Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute lab gets global ISO 17025 accreditation, says Sagah

KUCHING (Nov 27): Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute’s (Tropi) chemistry laboratory has been accredited with ISO 17025, a globally recognised international standard for testing and calibration laboratories, said Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn.

The Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister said this accreditation marked a pivotal moment for Tropi as it opens doors for further international research collaborations and strengthens the state’s research capacity and competency on globally.

“This is also important to ensure that we have up-to-date research protocols as required under the Paris Agreement to address the challenges of climate change and peatland conservation,” said when delivering his ministerial winding-up speech in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.

He said establishing an ISO 17025 accredited chemistry laboratory was essential to support the Sarawak Environmental Bill.

“Such a laboratory that meets international standards plays a crucial role in improving the verification and validation of carbon credits.

“This will also ensure that Sarawak’s climate change efforts are based on sound science and reliable date to achieve our net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” he said.

He also touched on milestones achieved by Tropi in 2023 where it represented Malaysia in several international research collaborations.

“One of these collaborations is Tropi’s participation in the Soil Biodiversity

Observation Network (BON) Research Project in partnership with the University of Leipzig, Germany.

“This global initiative aims to track and assess soil biodiversity over 10 years, with 90 countries involved. We are proud to be the only scientific agency in Malaysia to be invited to participate in this research collaboration.

“In addition, Tropi has been invited to participate in the Living Lab for Wetland Forests (LiWeFor) project and the PeatlandN2O. It is an international collaboration with the University of Tartu in Estonia, the University of Helsinki in Finland and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany,” he said.

He said these projects are funded by the prestigious European Research Council (ERC) and aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from global peatlands, that is, between temperate and tropical peatlands.

“These collaborations will not only advance our scientific research and body of knowledge on tropical peatland, but also add value in our implementation of sustainable development and management of peatlands,” he added.