THE richness of life in an old-growth rainforest is something we take for granted. Where it is gone, you find heat, mud, and debris. Bird songs and calls of gibbons are replaced by an eerie silence or the distant hum of machinery. In place of ancient dipterocarp trees, you see vast stretches of land cleared or replaced by industrial acacia or eucalyptus plantations. The signs of large-scale logging have dramatically changed our landscapes.  

This devastating transformation describes too many areas of Sarawak and Malaysia. One recent example that stands out is the core area of Baram Peace Park, a stronghold of indigenous forest protection, and one of the last unlogged native forests in Sarawak. This is an area the government was committed to protecting through a partnership with the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) and various civil society organisations (CSOs), including ours, under the Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA) initiative.  

We were overjoyed at the prospect of the shared governance of UBFA. This initiative could have been a cornerstone in Malaysia’s Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement or even submitted as an IUCN Green List Area. It was an initiative that could have effectively supported Malaysia’s international climate commitments, with indigenous rights leading the charge.  

However, our joy was short-lived. 

Earlier this year, concerned community members alerted us to logging activities in the Penan territory of Ba Data Bila – a place of stunning beauty with views of Gunung Murud Kecil and the Tekiwit Waterfall. This area is not only of significant ecological importance, home to numerous endangered and threatened species, but it has also been protected for decades by the communities who rely on these forests for their livelihood.  

As members of the UBFA Project Steering Committee, we sent three letters to the ITTO and Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) seeking answers about these new logging activities. They have not responded. However, when Swiss CSO Bruno Manser Fonds published a media release describing the situation, FDS was quick to publicly deny that any large-scale logging was taking place. The Borneo Post reported that FDS claimed the community requested a logging company to build roads and houses, and that no further logging would occur. But what we are seeing are the early warning signs of large-scale forest destruction. 

We understand that communities want roads and basic amenities like any other citizen of this country. In fact, we champion these rights to basic accessibility and services. However, we have consistently advocated for government-built roads rather than those constructed by logging companies, who have held over our heads the words “no logging, no roads” for as long as we can remember. This is often an impossible choice for communities who desperately need faster access to hospitals for emergencies, or safer ways to get to school. For nearly 20 years, we have witnessed local representatives use promises of roads in their campaign manifestos because it means so much to those of us who call these hard-to-reach places home. 

The recent clearing in the core area of UBFA has befuddled local communities and the organisations that support them, including ours. It appears that large-scale logging is taking place, and the evidence for this is substantial: over 12 large land-clearing machines have been deployed and two new areas have been cleared – one for a new longhouse and one for what appears to be a logging camp or sawmill – and many new workers in the area have told locals that the company plans to operate there for the next few decades. It is nearly impossible to get clear answers. 

Samling Timber previously owned the logging licence for the area, however, they halted operations after significant opposition from local communities and the initiation of the UBFA project. Now, it seems that Borneoland Timber Resources, owned by Hii King Chiong, has obtained a new logging licence to operate in the area.  

How this new licence was obtained remains unclear. If the company has indeed been awarded a licence, as is suggested by the evidence, this marks a significant missed opportunity by FDS when Samling withdrew from the area. This would have been the ideal moment to follow community wishes to remove their territories from logging concessions. Granting the area to another timber company is, at the very least, a significant breach of trust between the communities and the government. Moreover, if it is indeed a new concession, it is not listed as certified, and certification is now a requirement for all logging concessions in Sarawak.  

We seek dialogues with FDS and ITTO. It is disheartening that FDS, our supposed partner in this project, refuses to engage in conversation with us, forcing us to turn to the media in search of answers. When our direct requests for information are ignored, we have no choice but to share our story publicly. All we are asking for is a conversation.  

Despite the setbacks, we remain open and committed to pursuing dialogue and moving forward. We are willing and able to work with FDS, ITTO, and all the relevant parties in good faith to collectively come up with solutions to the challenges we face. – August 23, 2024.  

* Celine Lim from SAVE Rivers and Dayang Ukau from Keruan Organisation read The Malaysian Insight.  

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.