Environmental groups say Malaysia's Sarawak region should be labelled as "high risk" by the European Union because of the risk of deforestation

Bangkok (AFP) - Environmental and rights groups urged the European Union Tuesday to label Malaysia’s Sarawak region “high risk” under controversial new anti-deforestation rules to be implemented from the end of December.

The EU’s deforestation regulation (EUDR) is due to come into force at the end of the year, although Germany and Brazil have recently joined a string of countries urging that implementation be delayed.

Environmentalists and rights groups have, however, called on the EU to move forward with the regulation.

It will bar imports of a vast range of goods – from coffee to cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper and rubber – if they are produced on land that was deforested after December 2020.

It also requires exporters to assess the risk of rights violations associated with production of the commodity.

In a joint statement, a group of Malaysian and international organisations said Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo should be considered “high risk” under the new rules.

Such a designation would mean closer scrutiny of timber and palm oil imported from the region – an unwelcome prospect for Malaysia, which is already pushing back against EUDR.

The NGOs argue Sarawak’s government plans to convert hundreds of thousands of hectares of natural forest to timber plantations, and is granting companies operating leases in areas that have not been surveyed for protection purposes.

Earlier this year RimbaWatch, one of the signatory groups, warned that around 15 percent of Malaysia’s natural forest is at risk because of concessions granted to companies.

Tuesday’s statement also alleges routine violations of Indigenous land rights, including limits on the amount of land that can be legally recognised, and the unilateral revocation of existing land titles.

“Logging companies are still bulldozing Indigenous peoples’ forests in Sarawak without consultation or consent from communities, which should translate into a ‘high risk’ classification,” said Celine Lim, managing director of SAVE Rivers, an Indigenous organisation from Sarawak.

- Vocal opponents -

Sarawak’s forestry department, and Malaysia’s plantation and commodities ministry did not respond to AFP’s request for comment on the claims.

Malaysia and Indonesia have been among the most vocal opponents of EUDR, arguing domestic anti-deforestation standards should be sufficient, and warning the rules will disproportionately harm smallholder producers who cannot meet onerous documentation requirements.

Environmental and rights groups have pushed back against these claims, including at talks in Brussels earlier this month between EU, Indonesian and Malaysian officials.

“Calls from EU governments to delay enforcement of the law are a deplorable abdication of leadership in the face of a climate emergency,” said Luciana Tellez Chavez, senior environment and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.