December, 2022
Dear Friends of The Borneo Project,
Another epic year in the books for us! This year saw the culmination of many years of work at The Borneo Project. We were finally able to put boots on the ground and meet our partners in person after two long years of travel restrictions. It has been refreshing and revitalizing. But our work was never on pause — things were moving forward in important ways, even under pandemic restrictions.
Over the past year we have made incredible steps forward in our work in Sarawak. Most notably, we published the Baram Heritage Survey Atlases, 90-page books for three different community groups. These atlases were produced with ecological, social, and livelihood data collected over two years by trained community members from 6 different villages.
The training for the Baram Heritage Survey kicked off in November, 2019, right before Covid made its world debut. Luckily, we were able to go to Sarawak in February 2020 for the start of data collection, just days before Malaysian travel restrictions were implemented. While we had originally intended to be in Sarawak every 8 weeks to manage the project, it ended up being over 2 years before we were able to return.
In spite of these limitations, the work never stopped. Our technicians continued data collection, the field management team adjusted to the new context, and the project advanced. Importantly, the survey continued to provide jobs for 10 people during a time when many had lost their source of income, in a remote area where very few paying jobs exist.
[Read more about the survey on Mongabay, or listen to our team speak on BFM’s Earth Matters podcast about the project.]
The resulting atlases provide communities with an abundance of data regarding their forests and ways of living. The people of Baram have an incredible depth of knowledge. The atlases can be used to help outsiders understand their lives and the forests they have managed for centuries. The atlases are a tool of empowerment when it comes to fighting for Indigenous rights, verifying or countering claims made by logging companies in impact assessments, and documenting the incredible abundance of species in these forests.
The atlases go hand in hand with community efforts to stop logging and establish the Baram Peace Park, and the past year has resulted in significant advances on this front. Since July, timber giant Samling has stopped logging and withdrawn its machinery from the upper Baram. Many villages in the area have been opposing logging for several years, supported by The Borneo Project and our small network of partners. As many of you know, this has resulted in Samling filing a defamation lawsuit against our partners. While it’s still unclear what their next move is, we will continue to support community-led campaigns against logging and find pressure points.
Our ability to rise to the challenges of the past year has been possible because of continued support from our donors. The legal challenges have put considerable pressure on our finances. Our ability to respond with strength is due to you, our network of individual donors.
Our coalition of grassroots organizations with relatively small financial means has had a big impact when facing large, powerful companies with deeply embedded political ties. This fills me with hope. Even though the odds are seemingly stacked against us, it’s extraordinary how a few people working strategically and efficiently can make a tremendous difference.
Your continued support helps to tear down systems of injustice and safeguard systems of life. This is the greatest challenge of our century. We are so grateful to have you by our side in this pursuit, and we couldn’t do it without you.
Thank you for being part of this movement.
In solidarity,
Jettie Word
Executive Director
PS. The Borneo Project is one of the best places to put your money if you want to 1) fight climate change, 2) stop the 6th extinction, and 3) secure much deserved rights for Indigenous Peoples.