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.
Friday, 11 June 2021, 6:00 am
Civil society groups call for a moratorium on logging
in affected areas until the dispute can be resolved, and for
environmental and social impact assessments to be released
immediately.
(MIRI, SARAWAK/MALAYSIA) In May 2021,
Indigenous Penan, Kenyah and Jamok communities from
Sarawak’s Upper Limbang and Baram regions filed complaints
with the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) over
alleged flaws in the certification of two logging
concessions by MTCC, a timber certification scheme endorsed
by the global PEFC standard.
Last week, the Gerenai
Community Rights Action Committee (GCRAC) and Penan advocacy
group Keruan were informed that the communities’