Indigenous peoples from the Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo are hopeful their objections to logging by Samling Group – covering an area of forest roughly equivalent to the size of Luxembourg – are finally being taken seriously after the country’s timber certification board ordered dispute mediation a year after they first complained about the plan.
The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) took action following complaints by 36 Indigenous Penan, Kenyah and Jamok communities from Sarawak’s Upper Limbang and Baram regions about alleged flaws in its certification of two logging concessions.
The dispute relates to two logging concessions in two Forest Management Units (FMUs): the 148,305-hectare (366,469-acre) Gerenai FMU, located in Upper Baram and the 117,941-hectare (292,438-acre) Ravenscourt FMU located in Upper Limbang.
The indigenous people of the Malaysian state of Sarawa on the island of Borneo hope that what the Samling Group has prevented from attempting – covering a forest area the size of Luxembourg – are finally being taken seriously after the country’s wood security commission ordered a mediation of the conflict. one year after the plan was denounced.
The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) has taken steps to ensure that 36 indigenous communities in the Upper Limbang and Baram regions of Sarawak and Baram regions have secured two registration concessions for their alleged errors.
The conflict is related to two concession cuts in the two Forest Management Units (FMU): 148,305 hectares (366,469 hectares) in Gerenai FMU, located in Baram Garaia and 117,941 hectares (292,438 hectares) in Ravenscourt FMU in Upper Limbang.
Big industry: A timber company’s harvest in Sarawak. The state embarked on the planted forest programme in 1997 to ensure sustainable supply of raw materials for the downstream timber-processing industries and to reduce pressure on the natural forest.
KUCHING: Timber companies holding licences for planted forests (LPFs) are no longer permitted to carry out any new oil palm planting in the licensed areas with immediate effect.
The LPF holders failing to complete the new tree planting plan by 2025 may have the unplanted areas taken back by the state authorities for re-issuance of new LPFs to potential investors.
These new rulings are part of the “Revised policy direction on industrial forest plantation in Sarawak” from the state Urban Development and Natural Resources Ministry. Details of the revised policy are published in the latest issue of Perkasa, a quarterly newsletter of the Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corp (STIDC).
Mountain
Batu Siman within the park
The
International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has
endorsed the proposal for the Upper Baram Forest Area, also
known as the Baram Peace Park. The proposal has the dual
goals of forest conservation and sustainable development and
was developed by the Sarawak Forest Department with inputs
from local communities and civil society. During their 56th
session in November, the International Tropical Timber
Council officially approved the proposal that was formally
submitted by the Malaysian
government.
Peter Kallang, chairman of
Indigenous organisation SAVE Rivers, stressed the importance
of the ITTO’s endorsement: “The communities welcome the