location: Sarawak

location: Sarawak

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NGOs, officials trade blame as Malaysian forest conservation project is scrapped
- In early October, the International Tropical Timber Organization announced the cancelation of a $1.3 million conservation project in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, done at the request of the state forest department.
- The project, the Upper Baram Forest Area, aimed to involve the government, local communities and civil society in the management of 283,500 hectares (about 700,500 acres) of land in the state.
- Both the government and NGOs suggest the working relationship declined over conflicting opinions on how land within the project area should be used, with the presence of an active forestry concession cited as a key sticking point.

NGOs push EU to label Sarawak as ‘high risk’ source of timber, palm oil
- A recently published report by rights groups says that commodities from the Malaysian state of Sarawak should be labeled “high risk” under the new EU deforestation regulations, subjecting exports to additional scrutiny.
- Indigenous and human rights groups point to high rates of deforestation associated with timber and palm oil production in the state, and to alleged violations of human rights, including the right to free, prior and informed consent.
- Rights advocates say they believe the EU deforestation regulations could be a tool to push Sarawak’s timber and agro-industries toward better human rights practices.

Sarawak government’s hydropower plans worry Indigenous communities
- Indigenous residents begin submitting petitions as Sarawak officials announce three new cascading hydropower dams throughout the state.
- While Sarawak’s chief minister appears all-in for the dam in comments, other officials say plans hang on the results of upcoming feasibility studies.
- After some villages were devastated by older dams, Indigenous residents ask officials to consult them fully or simply drop the plans.

Red flags but no repercussions for ‘certified’ Malaysian logger Samling: Report
- A report by NGOs focused on forests and Indigenous rights in Borneo alleges that Malaysian timber firm Samling has appeared to log beyond the terms of the national forest certification scheme with minimal repercussions.
- An auditor raised several issues with Samling’s FPIC process at certified timber concessions, including one concession that lost its certification and one that has so far retained it.
- One of the report’s authors told Mongabay that they focused the report on auditor SIRIM QAS and Malaysia’s homegrown certification system, in the hope the government can reform the system.
- The report, whose findings Samling and SIRIM QAS have both disputed, highlights ongoing debate about Malaysia’s timber certification process.

Malaysian logger Samling’s track record leaves Indigenous Sarawak questioning its plans
- Malaysian timber giant Samling has held logging concessions in the Bornean state of Sarawak since the 1970s, many of them overlapping with Indigenous customary lands.
- In a recently settled lawsuit, Samling described complaints against its operations in Sarawak as defamatory.
- Mongabay recently traveled to Sarawak to meet with Indigenous and local leaders, who said that while the company has recently made more efforts to meet with villages affected by logging, it’s not doing much to address their complaints and suggestions.

Sarawak Indigenous NGO squeezed by defamation case, silenced from reporting alleged logging
- For the fourth time, the hearing of a defamation suit filed by Malaysia-based timber company Samling against Indigenous rights group SAVE Rivers has been delayed.
- According to the statement of claim filed by Samling plaintiffs, the case hinges on eight articles published on SAVE Rivers’ website between June 2020 and March 2021 involving allegations of illegal logging and a rush to gain sustainable forestry certification, which Samling says is untrue.
- Last month, 160 organizations signed a letter describing this suit as a strategic litigation against public participation, or SLAPP case, noting that the fine — plaintiffs are asking for 5 million ringgit ($1.1 million) — would bankrupt SAVE Rivers.
- The deferment of the trial comes days after the Forest Stewardship Council, an international organization that operates a certification scheme for sustainable forestry, said the company will be investigated for alleged violations of the council’s policies.

Malaysia revokes oil palm concession near UNESCO-listed Bornean park
- The government of the Malaysian Borneo state of Sarawak has revoked a controversial oil palm concession adjacent to the UNESCO-listed Gunung Mulu National Park.
- The state has not released information confirming why the 4,400-hectare (10,900-acre) concession was revoked, but it had been the subject of protests and a lawsuit by Penan, Berawan and Tering Indigenous communities who said it threatened their livelihoods.
- Indigenous activists are celebrating the cancellation of the concession as a victory, and have called on the state government to also suspend a planned infrastructure development project in the area.

