By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 28: A delegation of Penan from the Upper Baram River Basin hav submitted a petition with over 500 signatures to the Sarawak government during the Asia Pacific Forest Landscape Restoration Conference yesterday, urging an immediate halt to logging activities in the Baram Peace Park to save their forests and curb escalating tensions between pro- and anti-logging factions.
According to a media release by Save Rivers on Tuesday (Aug 27), the petition includes signatures from 44 members of Ba Data Bila, a village directly affected by the logging, as well as numerous Penan from neighbouring communities.
The petition was personally delivered to Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Forest Department director Datu Hamden Mohammad, and International Tropical Timber Organisation representative Ramon Carrillo.
The petitioning villages, part of the Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA), also known as the Baram Peace Park, represent growing resistance to logging in the region.
The group emphasised that last week, 100 Penan from Upper Baram gathered in Long Lamam, sending a strong message to both the logging company and the authorities with an Oro—a traditional Penan signpost—declaring: “Save Our Forest!”.
During the discussions, they expressed alarm over logging roads encroaching on the core conservation area of the community- and government-supported UBFA project.
The representatives also highlighted rising tensions in Ba Data Bila, where divisions between pro and anti-logging factions have intensified.
Maria Nilson, a farmer from Ba Data Bila, voiced her concerns over the growing aggression in her village, emphasising that the delegation’s visit to Kuching was to appeal directly to Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg and other government officials to end the logging and restore peace to their community and forest.
“We Penan have supported the UBFA project because we hoped to finally get development without destruction of our forest. Now despite the official recognition of the project, our worst fears have materialised,” she said.
In early 2023, community representatives from all over the UBFA launched the UBFA Declaration, in which the Penan, Kenyah and Saban communities outlined their vision for development without losing their heritage, forest and culture to logging.
Last week, the group revealed that satellite image analysis showed rapid expansion of logging roads by a timber company within the UBFA, despite claims to the contrary by the Sarawak Forest Department.
The group also pointed out that the timber concession, now known as Licence T/9246, recently changed ownership. Although all timber licences in Sarawak must be certified under Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) from 2022 onwards, the group noted that no efforts for certification are known to be underway for this concession. — DayakDaily
