The biggest timber firm in Malaysia’s Sarawak state has been able to maintain sustainability certification despite clearing forests for oil palm plantations and skipping steps in informing affected communities, according to a recent report from NGOs focused on forest conservation and Indigenous rights. The report, by the Borneo Project and the Bruno Manser Fund, is […]
Timber giant Samling is one of the biggest logging companies on the island of Borneo in Malaysia. After SAVE Rivers, a local NGO, posted articles critical of the company’s lack of consultation with local Indigenous communities, the company sued for defamation in 2021. After two years of local and international pressure, Samling finally withdrew the US$1.05 million lawsuit.
PETALING JAYA: Two environment-focused civil society organisations (CSOs) have urged the Sarawak forestry department to carry out an independent review of the certification and activities of a timber conglomerate for alleged non-compliance with forest certification standards.
Indigenous activists have claimed two small victories against timber giant Samling in their decades-long battle to protect their remaining forests and territories in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. Operating in Sarawak since 1976, Samling has grown to be the biggest among the “Big Six” timber companies that control almost three-quarters of the country’s forest concessions. […]