Sabah TLAS Audit Report

Transcription

1 Sabah TLAS Audit Report Sabah Legality Standard Principles 1 4 Licensee Lagenda Aktif Sdn. Bhd. Reference # G Contact Person Office Address Vincent Tong (Chief Operating Officer) Lot 11-2, 2 nd Floor, Block G, Lintas Square, Jalan Lintas, 88300, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Site Office Lot 21, Block C-9, Ground Floor, Jalan Masjid, Future City Shophouse, 89007, Keningau, Sabah Date of Report Date of close out Telephone Fax 4 Nov 2016 NA / / / vin06kok@yahoo.com.sg Approved By Dr. Kevin T. Grace Statements Audit Statement GFS 033 LVS Issuance Date 1 Dec 2016 Expiration Date 30 Nov 2017 Assessment Dates 31 Oct 4 Nov 2016 Assessment Details Scope of Assessment Species Lead Assessor Assessor(s) FDS Staff TLAS P1 P4: ITP Rubber Plantation & NFM Mosaic Planting Rubber, mixed dipterocarp and pioneer species Siti Radiah Mohamad Walter Marcus, Salapan Amat Roslan Junaidi (FLEGT Officer), Henry Ladsou (DFO Sook), Mohd Duraman (KPPM Pingas) OBJECTIVES: The objective of this checklist is to verify compliance to the Criteria listed in the Sabah Legality Standard as defined by Principles 1-4 for Sabah dated 01 st January 2015 (FDS-TLAS-002). Compliance is defined when all applicable criteria are observed to be compliant. A Minor Gap to any indicator does not constitute non-compliance to a criterion. A Major Gap to any applicable indicator does reflect non-compliance to a criterion. Compliance for a criterion where multiple minor gaps are identified in indicators under the criterion may reflect non-compliance to the criterion. All issues identified under this standard shall be considered appropriate to the scale and degree of forestry operations undertaken by the parties under the agreement. 2

2 Summary Information Overview of Licensee: The State Government of Sabah has awarded an area of 10,008 ha located in Ulu Sg. Millian Forest Reserve to Lagenda Aktif Sdn. Bhd. under Sustainable Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA) 02/2012. Ulu Sg. Millian Forest Reserve is classified as Commercial Forest Reserve (Class II) and falls within FMU11 which formely managed by Bornion Timber Sdn Bhd. Under the SFMLA 02/2012 provision, Lagenda Aktif is responsible to carry out forestry operation within the license area on sustainable basis for a period of 50years (24 May December 2062). Lagenda Aktif engaged Smart Link Formation Sdn. Bhd. and Ming Kim Soon Sdn. Bhd. as nursery contractor, whereas mosaic, rubber planting, and maintenance activities are carried out by Lagenda Aktif workers. Land classification FMP Area (ha) Current (ha) Total Concession Area 10,008 10,008 Production Area - Natural Forest Management Area (Mosaic area) (salvage logged) (planted to date) - Plantation Forest (ITP) 8, , (salvage logged) Protected Forest & Conservation Areas (including riparian reserve) 2, (planted to date) Social Community & Agriculture * *proposed by FDS but still under further discussion among stakeholders. Environmental context The SFMLA license area was formerly held by Bornion Timber Sdn. Bhd. before it was excised in Since 1997 no activities had been carried out by Bornion Timber Sdn. Bhd. within this part of the FMU 11 area. Prior to 1997 (in the 70s) Ulu Sg. Millian Forest Reserve was extensively logged by at least 19 different companies. The logging licenses were issued on a short to medium term basis which varied from one year (Form I license) to 25 years (Special license), depending on the extent of the area licensed. The licensees were not required to carry out forest rehabilitation and silvicultural treatment operations under these licenses. This was solely under the responsibility of the Sabah Forestry Department. The SFMLA area comprises three forest types, which include: Upland Mixed Dipterocarp Forest (9,337.9 ha), Lowland Mixed Dipterocarp Forest (558.9 ha), as well as Lowland Dipterocarp and Heath Forest ( ha). The forests of the licensed area are severely degraded and left with low quality stands of Dipterocarp species (Shorea leprosula, Anisoptera costata, Hopea sangal, etc.), and are mostly dominated by Macaranga spp. and species of the Zingerberaceae family. No new wildlife assessments have been undertaken in the area to determine to what extent these wildlife species still occur. The only areas left behind are disturbed habitats within the NFM area The local communities are relying highly on the watershed areas within the SFMLA area, because their water-gravity systems are located here. Existing EIA report Lagenda Aktif holds an approved EIA report which covers the logging area of Ulu Sg. Millian Forest Reserve. 3

