AN oil palm plantation with a 4,400ha piece of land will be asked to increase its buffer zone with the Gunung Mulu National Park from 200m to 1km, the state assembly was told today.

Sarawak Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Assistant Minister Len Talif Salleh said the directive for the buffer zone increase will be issued soon.

The decision of the state government to give the provisional lease for a plantation close to the state’s most popular tourist site was criticised by environmental groups, particularly the Swiss forest conservancy group the Bruno Manser Fund.

They said the plantation will impede wildlife movement between the national park and the primary forests in neighbouring Brunei.

Local ethnic tribes in the area deep in Baram, the Penans and Berawans, have also protested the large scale deforestation, saying it had affected their ability to fish, hunt and forage the forest for food.

Len Talif told the state legislative assembly that the land leased to Radiant Lagoon had not intruded into the national park as claimed by some.

He was replying to a question from Pakatan Harapan’s Padungan assemblyman See Chee How, who wanted to know about the safeguards in place to ensure that logging and plantation activities in the vicinity of the park do not breach the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Convention.

Len Talif said the Forestry Department and Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn Bhd will monitor “from the air and on the ground” activities in the plantation for anything that could affect the park’s ecosystem.

He also said the Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) will also monitor to ensure the plantation company comply with the EIA report and take “mitigative actions” on any actions that could affect the park.

Len Talif said there are no official claims of native customary rights (NCR) in the provisional leased area.

See earlier said an international signature campaign for a petition to get the state government withdraw the provisional lease had collected over 45,000 signatures. – May 2, 2019.