Survey captures Bornean ecosystems and Indigenous lives around them
- Members of Indigenous Penan and Kenyah communities in the Malaysian Borneo state of Sarawak spent two years surveying the forests of the Baram River Basin.
- The resulting documents, known as the Baram Heritage Survey, chronicle the sights and sounds of some of Sarawak’s last intact forest, as well as the daily life and aspirations of the Indigenous communities living there.
- The documentation process was supported by NGOs SAVE Rivers, Borneo Project and Keruan, and also involved collaboration with academic researchers who will soon prepare formal papers connected to the survey.

Indigenous activists in Borneo claim win as logging firm removes equipment from disputed area
- After NGOs captured satellite and drone imagery they said showed timber firm Samling operating in deep forest and culturally sensitive sites in the Malaysian Bornean state of Sarawak, Indigenous activists filed a police report and planned to mount a blockade July 16.
- According to Penan Indigenous organization Keruan, the firm removed its equipment by July 15, a move the organization counts as a win for forest conservation.
- The area is slated for inclusion in the Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA), a new conservation project led by the government and approved by the International Tropical Timber Organization.
- Samling denies encroaching on recognized Indigenous land, and said the UBFA has not been approved by the government or discussed with the company, which holds the timber concession for the most of the forest included in the project area.

Malaysia’s Indigenous Penan block roads to stop logging in Borneo
- In an attempt to block logging operations by timber company Samling, Penan Indigenous tribespeople have erected two separate blockades in Malaysian Borneo’s Baram region.
- Penan activists allege Samling is encroaching on tribal land without their consent, and say they only put up the blockades after authorities failed to respond to their complaints.
- Samling, which has been granted a license to log in both contested areas, says the allegations that it has operated without consent on Penan land are “malicious and without any truth or basis.”
- One blockade, in the Long Ajeng area, has led to tensions between villagers opposed to Samling’s presence and those in favor of it, and has been dismantled and reinstalled multiple times.

Dam builder denies responsibility as logjam chokes river in Malaysian Borneo
- Tons of wood debris has clogged up the Baleh and Rajang rivers in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
- The logjam originated in the headwaters of the Baleh, where a hydroelectric dam is currently under construction and logging activity is being carried out nearby.
- The logjam originated in the headwaters of the Baleh, where a hydroelectric dam is currently under construction and logging activity is being carried out nearby.
- But the state-owned utility building dam denies responsibility, pointing to logging upstream.

Highway cutting through Heart of Borneo poised to be ‘very, very bad’
- With Indonesia planning to shift its capital from Jakarta to the Bornean province of East Kalimantan, infrastructure development pressures on the island have intensified.
- Neighboring Malaysia is adding new stretches to the Pan Borneo Highway to capitalize on spillover economic benefits; within Indonesia, East Kalimantan’s developmental gains are also expected to trickle to other provinces through the transboundary highway.
- While the new roads could spur economic development in remote villages, they also carve into protected areas in the Heart of Borneo, opening them up for resource extraction.
- In particular, the roads could fast-track development of a new “oil palm belt,” with disastrous consequences for the wildlife and Indigenous peoples of Borneo, and for global climate, experts say.

Malaysian timber giant Samling takes conflict over logging activity to court
- Plywood company Samling Group has filed a $1.18 million defamation suit against an Indigenous-led green group in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.
- The company says its business has been harmed by web posts in which advocacy group SAVE Rivers alleges the company failed to properly secure free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous communities in and around forest concessions.
- SAVE Rivers plans to challenge the lawsuit, the organization’s lawyers say.
- While the lawsuit is pending, the Malaysian Timber Certification Council has halted it review of conflicts between Samling and several Indigenous groups in Sarawak, saying the issues raised in the review are too close to the claims that will be argued in the lawsuit.

For Malaysia’s Indigenous Penan, vaccine doubt is part of historic govt distrust
- Decades of marginalization and dislocation have made many of Malaysia’s indigenous Penan people mistrustful of both state and federal officials.
- This mistrust, along with anti-vaccination propaganda and structural issues like lack of identity cards, have led to vaccine hesitancy in Penan communities on the island of Borneo.
- Penan leaders say many in their communities are more concerned with long-term issues, like forest loss and lack of identity cards, than they are with COVID-19.

Malaysian council opens hearing into claims of timber certification flaws
- For more than a year, Indigenous communities in Malaysian Borneo have been campaigning against timber conglomerate Samling’s certified-sustainable production plantations.
- They allege the certification processes for the plantations, which overlap with their traditional territory, were flawed and carried out without proper community consent; Samling has denied the allegations.
- The Malaysian Timber Certification Council last month launched a dispute resolution case between the two sides, giving the communities a chance to formally air their complaints.
- The conflict comes as the local government works toward a 2022 goal to have all timber companies obtain sustainable forest management certification.

