By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 5: Indigenous Penan communities in Sarawak’s Upper Baram region have erected blockades at Ba Olé (within Ba Data Bila), Long Benali, and Ba Pengaran Kelian in protest against large-scale logging operations by a timber company in the area.
In a joint media statement released yesterday (June 4), four advocacy groups – Keruan, SAVE Rivers, Bruno Manser Fonds, and The Borneo Project – alleged that while the blockades were set up to prevent further encroachment, some have already been dismantled by timber workers.
The groups stated that the affected forest areas form part of a 170,000-hectare concession awarded to the company last year without a public tender. The territory lies within the Upper Baram Forest Area – a designated protected forest zone aimed at preserving ecological integrity and safeguarding soil and water resources.
Quoting Sarawak Forest Department director Datu Hamden Mohammad, they emphasised that “the primary purpose of a protected forest is to preserve and safeguard the ecological integrity of the land, ensure environmental protection of soils and water, and in some cases, support productive forest activities.”
However, the organisations criticised the timber operation, claiming it is proceeding without any certification or publicly available social and environmental impact assessments, despite official promises of sustainability.
In April alone, they reported that 162 logging trucks, each carrying an estimated 25 tonnes of timber – totalling around 4,000 tonnes – were recorded leaving the Ba Data Bila forest. The timber is estimated to be worth approximately RM9 million (US$2.1 million).
Environmental groups further noted that the area was once the focus of a sustainability showcase project under the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), intended to promote sustainable forest management and community involvement. The project, however, collapsed last year after Sarawak authorities unilaterally terminated it.
Mounting frustration over the logging activities has also led to legal action. Earlier this year, 11 Penan community leaders filed for a judicial review at the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak, seeking to revoke the timber license and immediately halt the logging. — DayakDaily