3 Social context FDS-TLAS-006 A Social Baseline Survey (SBS) was carried out by Lagenda Aktif from November 2011 to January 2012, in full consultation and cooperation with staff of the Sook and Nabawan District Forest Offices, as well as officers from both District Councils. No village is located within the SFMLA area. However, there are four villages located 2 km away from the boundary of the SFMLA area, which include: Kg. Saup Baru, Kg. Pulutan, Kg. Mototou, and Kg. Kawakaan. Most of the population of these villages belong to the Dusun and Murut Lundayeh ethnic groups. Almost all villages enjoy basic infrastructure facilities: all villages are accessible by roads. Electricity is supplied to the villages by SESB or generator sets. All villages have installed piped gravity water. About 20% of the respondents owned Titled Land (ranging from 0.1 ha and 5.0 ha), whilst 80% stated that they do not own any land or they are in the process of application for Native Titles. In addition, all villagers recognized the importance of watershed conservation as their water supply source. The only watershed areas available are located within the SFMLA area. Scope of Assessment The scope of the evaluation is to verify compliance of Lagenda Aktif Sdn. Bhd. with the Sabah Forest Management License Agreement (SFMLA 02/2012) for FMU 11. The assessment is in accordance on the terms of the agreement for the Sabah Legality Standard Principles 1-4 dated 01 st January 2015 (FDS-TLAS-002). Site evaluation to verify and report the level of compliance by Licensee Sdn. Bhd. and contractors to the standard in respect to each of the criteria within this report. Compliance is defined when the auditee demonstrates that the indicators consist of none or only minor gaps against any applicable criteria of the standard. Non-compliance to the Sabah Legality Standard occurs when the auditee does not demonstrate adequate compliance to a criterion. Itinerary of Assessment Date 31 Oct 2016 Mon 1 Nov 2016 Tue 2 Nov 2016 Wed 3 Nov 2016 Thurs 4 Nov 2016 Fri Activity Travelling to Keningau, opening meeting at PPD Keningau Document review at Lagenda Aktif office (Keningau) Field visit to Compartment 1, 19, 21, 22, 23; base camp, sub-contractor (Smart Link Formation S/B) quarters, chemical store, nursery, and workshop. Document review and closing meeting at PPD Keningau Travelling to Sandakan 4

4 Highlights of Assessment (Major Gaps = 0; Minor Gaps = 0; Observations = 2) Lagenda Aktif Sdn. Bhd. has complied with the Sabah Legality Standard (FDS-TLAS-002) as no non compliance was identified during the assessment on 31 Oct 4 Nov Current status of operations: The contractor only extracts the remaining logs from the land clearing activities. As mentioned in the quarterly report, rubber plantation activities follows the pre-planned schedule stated in the approved AWP 2016, whereas, the mosaic planting progress were slowed down due to unsuitable topography and rain season. Two observations were highlighted during the assessment regarding: Observation 001 (Checklist 2.1.3): Evidences of trash burning at nursery quarters & Ming Kim Soon S/B (sub-contractor) quarter, abundant structure of sub-contractor quarters are partially dismantled and usage of one type of insecticide (Regent 50sc) within the license area. Observation 003 (Checklist 4.1.4): The licensee pays several informal visits to the adjacent villages where few social donations/fund/material supports are requested by the local community (Refer 4.1.3). Records of the social contribution are kept but the minutes of the visits are not available during the assessment. Results: (Compliance = 15; Non-Compliance = 0) No gap was raised against indicators & criteria during the Nov 2016 assessment. GAP Type Checklist Description Status of previous outstanding Gaps. GAP Type Checklist Status Description of Close Out Highlights of Close Out Visit (if applicable) NA Dates Two observations were highlighted against indicators & criteria during the Nov 2016 assessment. OBS Checklist Description Evidence of trash burning at nursery quarters & Ming Kim Soon S/B (subcontractor) quarter. Abundant structure of sub-contractor quarters are partially dismantled and left. Class II insecticides (regent 50sc) which contain 5% of fipronil (classified as highly hazardous under FSC) were found in the chemical store The licensee pays several informal visits to the adjacent villages where few social donations/fund/material supports are requested by the local community (Refer 4.1.3). Records of the social contribution are kept but the minutes of the visits are not available during the assessment. 5

5 Recommendations Lagenda Aktif Sdn. Bhd. has demonstrated compliance with the Sabah Legality Standard (FDS-TLAS- 002) for its designated area and is recommended to receive a GFS Audit Statement and STCC from FDS. Several recommendations are listed as per the observations highlighted: Checklist Description(s) Briefing/awareness should be provided to all workers (main & sub-contractor) for not having any trash burning in open area provide proper area for burning (e.g half cut drum). Any pesticide which contains mixture of hazardous chemical substance listed under FSC standard shall not be applied in the license area Every formal or informal visit/communication should be recorded and documented for reference. The next surveillance audit will be scheduled on November End of Summary Report 6