‘Listening to communities must go beyond ticking compliance boxes’, says Peter Kallang, a Kenyah leader
- The Malaysian state of Sarawak was until recently home to some of the last nomadic peoples of Borneo, who roamed its wild and rich rainforests as they had done since time immemorial. Starting in the early 1980s, industrial logging companies moved deep into Sarawak’s hinterland, tearing down forests, forcing forest peoples from their traditional lands, and laying the groundwork for large-scale conversion of biodiverse ecosystems into monoculture plantations.
- Sarawak’s Indigenous peoples put up resistance against these state-backed incursions into their traditional territories. One of the most dramatic outcomes of these efforts came in 2016, when the Chief Minister of Sarawak cancelled the Baram mega-dam project.
- Peter Kallang, a member of the Kenyah people who runs the NGO SAVE Rivers, was one of the leaders of the Baram campaign, helping coordinate, organize, and mobilize Indigenous communities that would have been most impacted by the dam. Now Kallang, SAVE Rivers, and other groups are fighting to defend traditional Indigenous lands against logging by Samling, a Malaysian timber company.
- Kallang spoke about his background, Indigenous-led advocacy, the conservation sector’s shortcomings in recognizing Indigenous rights, and other topics during a June 2021 interview with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

Threat of legal action against Indigenous Borneans protesting timber company
- For more than a year, Indigenous communities in Malaysian Borneo have been campaigning against timber conglomerate Samling and its subsidiaries.
- Indigenous groups and environmental NGOs allege the company failed to obtain free, prior and informed consent of communities affected by its certified-sustainable timber production plantations; the company denies the allegations.
- In late May, Samling subsidiaries threatened to take legal action against Indigenous communities alleging the company was involved in trespass, damage or destruction of forest.
- NGOs describe the letters as an attempt to silence Indigenous communities who have spoken out against the company.

In Malaysian Borneo’s rainforests, powerful state governments set their own rules
- Under Malaysia’s federal system, state governments hold authority over most regulations regarding land usage and environmental protection.
- In the Bornean states of Sabah and Sarawak, home to most of Malaysia’s remaining intact forests, politicians push against perceived interference from the central government, particularly when it comes to resource management.
- Since the late 1960s, Malaysian Borneo lost much of its forest: first to timber and later to palm oil and other agricultural industries.
- Both states have laws on the books aimed at protecting and managing forests, as well as sustainable forestry and palm oil certification schemes. Experts on forest management and conservation see cause for both optimism and skepticism.

Timber organization’s backing ‘one step’ toward ‘peace park’ in Borneo
- In December 2020, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) endorsed a proposal by the Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) for what’s come to be known as the Baram Peace Park, covering 2,835 square kilometers (1,095 square miles) on the island of Borneo.
- Proponents of the park say it will protect wildlife, forest-dependent livelihoods, and the last remaining primary forest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
- But they also acknowledge that the ITTO’s announcement is only a step toward the park’s designation, and industrial logging continues to threaten the region’s forests.

Logging concession in Malaysian Borneo lacks consent of Indigenous communities (commentary)
- A logging concession green-lighted in Malaysian Borneo during the COVID crisis lacks the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of Indigenous communities required by the Malaysia Timber Certification Scheme.
- Home to Indigenous Kenyah Jamok people and a multitude of endemic animal species, the logging company is nevertheless now within its rights to cut the rainforests here.
- Staff from The Borneo Project visited just before the COVID lockdown to see how a citizen science survey of biodiversity which they support is progressing.
- This article is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

The unrecognized cost of Indonesia’s fires (commentary)
- As Indonesia’s forests go up in smoke, the world may be losing a lot more than we currently understand, argues Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler in this commentary that was originally published in Singapore’s Straits Times on September 30, 2019.
- In one instance, deforestation in Borneo nearly eradicated a potential anti-HIV drug before it was discovered. The near-miss with the drug, Calanolide A, provides one vivid illustration of what is at risk of being lost as Indonesia’s forests are cleared and burned.
- Other local and regional impacts from continued large-scale destruction of Indonesia’s forests may include hotter temperatures, more prolonged droughts, and increased incidence of fires.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Notes from the road: 5 revelations from traveling the Pan Borneo Highway
- Construction of the Pan Borneo Highway will add or expand more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of roadway in Malaysian Borneo.
- Mongabay staff writer John Cannon spent several weeks traveling the proposed route in July 2019 to understand the effects, both positive and negative, the road could have on communities, wildlife and ecosystems.
- The project is designed to energize the economies of the region, and though officials have responded to entreaties from NGOs to minimize the harmful impacts of the road, they remain singularly focused on the economic benefits that proponents say the highway will bring.

