Kota Kinabalu: EU Ambassador to Malaysia Rafael Daerr said Malaysia is, in many respects, producing commodities more efficiently and sustainably than many other parts of the world.
He said Sabah’s long-standing partnership with the EU dates back to 2006 through initiatives such as the Voluntary Partnership Agreement process under the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade framework, leading to the development of the original TLAS in 2009.
He also highlighted Sabah’s role as a like-minded partner in climate and environmental protection through initiatives such as the EU–Sabah REDD+ project, which saw Sabah become the first state in Malaysia to implement a REDD+ strategy and establish an operational task force and technical working groups.
These efforts, he said, produced tangible results, including the establishment of more than 4,200 hectares of community-conserved areas, improved livelihoods in over 35 villages, and forest-based ecotourism activities that attracted more than 600 visitors in areas such as Gana, Labuk–Gana and Luasong.
“Our collaboration has continued to evolve,” he said, noting that in 2024 the EU began working with the Sabah Forestry Department to update TLAS to meet EUDR and CSDDD requirements through mapping exercises, workshops, stakeholder consultations and industry engagement.
He was speaking at the launch of the Sabah TLAS+ Booklet here, Thursday.
Daerr said the launch of the TLAS+ Booklet reflected the collaborative spirit between Sabah and the EU and encouraged continued feedback to ensure the system remained practical and effective.
“If something complicates your work unnecessarily, tell us,” he said, adding that the EU was committed to conveying feedback to Brussels as part of a genuine partnership.
He said the EU had also committed €2.5 billion to support smallholders in sectors such as palm oil and rubber to help them meet sustainability requirements and benefit financially from their efforts.
Daerr expressed hope that TLAS+ would further strengthen Sabah’s timber industry readiness to meet future market requirements when the EUDR and CSDDD were fully operational, including encouraging more value-added production in Sabah.
Even though direct exports to the EU accounted for only about two per cent of Sabah’s timber exports, he said compliance remained important as much of the timber was processed elsewhere and eventually re-exported to Europe.
He expressed gratitude to the Sabah Government for more than two decades of cooperation with the EU and congratulated the Sabah Forestry Department for its work in making TLAS+ a success.
“Sabah is leading the way as the first state in Malaysia to integrate deforestation-free and due diligence requirements into its timber legality system,” he said.
