What: Clearing of native forest for oil palm expansion
Where: Long Urun is located in the upper Belaga river, Sarawak.
When: Over the last year, deforestation for palm oil production in this area has ramped up rapidly, with significant losses recorded on Global Forest Watch every month of the year. According to GFW, there were 40,302 deforestation alerts reported in the Urun area of concern between 4th of September 2023 and 30th of December 2024, with nearly 500 hectares of forest lost.
While some of the loss seen on the satellite images is old oil palm being cleared, drone footage from the ground confirms that native forests are being indiscriminately logged. This is new clearing of secondary forests for oil palm.
Who: The company Sin Heng Chan (Malaya) Berhad, is working on the customary land of Indigenous Kenyah and Penan villages along the Urun river. The Long Urun community is opposed to the clearing of their temuda (native customary forest) and has launched a petition and human blockade to stop logging activities. This is a last resort after official complaints were stymied by internal community conflict and community members felt threatened for speaking out to save their forests. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
What you can do to help:
- Share the article from our field visit: https://m.malaysiakini.com/news/730910, or https://borneoproject.org/the-promise-of-no-deforestation-sarawaks-forests-tell-a-different-story/
- Sign the petition supporting the Long Urun community: https://bit.ly/4h3Xq6U