Sarawak can invest in or give away its future (commentary)
- In October, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report outlining strategies the world can pursue to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and maintain healthy economies and ecosystems. But unless we are smart about how we implement that blueprint, it could cause irreparable damage to the world’s great rivers.
- This may sound like a luxury for the richest nations, but it is key to building a prosperous Sarawak. The panel’s report urges a rapid transition to low-carbon, renewable sources of electricity. That call to action could trigger expanded investment in hydropower, but if development follows the pattern of earlier dam-building, it could accelerate an alarming loss of rivers and their resources.
- There’s no need to continue accepting tragic trade-offs between healthy rivers and low-cost, reliable, and renewable electricity. The renewable revolution provides an opportunity to have both. Governments, funders, developers, and scientists should seize it.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Recovering conservationist: Q&A with orangutan ecologist June Mary Rubis
- The rainforest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak is one of last remaining habitats of the nearly extinct Bornean orangutan.
- Orangutan conservation efforts have made the region a top priority for protecting the iconic species, but Malaysian conservationist June Mary Rubis says these efforts often sideline the indigenous peoples who live along with the great apes.
- Mongabay spoke with Rubis after she gave the keynote speech at the recent conference of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, in which she reflected on mainstream conservation narratives, politics, and power relations around orangutan conservation in Sarawak and elsewhere in Borneo.
- Rubis says she believes indigenous knowledge is crucial for the success of conservation and community development in orangutan landscapes.

‘Single-minded determination’: China’s global infrastructure spree rings alarm bells
- Governments across Southeast Asia have embraced billions of dollars in construction projects backed by China as they rely on infrastructure-building to drive their economic growth.
- But there are worries that this building spree, under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), makes no concessions for environmental protections, and even deliberately targets host countries with a weak regulatory climate.
- Beijing has also been accused of going on a debt-driven grab for natural resources and geopolitical clout, through the terms under which it lends money to other governments for the infrastructure projects.
- In parallel, China is also building up its green finance system, potentially as a means to channel more funding into its Belt and Road Initiative.

Implicit gender, racial biases may hinder effectiveness of conservation science, experts warn
- Implicit gender and racial biases are just as prevalent in the conservation science community as elsewhere, experts say, and could be harming the effectiveness of the work being done, particularly in developing countries.
- The mostly male and Western scientists working in this field may be shutting out important contributions from local researchers and practitioners in tropical developing countries, as well as preventing a diversity of perspectives in the scientific literature.
- Having a diverse team and being inclusive at every step, especially in the decision-making process for a conservation project, are some of the ways to resolve these biases, the researchers suggest.

‘Lost’ fairy lantern spotted in Malaysian Borneo after 151 years
- In January last year, a team of botanists spotted Thismia neptunis again, 151 years after it was first recorded in the rainforests of western Sarawak, in Malaysian Borneo.
- Thismia neptunis is tiny, standing at just 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) when flowering, and spends its life underground, parasitizing fungi for its food supply.
- Given that the species is likely restricted to a small area within a primary lowland rainforest of Sarawak, and might have fewer than 50 individuals, the researchers believe that the species qualifies as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Sarawak’s Penan now have detailed maps of their ancestral homeland
- Some 63 Penan communities came together to create 23 maps of their territory in central Borneo over the past 15 years.
- For three days in late November 2017, the Penan of the region celebrated the completion of the maps.
- The Penan now believe they are armed with the information that will help them hold on to their land in the face of pressure from outside timber and industrial agriculture interests.

Leading US plywood firm linked to alleged destruction, rights violations in Malaysia
- An investigation has found that Liberty Woods, the top importer of plywood in the US, buys wood from a Malaysian company that has faced numerous allegations of environmentally unsustainable logging and indigenous rights violations.
- Environmental NGOs have accused the timber industry in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, of clearing too much forest too quickly, polluting streams and rivers and failing to obtain consent to log from local communities.
- Satellite imagery analysis in 2013 showed that, between 2000 and 2012, Malaysia had the world’s highest deforestation rate.
- In Sarawak, where logging company Shin Yang is based, only 5 percent of forests remain relatively untouched.

