Updates

Penan Villagers Resume Murum Dam Blockade

A group of indigenous Penan has resumed protest against the construction of the Murum hydroelectric dam, claiming that the government has not met demands for fair compensation. Acceptable reparation would include enough land to be self-sufficient through farming, a share of the dam’s profits, and full redress for land lost,...

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Malaysian Palm Oil Council Funds Borneo Elephant Sanctuary

The Borneo Elephant Sanctuary, Borneo’s first sanctuary for elephants, opened last week, and will rehabilitate elephants to be released back into the wild. Interestingly, the sanctuary was funded largely by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, whom the Sabah Wildlife Department thanked publicly in a statement. Read more from the Borneo...

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Murum Dam Project Relocates Penan Families

Nearly one hundred Penan families have been relocated to a “modern” village to make way for a hydroelectric dam project in Sarawak, Malaysia. Read more from Free Malaysia Today Read more about hydroelectric dams in Sarawak then join the conversation on Facebook Native communities affected by the Murum hydroelectric project...

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Our Opinion: Why I Don’t Want to Hold an Orangutan

Why I Don’t Want to Hold an Orangutan, by Kaleigh Rhoads, former Communications Intern for the Borneo Project I left Berkeley on Tuesday night, lost my Wednesday in travel, and arrived in Kuching on Thursday afternoon. The only “Yank” in my group, the other six volunteers and I spent the evening eating Laksa, a spicy Sarawakian...

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Survey of Borneo Villagers Reveals Strong Opposition to Deforestation

A recent survey published in the journal PLOS ONE has documented large-scale opposition to deforestation among villagers across Borneo, who cited concerns over increasing temperatures and air and water pollution as main reasons for the objection. Read more below. Read more from Mongabay Read more about Forest Policy in Borneo and then join the discussion...

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Our Opinion: Borneo

Borneo, by Joe Lamb, Founder of the Borneo Project We live in interesting times. Some consider living in interesting times to be a curse, perhaps a euphemistic translation of the Chinese, 住在不好的時候 , “to be born in bad times.” Others think the saying originates in ancient Ireland. Perhaps the curse...

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Forest Figures: Solid Evidence Versus Taib’s Lies

A new report shows evidence that rainforest destruction in Sarawak, Malaysia is worse than previously thought, although Taib seems to think otherwise.  Read more below. Read more from Sarawak Report Read more about Forest Policy in Borneo then join the discussion on Facebook A new report shows new evidence that destruction is worse...

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The Surveillance State Spying On Bark, Leaf, Ape

Google Earth Engine’s engineering manager, Rebecca Moore, used this satellite imagery to stop the illegal logging in her redwoods community. Read more below about how this technology can be used to monitor illegal logging in forests worldwide. Read more on CNBC Read more about Illegal Logging in Borneo The relationship between...

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Villagers Don’t Want Land Gazetted as National Park

Villagers with Native Customary Rights claims in Bukit Sarang are calling on the government not to gazette land at Bukit Sarang as a national park. Read more below about what this national park could mean for local villagers and why they were not informed of this proposal from the start....

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