Check out mongabay.com’s interview (as part of its ongoing coverage of the RSPO meeting underway right now in Sabah, Malaysia) with Rainforest Action Network (RAN) about RAN’s thoughts on the purported efforts the RSPO members have made so far, as well as on the further significant social and environmental progress that the RSPO members still…
Updates
“The whole world should know…” say Penan leaders
Newsflash- Penan leaders in the Sarawak Middle Baram region have issued their fourth warning to the logging companies Interhill and Samling for not respecting their customary land rights and forcing their way through four blockades that the Penan people have erected at the boundary to their lands. The logging companies tore down the fourth blockade…
‘Top 10’ worst REDD-type projects affecting indigenous peoples
As reported by Chris Lang of REDD-Monitor, a group of environmental and indigenous people related organizations- (Carbon Trade Watch, Global Justice Ecology Project, Indigenous Environmental Network, Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative, and Timberwatch Coalition) recently released a booklet critiquing carbon trading and REDD-type projects. Check out REDD-Monitor’s full article for the list of “the top 10 worst”…
Well-done Sarawak Report video about the Penan
Inspired by the non-violent Occupy movements? Then read Sarawak Report’s recent article/watch its arresting video about another admirable non-violent movement that’s been going on for years—that of the Penan people to protect the Borneo forest (the oldest and most bio-diverse environment on earth!) from being clear-cutted. (Follow the link for the video). *** http://www.sarawakreport.org/2011/10/the-penan-still-struggling-to-save-our-jungle-film-tribute/ The…
Disturbing Bedfellows: BBC, CNBC aid in corrupt acts of Malaysian palm oil industry and Sarawak’s Taib
Recent investigations by Sarawak Report have revealed two shocking warped media schemes. (Another loquacious-but-worth-reading article). The first scandal—that the BBC made an agreement with the corrupt Sarawak company FBC Media that it would agree to hand over the reigns for all editorial content in a controversial documentary series on the Malaysian palm oil industry…
Breaking news: UK investigating corruption of Sarawak Chief Minister
Success for a human rights and environmental rights organization for peoples of the rain forest: in response to a complaint by the Bruno Manser Fund of Basel, Switzerland, the British government is becoming involved in the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission’s investigation into Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahud’s (“Taib”) alleged family money laundering in the…
Communities in Borneo speak up in protest against palm oil farming:
Kudos to the New York Times for highlighting how agribusiness is destroying tribal lands and the way of life of local peoples. Read about the government’s continued disregard for indigenous peoples’s land rights, and about the efforts of local Malaysian tribes to bring complaints to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia. *** http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/world/asia/27iht-malaysia27.html October 26,…
Indigenous leaders speak out about plantations, mining, and REDD!
A reminder that even if “sustainability”seems like a recent trend, the Dayak tribes of Kalimantan are a testament to the fact that indigenous peoples have been engaging in sustainable practices for generations! Check out this article about elder leaders speaking out about the degradation and forest deforestation that has been occurring on their lands due…
Photos from the Borneo Project 20th Anniversary Party
Fabulous pictures from a great party this weekend… Thanks to our fab intern Brandon Hill for taking these great pics.