Malaysian Borneo’s last primary rainforests under threat despite international conservation promises A new logging operation in Sarawak’s Upper Baram region poses an immediate threat to the Malaysian state’s last primary rainforests in the Heart of Borneo. Community sources say operators linked to Malaysian tycoon Hii King Chiong (“Hii”) have started...
Report via RimbaWatch Executive Summary This supplement report supports the general findings of the original State of the Malaysian Rainforest 2023 Study. This report uses three baselines to predict a future reduction in forest cover; using the Vancutsem et al., 2021, Official Data, 2020 and Gaveau, 2022 forest cover statistics...
Timber giant Shin Yang begins questionable Social Impact Assessment process for carbon project as questions about Sarawak’s carbon initiatives are put to Sarawak’s parliament (BARAM & KUCHING / SARAWAK) Critical questions were put to the Sarawak State Assembly yesterday about the state’s carbon market initiatives. At the same time, timber...
We hear a lot about how tropical rainforests are cleared for logging and palm oil at extraordinary rates, and how devastating this is for the climate. But in the last few years we have heard the seemingly fantastic news that Indonesia and Malaysia — the world’s two biggest palm oil...
With talk of new dams in Sarawak going gangbusters in the media, we have fact-checked some of the claims that are being thrown around. When it comes to cascading dams, like the ones Premier Abang Jo wants to build on the Tutoh/Apoh rivers, they’re pitched as a less harmful alternative...
After various complaints from civil society, the Dutch government asks PEFC International to demonstrate accountability and prove that the Malaysian timber certification scheme is compliant (THE HAGUE / NETHERLANDS) The Dutch government expects PEFC International to conduct an investigation into the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS) following growing concerns about...
Following the death of Abdul Taib Mahmud (“Taib”), the former long-term Chief Minister and Governor of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, Swiss environmental and human rights group Bruno Manser Fonds calls on Malaysia’s political leadership and judiciary to freeze Taib’s assets and reopen investigations into the origin of Taib’s and...
Certification body SIRIM uses Penan rejection of logging as a reason to reinstate certificate – Penan ask Samling representatives and SIRIM auditors to leave (LIMBANG / SARAWAK) During the January audit of timber giant Samling’s Ravenscourt Forest Management Unit (FMU) in Northern Sarawak, the local semi-nomadic Penan communities boycotted the...
The petition against the proposed Tutoh/Apoh cascading dam demanding for community engagement and consultation, has successfully collected 650 signatures in less than 2 months since it was organized. Currently, the signatories to this on-going petition come from 19 communities within the affected area who are made up of Kayan, Penan,...
This month, communities impacted by the proposed Tutoh/Apoh cascading dam project are busy collecting signatures for a petition to the Premier of Sarawak’s office. The petition is currently 500 signatures strong. It expresses concerns about the project and demands community interests and Indigenous rights are not sidelined in the name...