Borneo’s ‘biocultural holocaust’: an interview with author Alex Shoumatoff
- Over the past half century, we’ve laid waste to the rainforests of Borneo thanks to humanity’s demand for food, fuel, and fiber.
- The Wasting of Borneo, a new book by Alex Shoumatoff, chronicles some of Borneo’s staggering losses
- Shoumatoff is a former writer and editor for The New Yorker, Outside, Condé Nast Traveler, and Vanity Fair who Donald Trump once called “the greatest writer in America”.

The good, the bad, and the ugly in palm oil (commentary)
- A new study quantifies the impact of palm oil on forest cover in Borneo.
- The results indicate that the plantation industry was the principle driver of the loss of old-growth forest in Malaysian Borneo.
- The good news, at least for Indonesia, is that considerably more oil palm has been developed on land that had been cleared many years previously.
- This post is a commentary — the views expressed are those of the authors.

Sarawak establishes 2.2M acres of protected areas, may add 1.1M more
- The state will open a Department of National Parks and Wildlife by January of next year, and is in the process of creating several new protected areas that encompass all of its orangutan habitat.
- The new department’s responsibilities will include managing and conserving wildlife, creating new totally protected areas (TPAs), and halting illegal hunting and the sale of bushmeat.
- Since July 2016, Sarawak has gazetted a total area of 903,769 hectares (more than 2.2 million acres) comprising 43 national parks, 14 natural reserves, and six wildlife sanctuaries, and is in the process of creating another 31 new TPAs with a combined area of 451,819 hectares (more than 1.1 million acres).

Malaysian land rights activist Bill Kayong murdered in broad daylight
- Sarawak Criminal Investigation Department chief Dev Kumar told The Borneo Post that the case is being classified as a murder.
- Sarawak is plagued by corruption, human rights violations against indigenous communities, and environmental destruction, and activists and indigenous communities who speak out often face repression by the government while violence against them goes unpunished.
- Rick Jacobsen of London-based NGO Global Witness said in a statement that “The brutal slaying of land rights champion Bill Kayong shows the risks faced by activists in Sarawak who stand up to the powerful interests behind land grabbing and environmental devastation.”

How to use the Bloomberg Terminal for advocacy work: the basics
- The Bloomberg Terminal offers users real-time access to global news, financial data, and analytics tools.
- Historically, only for-profit financial organizations have used the Bloomberg Terminal, but the advocacy community could be leveraging its vast resources to enact change.
- Part 1 of a three-part series on using the Bloomberg Terminal in advocacy work explains the basics.

Malaysian assets in US allegedly tied to corrupt logging operations
- According to a report by investigative news site Sarawak Report, the Yaw family of Malaysia, the owners of the Samling timber group, have allegedly been channeling profits from their logging operations in Sarawak through a company called Sunchase Holdings, a multi-billion dollar real estate group based in Arizona, since the late 1980s.
- Today, Sarawak Report found, the group owns a vast amount of land, including several major planned community developments, and also has investments in mineral companies and science and technology enterprises, such as INTRIX, a Sacramento-based software company.
- “[T]he evidence shows that Sunchase was funded by the profits of timber corruption in Sarawak, authorised by Taib and channelled through Samling,” per the report.

Has big conservation gone astray?
- In Part 1 of Conservation, Divided, veteran Mongabay reporter Jeremy Hance explores how the world’s biggest conservation groups have embraced a human-centric approach known as “new conservation” that has split the field over how best to save life on Earth.
- Neither side of the debate disagrees that conservation today is failing to adequately halt mass extinction. But how to proceed is where talks break down, especially when it comes to the importance of protected areas and the efficacy of the biggest, most recognizable groups.
- Conservation, Divided is an in-depth four-part series investigating how the field of conservation has changed over the last 30 years — and the challenges it faces moving into an uncertain future. Hance completed the series over the course of eight months. Stories will run weekly through May 17.

Protests continue amid signs that controversial Borneo dam cancelled
- The Sarawak government officially revoked expropriation of native customary rights to land acquired to build the controversial Baram dam and its reservoir.
- The Baram dam is the fourth in line of 12 large dams slated to be constructed in Sarawak by 2030. But indigenous and environmental groups have fiercely opposed the projects, saying they would displace thousands and disrupt ecosystems.
- The Baram Dam looks increasingly unlikely to be built. However, indigenous communities in the area are continuing their blockade of the dam site until the project is officially cancelled.

