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 concession (LPF/0056) was recently issued under Sarawak’s License for Planted Forests scheme. Documents from 2024 show that the license holders plan to establish more than 20,000 hectares of commercial bamboo by cutting down the existing forest and replanting it with bamboo monoculture. Drone and satellite images confirm that deforestation of native forest began earlier this year and is still underway.
Who: The license holder for the bamboo plantation is Rich Venture Sdn Bhd, which signed an agreement with Sarawak in 2023 to begin developing the state’s bamboo industry. The license overlaps with the native customary rights (NCR) lands of at least seven Kenyah, Kayan, Lahanan, and Penan communities: Uma Belor, Uma Lahanan, Uma Kelep, Uma Penan Talun, Uma Balui Liko, Uma Juman, and Uma Daro. Because these communities were displaced to make way for the Bakun Dam, most of their NCR land has already been drowned.
Why it matters: In addition to devastating habitat loss in a region already scarred by mega-dam construction, erosion and sediment runoff as a result of deforestation will likely flow directly into the Bakun Reservoir, threatening water quality, fisheries, and food security for nearby communities. Sediment will also greatly impact the lifespan of the Bakun Dam. On September 26th of this year, a committee representing the seven affected communities filed a police report demanding the immediate suspension of LPF/0056. They reported that Rich Venture failed to adequately consult their communities. Communities have not seen an Environmental Impact Assessment report, nor a management plan for the plantation.
What communities are calling for: As deforestation for the plantation continues to destroy Indigenous NCR land, communities are desperate for the Sarawak government to step in to suspend the license, consult and compensate local communities, and declare a permanent buffer zone around the Bakun Dam protecting their lands.