Malaysia: Baram Satellite Images Debunk “No Massive Logging” Claim

(BARAM / SARAWAK / MALAYSIA) New satellite imagery shows major logging road expansion in the northwestern area of the Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA), a conservation project in northern Sarawak supported by local communities, civil society, the Sarawak government and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO). Contrary to recent claims by the Forest Department Sarawak (FDS), satellite analysis of the last three months indicate that a network of logging roads is rapidly developing close to the Penan community of Ba Data Bila, nearing the core protection zone of the UBFA.

In July, FDS director Datuk Hamden Mohamad told The Borneo Post that concerns about a massive logging operation in the area are “baseless” and argued that “the people there welcomed the new company with open arms” to provide roads and housing materials. A written agreement shows that the village headman and his family have received financial compensation from Borneoland Timber Resource Sdn. Bhd., the logging company that now holds the forest concession. However, an ongoing petition from Ba Data Bila residents and nearby communities opposing this logging operation has so far amassed more than 500 signatures.

Komeok Joe, CEO of Penan empowerment organisation KERUAN, said, “We NGOs have brought development such as water pipes, roofing, bridges, education and health services to communities. But we insist that people get development without having to sell off their forest and their heritage. People want a road, but shouldn’t need to see their forest destroyed in return. It is the government’s duty to provide basic infrastructure, not the company’s.”

KERUAN and SAVE Rivers have requested a meeting with the Sarawak Premier for a delegation from the affected communities to submit the petition at the upcoming Forest Landscape Restoration conference being held by FDS and ITTO in Kuching next week. The community representatives of the UBFA continue to express concern and confusion about how logging could be allowed in this important conservation zone.

“We have been asking FDS for accountability and an open conversation, but we have not heard back,” said Celine Lim, Managing Director of Indigenous rights organisation SAVE Rivers.

Previously, Samling Plywood held a logging concession in the area, which was strongly opposed by communities, but the licence expired in 2023. Borneoland Timber Resources, linked to the Malaysian logging tycoon Hii King Chiong, is the new holder of the concession under the licence T/9246. Although all logging concessions must be certified under Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Sarawak from 2022, this new concession has yet to receive certification.

Lukas Straumann, Executive Director of the Bruno Manser Fonds, stated, “The area contains some of Sarawak’s last primary forests. The Sarawak government has the responsibility to save this global biodiversity hotspot from destruction.”

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