Dear friends, I recently returned from Sarawak, where I once again experienced the breathtaking beauty of this region alongside the stark reality of ongoing deforestation. On this trip I was able to visit the very remote Tekewit Waterfall, an astonishing site in the Upper Baram River Basin. Unfortunately, my visit was...
Human Rights Watch calls for environmental groups and Indigenous communities to be included at the Malaysia and Indonesia EU anti-deforestation task force meetings. (Brussels, May 31, 2024) – press release via Human Rights Watch The European Commission should include independent civil society groups in ongoing key talks with Malaysia and...
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...
Many consumers want to make responsible choices when it comes to their purchases, but sometimes it’s hard to know what the safer, more ethical choice is. Certification schemes are a tool that many people (understandably) use to help them make those choices. Unfortunately, the credibility of these schemes is not...
Penan communities are dismayed that Samling’s forest certificate was reinstated even though serious problems remain unresolved. They demand a no-logging zone in their territories. (LIMBANG / SARAWAK) This week some of the last nomadic Penan communities submitted documentation to timber giant Samling to assert their ancestral land rights. The Penan...
Dear friends, In a world too often marred by grief, wars, and violence, we find hope in the resilience and collective will of this community we have built. The story of our ongoing battle against logging in Sarawak is a testament to the power of perseverance and unity in the...
Our new report is titled “Lost in Certification: How forest certification greenwashes Samling’s dirty timber and fools the international market”. It is a comprehensive analysis of the most recent land conflicts in the Baram region of Sarawak. It looks at the most shocking community claims against logging company Samling and...
Analysis reveals critical cracks in logging operations managed by timber giant Samling and certified by MTCS, a program endorsed by PEFC (Berkeley, US / Basel, Switzerland) A groundbreaking 100-page report released today by The Borneo Project and Bruno Manser Fonds reveals critical cracks in Malaysia’s government-endorsed Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS)....
Samling bows to intense international pressure, withdrawing defamation suit against Indigenous CSO SAVE Rivers — communities celebrate victory of their #StopTheChop and #StopTheSLAPP campaigns (MIRI / SARAWAK) This morning — two years after Samling filed a defamation lawsuit against Indigenous grassroots organization SAVE Rivers — the logging company has dropped...
Certification body SIRIM quietly withdraws forest certificate for logging concession in Northern Sarawak, after Samling failed to address non-conformities found in audit, while SIRIM itself is under investigation for Samling case (LIMBANG / SARAWAK) Malaysian logging company Samling has lost its forest certificate for the Ravenscourt Forest Management Unit (FMU),...
