Threat of legal action against Indigenous Borneans protesting timber company
by Danielle Keeton-Olsen on 1 June 2021
For more than a year, Indigenous communities in Malaysian Borneo have been campaigning against timber conglomerate Samling and its subsidiaries.
Indigenous groups and environmental NGOs allege the company failed to obtain free, prior and informed consent of communities affected by its certified-sustainable timber production plantations; the company denies the allegations.
In late May, Samling subsidiaries threatened to take legal action against Indigenous communities alleging the company was involved in trespass, damage or destruction of forest.
NGOs describe the letters as an attempt to silence Indigenous communities who have spoken out against the company.
Timber organization’s backing ‘one step’ toward ‘peace park’ in Borneo
In December 2020, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) endorsed a proposal by the Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) for what’s come to be known as the Baram Peace Park, covering 2,835 square kilometers (1,095 square miles) on the island of Borneo.
Proponents of the park say it will protect wildlife, forest-dependent livelihoods, and the last remaining primary forest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
But they also acknowledge that the ITTO’s announcement is only a step toward the park’s designation, and industrial logging continues to threaten the region’s forests.
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