Dear Friends, As 2025 comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about what it means to do this work in a place where the challenges never seem to end. Plantations continue to expand, logging companies push deeper into forests, and communities face immense pressure on their lands and livelihoods. And...
Global alliance urges Dutch Government to reconsider endorsement of controversial timber certification scheme KUALA LUMPUR, 18 November 2025 – A coalition of Malaysian and international NGOs has released a memorandum in response to the recent TPAC report on the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). The organizations express serious concerns about...
Director of Forests cancels Osaka Metropolitan University talk to avoid answering questions over deforestation — as Sarawak Premier receives Japan’s top honour for “environmental leadership” Osaka, Japan – 12 November 2025 — At a press conference in Osaka today, Indigenous representatives from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, condemned Japan’s ongoing support for...
Kuala Lumpur / Tokyo — A coalition of civil society organizations has called on the Government of Japan to immediately suspend funding for International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) projects in Sarawak, Malaysia, following serious human rights concerns, allegations of corruption, and environmental destruction linked to projects implemented by the Forest Department...
BELAGA, Sarawak — Indigenous communities in Sarawak have won a major victory in their campaign to stop deforestation on their native lands. After clearing over 1,000 hectares of natural forest for oil palm in the last year, Urun Plantations Sdn Bhd has committed to a moratorium on further clearing in...
At a press conference today in Port Moresby (PNG), a groundbreaking new investigative report: “Malaysia’s Timber Colony: Exposing Malaysia’s Grip Over Papua New Guinea’s Forests” was published, revealing the disturbing role of Malaysian-linked companies in local deforestation. According to its findings, 97% of PNG’s Forest Clearing Authorities (FCAs) are controlled by Malaysian-linked companies. The...
What: Clearing of native forest for a massive commercial bamboo plantation. Where: The Bakun reservoir is an area in Sarawak’s Belaga region that was flooded to develop the Bakun hydroelectric mega-dam, displacing more than 9,000 Indigenous people in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When: A new 44,545 hectare plantation...
UN timber body loses key member state after Malaysia project failure. “ITTO is no longer a credible institution when it comes to forest conservation and sustainable tropical forestry”, says BMF director Lukas Straumann. (BERN/YOKOHAMA). The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has initiated consultations for Switzerland to leave the...
Global campaign launched to save Malaysian Borneo’s last primary rainforests – Sarawak Premier Abang Johari under fire over ties to Malaysian timber tycoon (Miri, Sarawak) A newly released video by Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fonds reveals alarming deforestation in the heart of Malaysia’s tropical rainforest. Filmed in Sarawak’s Upper Baram...
Bruno Manser Fonds launches “Save the Baram forest” campaign at UNESCO headquarters (Paris) Forest activists told Sarawak Premier Abang Johari during his visit to Europe that his first step towards climate protection should be the conservation of old-growth forests in Sarawak. A delegation from the Switzerland-based nature protection agency Bruno...