Controversial dam officially canceled in Borneo after indigenous protests
- The controversial Baram dam has been officially canceled after years of opposition from local indigenous people.
- While the project’s cancellation had been reported in late 2015, last month the Sarawak government officially repealed the gazette that revoked native peoples’ customary rights to the land that would have been flooded by the dam’s reservoir.
- But it may have been politics that provided that nail in the coffin for the project: the majority Barisan Nasional party feared losing the Baram seat over the dam.

Palm oil co suspends forest conversion to comply with Wilmar’s zero deforestation policy
- A Malaysian palm oil company has suspended forest clearing on a small portion of its holdings to comply with Wilmar’s zero deforestation policy.
- Jaya Tiasa Holdings Bhd, a publicly-listed Malaysian company with nearly 70,000 hectares of plantations in Sarawak, said it will not plant 280 hectares — about a square mile #&8212; due to Wilmar’s policy.
- Wilmar’s policy bars suppliers from converting forests and peatlands for oil palm plantations after December 2015.

Indigenous anti-dam activists converge in Sarawak from around the globe
- Dam-building is widespread worldwide, and indigenous activists from around the world are attending a conference on dams in the Malaysian state of Sarawak this week.
- Activists question the impact of large dams on the environment and the human rights of local people, as well as their economic justification.
- The conference is centered along the Baram River, where indigenous people have led a two-year blockade against the proposed Baram hydropower dam—one of twelve dams slated for development in Sarawak.

Opponents of Malaysian dam project cautiously optimistic about moratorium
- Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem of Sarawak has put the project on hold, saying he wants to explore other alternatives.
- The 1,300-megawatt Baram Dam, if built, would have displaced as many as 20,000 people.
- One major concern is that some traditional lands of the dam’s opponents have already been gazetted for construction of the dam and their status is still unresolved.

Sarawak can meet energy needs without mega-dams: report

A boat rests on the shore of the Baram River in Sarawak, Malaysia. The area will be inundated if the controversial 1,200-megawatt Baram Dam is built. Photo credit: International Rivers. A new report has found that Malaysian Borneo can meet its aggressive energy development goals without building more large hydroelectric dams. The Malaysian government plans […]
Bunge: if you clear peatlands, we won’t buy your palm oil

Publicly-traded firm suspends new business with company planning to clear peatlands in Sarawak Palm oil growers who plan to convert peatlands and rainforests for new plantations have been warned: one of the world’s largest agribusiness companies is not interested in your palm oil. On Tuesday, food giant Bunge formally responded to a report that BLD […]
Bunge palm oil supplier plans to clear peatlands for plantations

June 23 update BLD Plantation Bhd, a Malaysian palm oil company, plans to clear some 14,000 hectares of peatlands in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, potentially putting it in conflict with the deforestation-free sourcing policy established by American agribusiness giant Bunge, say campaigners who filed a grievance over the matter. In a statement issued […]
Sarawak leader pledges no more logging, palm oil expansion

Forest cover status in Sarawak, Sabah, and Brunei as of 2009, according to Bryan et al 2013. Sarawak’s leader has allegedly pledged to stop granting industrial timber and palm oil concessions in the Malaysian state’s increasingly endangered rainforests, asserts the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF). According to the Switzerland-based forest activist group, Sarawak Chief Minister Tan […]
Sarawak increases fines for illegal logging

University of Maryland map showing forest loss since 2000 in Sarawak. After decades of intense logging that has left its rainforests degraded, fragmented, and stripped of valuable timber in many areas, the Malaysian state of Sarawak has passed a new forestry bill that could boost penalties for illegal logging. The measure, passed last week, imposes […]
Report: Borneo could save billions while still meeting conservation and development goals

A Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) at Sepilok Rehabilitation Center in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler. The three nations that share Borneo could save themselves $43 billion by more closely coordinating their environmental conservation and economic development efforts, according to a report published in the journal Nature Communications. The big savings aren’t the only […]
Reports slam Malaysian timber companies, urge reforms in forest management

This article is the second in a two-part series about logging in Malaysia. The first part can be seen here Two international NGOs have called out Malaysia in recent months over the country’s widespread illegal logging. Malaysia has been accused of not doing enough to protect its diminishing forests and thwart the illicit timber trade, […]
Reports blame illegal logging for felling Sarawak forest

