by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, May 21: Swiss-based environmental group Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) denied allegations that its non-compliance led to the termination of one of the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) project in the Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA).
Instead, it attributed the government’s policy change over the logging core protection zone as the real reason for the termination of the ITTO-supported UBFA.
In a press statement, BMF director Lukas Straumann said: “We are not willing to take the blame for a dodgy policy change by the Sarawak government.”
It alleged that in 2020, Malaysia submitted a proposal to the ITTO for the conservation and sustainable development of a 283,500 hectare area in Sarawak’s Upper Baram region. A key element of the proposal was the conservation of a 79,000 hectare core zone of primary forest in Upper Baram.
After international funding was secured, the group claimed that the Sarawak authorities unilaterally changed the project design whereby the 79,000 hectares were no longer to be excised from the logging concessions but became part of a timber licence granted to a local timber company.
“Currently, massive logging activities on the western flank of the iconic Gunung Murud Kecil are threatening this habitat of extraordinary biodiversity in the core zone of the former ITTO project,” it stated.
Meanwhile, addressing claims that BMF focused solely on the Penan community, Sarawak-based non-government organisation SAVE Rivers managing director Celine Lim said, “We work with non-Penan communities and were part of the UBFA Project Steering Committee (PSC).
“So, it is not true that the overall communities were not well represented via the NGOs coalition.”
Yesterday, during a question-and-answer session at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS), Sarawak Deputy Minister for Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the decision to terminate the ITTO project was due to several reasons, including BMF’s failure to comply with the conditions set by the Sarawak government.
He also said that the BMF had placed emphasis only on the Penan community, while there are other ethnic groups such as the Kenyah, Kelabit, and Saban who also have interests in the area.
He added that BMF’s proposal to designate the area as a “Purely Conservation Area” for the survival of the Penan people was deemed impractical, as there is an existing landfill near the site. – DayakDaily
