Brussels must ‘come and see’ EUDR compliance efforts
8 Oct 2024
Malaysian Rubber Board: NR producers want to work in harmony with EU to deliver goals of deforestation regulation
Brickendonbury, UK – EU lawmakers need to be more aware of what is happening in rubber-producing countries in response to the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
That’s according to Dr Noorliana Mohd Zan of the Malaysian Rubber Board, speaking in a presentation at the Rubber Consultants Industry Day, held 7 Oct at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre.
A delegation* from Malaysia and Indonesia recently went to Brussels to explain the situation and found EU officials were “open” to considering the growers’ perspective, the MRB research officer reported at the event in Brickendonbury.
However, such openness was not evident in the recently updated EUDR guidelines issued alongside a 2 Oct European Commission proposal to delay its implementation by 12 months. (ERJ report)
The EU has still not addressed many issues, including those around different national definitions of forest, land-classification and 'third-parties' rights', as well as geolocation methodology and data-protection for individuals.
According to the MRB official, Brussels still lacks an understanding of the need for an integrated approach to EUDR compliance across NR producer countries to safeguard cross-border trading of materials and products.
Mohd Zan went on to detail the Malaysian Sustainable Natural Rubber (MSNR) initiative**, intended to ensure that all of the country’s NR-based exports are accepted on the global market.
Effective 1 Jan 2025, the new regulatory and enforcement approach mainly targets the requirements of the EUDR particularly as it affects the country’s 287,144 rubber smallholders.
MSNR is designed to ensure: No deforestation; rubber cultivation in-line with national land code; environmental sustainability; social compliance; and supply-chain traceability.
Compliance insppection** is supported by a 220-strong team carrying out face-to-face surveys and collecting information on plantations – often travelling over difficult terrain to reach hard-to-access rubber plots.
Their work will form the basis of an EUDR reporting system for the complex NR value-chain that, estimates MRB, could ultimately add $200-250/tonne to the cost of natural rubber.
Fundamental to the MSNR is that it does not impose any costs on rubber smallholders, many of whom are already struggling to sustain their livelihoods, the MRB presenter emphasised.
Mohd Zan concluded with an invitation to EU officials to: “Come together with us... to get eyes on the ground and understand what is really happening.
“We are working to fulfil all the [EUDR] requirements and are looking for harmonisation. It is the win-win situation, because we also want to preserve our forest for our next generation.”
Article updated with additional information supplied 9 Oct by Dr Noorliana Mohd Zan: *This was the third 'joint taskforce meeting' on 12 Sept; **MSNR initiaitves on compliance inspection started on 1 July 2024.
