The Indonesian palm oil firm, PT Suryamas Cipta Perkasa, illegally cleared thousands of hectares of forest in Borneo and is now under investigation from a presidential taskforce for failing to receive mandatory environmental approvals before clearing the land. The investigation is a test to Indonesia’s pledge to better regulate forest clearing...
A photograph of the rare and nocturnal Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) was captured by remote camera trap in Malua Bio Bank in Borneo. The leopard is the largest wild cat in Borneo and is classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red list of threatened species. See below for the...
The German company Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG from Stuttgart has come under international pressure due to their close cooperation with power supplier Sarawak Energy in a controversial dam project in the rainforest of Borneo. The Baram Dam would flood a rainforest area of at least 400km2 and displace 20,000...
Brandon Hill has been working on the layout for the our Indigenous Language Books over the last 6 months. This is his account of his experience working on the books, and being introduced to Penan Culture. We are currently fundraising for these books on Indiegogo.com. Please consider helping us out...
The Penan community has asked Ba Kelalan assemblyman Baru Bian to pursue the RM100 million promised to them by the federal government in 2008. During a visit with two hundred representatives from twenty longhouses, Bian said that the Penan also expresssed discontent with the Baram dam project. Read more about the...
Villagers affected by the Bengoh dam who had initially agreed to be resettled with the condition that they were given houses, land, and basic infrastructure, are having second thoughts. In addition to being kept in the dark about the resettlement schedule, a logging company has moved onto the land the...
Organized by the Save Sarawak’s Rivers Network (SAVE Rivers) and the Baram Protection Action Committee (BPAC), representatives of villages in the Baram District of Borneo, strongly opposed the plans of the Sarawak State Government and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) to build the Baram Dam. Read the letter detailing their requests...
Ram Sing, a senior practicing lawyer in Borneo, asserted that Native Customary Rights (NCR) in Sabah have existed since time immemorial through the practice of customs or Adat by the indigenous population. Furthermore, no legislation can remove these rights since they are provided under the Sabah Land Ordinance and Forest...
This coming Saturday, a 24-hour environmental protest is planned on the outskirts of the coastal Malaysian town of Kuantan to protest the rare earth refinery being built by the Australian mining company Lynas. Momentum for the environmental movement in Malaysia is building as thousands of local residents, environmental groups, and...
At the Rio+20 global summit, indigenous peoples from all over the world have come to present solutions for sustainable development, flag serious risks associated with government ‘green’ proposals, and highlight how indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and practices contribute to sustaining the world’s most fragile ecosystems. Read here about how traditional...
