan Sabah to go for certification. DLH, the world's largest trader in tropical wood, is working with its suppliers to ensure the legality of wood while moving towards FSC certification.
"COMMENT", says Peter Kristensen, DLH.
Currently almost 20 operations and companies worldwide are verified to the Rainforest Alliance VLO standard, and in addition to Yayasan Sabah several are now embarking on the VLC step.