This article is the first in a two-part series about logging in Malaysia. Read the second part here. A recent report by the international affairs think tank Chatham House has highlighted Malaysia’s lack of progress in dealing with illegal logging, blaming corruption and a lack of transparency on the country’s sluggish approach to environmental policy […]
Norway asked to divest from company linked to Malaysian official

Activists have petitioned the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund to drop its investment in a company they say is linked to large-scale corruption in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. In a letter published this week, the Switzerland-based Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) and Norway-based FIVAS recommended that Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global sell its $11 million […]
Company run Sarawak governor has amassed $1.4B in state infrastructure contracts

Logging roads and damaged forest in Sarawak compared with the largely intact forest of Brunei. In 2011, former chief minister Taib Mahmud famously claimed that 70 percent of Sarawak’s forests were ‘intact’. He was quickly refuted, leading to embarrassment for Sarawak’s forestry department. Photo courtesy of Google Earth. Cahya Mata Sarawak, a publicly-listed infrastructure company […]
Facing legacy of deforestation and corruption, Sarawak may cease granting new logging concessions

Logging road in neighboring Sabah. Legal logging has caused substantial forest loss and degradation in Sarawak over the past 30 years, depleting canopy cover, altering forest structure, exacerbated hunting, and driving conversion to plantations. Sarawak Chief Minister Adenan Satem says his government may stop granting new logging concessions, reports Malaysian state media. “Enough with this […]
Sarawak chief calls state’s logging industry ‘corrupt’

Logging roads and damaged forest in Sarawak compared with the healthy forest of Brunei. In 2011, former chief minister Taib Mahmud famously claimed that 70 percent of Sarawak’s forests were ‘intact’. He was quickly refuted, leading to embarrassment for Sarawak’s forestry department. Photo courtesy of Google Earth. In a surprising statement, Sarawak’s new chief minister […]
Human infections by ‘monkey malaria’ increasing as forests disappear

Infant macaque in Malaysian Borneo. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Sixty-eight percent of malaria hospitalizations in Malaysia last year were caused by a once-rare strain of the disease traditionally limited to macaque monkeys. However, as deforestation has put humans and wild animals in closer proximity, Plasmodium knowlesi infections and deaths have increased rapidly. The strain […]
Book detailing corruption allegations against Malaysian ruler moves forward

Google Earth image showing oil palm plantations and forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. A book alleging massive corruption by Sarawak’s long-time ruler, Abdul Taib bin Mahmud, is being released despite apparent legal threats against the book’s publisher and author. Money Logging, written by the Bruno Manser Fund’s executive director Lukas Straumann, argues that Taib and his […]
Scientists honor missing activist by naming a spider after him

Aposphragisma brunomanseri goblin spider. Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of Berne Swiss researchers have honored the memory of a missing indigenous peoples activist by naming an undescribed species of spider after him, reports the Bruno Manser Fund, the group he founded. Bruno Manser, an environmentalist who campaigned on behalf of the nomadic Penan people […]
30% of Borneo’s rainforests destroyed since 1973

More than 30 percent of Borneo’s rainforests have been destroyed over the past forty years due to fires, industrial logging, and the spread of plantations, finds a new study that provides the most comprehensive analysis of the island’s forest cover to date. The research, published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, shows that just over […]
Stolen fruit may spur better palm oil traceability

Rising theft may improve traceability in Malaysia’s palm oil industry, reports The Borneo Post. Over the past two years there have been more than 600 reported thefts of palm fresh fruit bunches in Sarawak. In response, last week the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) said it will soon require palm oil millers to record the […]
Malaysia at risk of falling behind in push for more sustainable palm oil

Deforestation for palm oil production in Malaysia The Malaysian state should play a more active role in supporting the transition toward less environmentally destructive palm oil production, says a coalition of Malaysian NGO’s. In a statement issued Sunday, the Malaysian Palm Oil NGO Coalition (MPONGOC) urged Malaysian banks, palm oil associations, and other government-backed institutions […]
Murum dam blockaders may be suffering human rights violations warns NGOs

A coalition of nearly 30 organizations has sent a letter to top authorities in Sarawak and Malaysia warning them of possible human right violations against a group of indigenous Penan who are blocking roads to the construction site for Murum Dam. Over 100 indigenous people have been blocking a road for over a month as […]

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