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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has become the first jurisdiction globally to align its Timber Legality Assurance System with both the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) following the launch of the Sabah Timber Legality Assurance System Plus (TLAS+).

Sabah Chief Conservator of Forests Datuk Frederick Kugan said the launch of the TLAS+ booklet on Thursday marked a milestone in the State’s long-standing commitment to sustainable forest management, legality, transparency and global market credibility.

He said forests had driven Sabah’s socio-economic development since independence, contributing nearly 50 per cent of State revenue in the mid-1980s, while sustained science-based restoration and strengthened governance had helped progressively restore forest conditions.

Frederick said about 63 per cent of Sabah’s land mass, or 4.6 million hectares, remains under forest cover, with 3.8 million hectares or 52 per cent legally protected, and nearly two million hectares or 27 per cent gazetted as Totally Protected Areas as the State works towards a 30 per cent target by 2025.

He said TLAS+, developed through collaboration with the EU-Malaysia Cooperation Facility since June 2024, integrates deforestation-free compliance, voluntary CS3D requirements, enhanced traceability and strengthened social and environmental safeguards, making Sabah the first in the world to align its system with both EUDR and CS3D requirements.