Indigenous rainforest blockades in Sarawak

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Indigenous rainforest blockades in Sarawak began during the late 1980s and 1990s. [1] In response to deforestation and land conversion of Sarawak's forest landscapes, Indigenous people of several groups along with international activists organised blockades to resist logging activities and dam construction. Penan, Kayan and Kelabit people are among the groups who participated. Some blockades were dismantled by police and some participants were arrested. Indigenous people have continued to hold blockades into the 21st century.

Contents

Background

Borneo’s forests contain a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, peatlands, mangroves, heath forests, and palm trees. [2] The Sarawak region had been ruled by the White Rajahs of the Brooks for the previous 100 years. [3] These forests supply ecosystem services to Indigenous communities in Southeast Asia. [4] Due to anthropogenic land-use changes, particularly logging and dam building, the Borneo rainforests have been deforested and fragmented at a rapid rate. [4] Indigenous people, non-human species and entire ecological landscapes have been impacted by these land-use changes.

In the 1970s timber companies began moving into Sarawak, a state in the Malaysian part of the island of Borneo. [5] [6] Forested lands across Borneo have been converted from natural landscapes to anthropogenically modified landscapes. Previously natural environments were harvested for wood, destroyed by fire and converted to plantations. [2] The conversion of forested lands to palm oil plantations was the most common, but rubber and acacia plantations were also established. [2] By 2014, 11% of Sarawak's primary rainforests ecosystem remained, with nearly 90% converted to other uses. [7] There has been a long-term resistance to deforestation by local Indigenous peoples. [8]

List of resistance activities and blockades

Local reactions to deforestation

Penan Elders in traditional house Borneo Penan Elders (6331744398).jpg
Penan Elders in traditional house

The Penan people

The Penan people are an Indigenous group native to the Borneo lowland rain forests in Sarawak and have been facing direct consequences of the logging activities for decades. This group consists of the East Penan living northeast of the Baram River and the West Penan living to the southwest. These two groups both oppose the logging and blame the government and logging companies for the destruction of their lands. [11] The East Penan organized the majority of the blockades in the late 20th century. [11]

A group of Kelabit men Sarawak; a group of native Kalabit men. Photograph. Wellcome V0037426.jpg
A group of Kelabit men

Kelabit

The Kelabit are an Indigenous group from the interior of Borneo inhabiting the Kelabit Highlands. The Kelabits in Long Napir, Long Seridan and Long Lelang have all been adversely affected by logging operations since the early 1970s. [1] [8] Kelabit territory includes Pulong Tau National Park. Currently, their territory is at risk as logging moves inland and roads are constructed toward their settlements. The Bario Highland Kelabit territories have not yet been affected by logging, as they have been protected by the historical significance of the area. [14] Allied forces during WWII and they live in remote highlands with areaological evidence showing inhabitation for at least 2000 years. [14] Similar to the Penan people, the Kelabit can also be divided into two communities: the urban Kelabit and the rural Kelabit. [15]

Urban Kelabit

Many urban Kelabit have had a negative perception of the blockades, with the concern that they will anger the government who may revoke their status as a nature preserve and decide to use the area for logging rather than tourism. The urban population also benefits from the logging activity approaching their settlements as this means proper roads will be constructed to their villages allowing for more cost-effective delivery and exportation of goods. [15]

Urban Kelabit have also expressed their approval of an increase in accessibility and subsequent modern benefits, citing the need for more schools, hospitals and modern conveniences like electricity, television and fast food. [16]

Village in the Kelabit Highlands Views of Pa'Ukat, Kelabit Highlands (22064659430).jpg
Village in the Kelabit Highlands

Rural Kelabit

Many rural Kelabit have supported the logging blockades, seeing them as part of a larger struggle to preserve their culture and way of life. [8] [17] There exist larger concerns about the logging in the rural communities than in the urban ones, as the logging threatens the resources required for rural Kelabit to continue their traditional livelihoods. [15]

Malaysian Government

The Malaysian government has blamed western environmentalists for the blockades and equated the actions of western media outlets and important figures such as Al Gore to neocolonialism. They have argued that western governments use critique of their resource extraction practices as a means of gaining control of the internal affairs of countries in the global south. [11]

Local impacts

Subsistence

Farming

Wild Hill Sago Palm in Sarawak Wild Hill Sago (Eugeissona utilis) (15201011904).jpg
Wild Hill Sago Palm in Sarawak

A major part of the local diet is the sago palm which grows on steep slopes, where logging roads are often built. This construction causes landslides and the destruction of the crops. The logging activity also causes influxes of sediment into the rivers, making cleaning the sago difficult. [11]

River Resources

Increased sedimentation resulting from deforestation, construction operations and traffic has made finding clean drinking water difficult. It has also impacted fish stocks as water pollution disrupts their habitat, impacts their breeding cycles, and in some cases kills them outright due to poor oxygenation of the water. [11] [18]

Hunting

Many of the local Penan have complained that the trees from which they harvest hunting poison have been cut down without being harvested for timber products. The logging activities have also driven many of the wildlife they hunt from the area and destroyed the habitats where they would settle. There have also been complaints of loggers using shotguns to hunt, further pressuring the local wildlife. [11]

Economical

Another local crop that is being destroyed is the rattan, which is a principal source of fiat currency for many local Indigenous people. [11]

Cultural

The Penan people also bury their dead on the mountain slopes which are impacted by road construction, leading to the destruction of cultural graves and sacred places. [17] [11] [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarawak</span> State in East Malaysia

Sarawak is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in the region of East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, Kalimantan to the south, and Brunei in the north. The state capital, Kuching, is the largest city in Sarawak, the economic centre of the state, and the seat of the Sarawak state government. Other cities and towns in Sarawak include Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. As of the 2020 Malaysia census, the population of Sarawak was 2.453 million. Sarawak has an equatorial climate with tropical rainforests and abundant animal and plant species. It has several prominent cave systems at Gunung Mulu National Park. Rajang River is the longest river in Malaysia; Bakun Dam, one of the largest dams in Southeast Asia, is located on one of its tributaries, the Balui River. Mount Murud is the highest point in the state. Sarawak is the only state of Malaysia with a Christian majority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainforest</span> Type of forest with high rainfall

Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropical rainforests or temperate rainforests, but other types have been described.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelabit people</span> Ethnic group of Borneo

The Kelabit are an indigenous Dayak people of the Sarawak/North Kalimantan highlands of Borneo with a minority in the neighbouring state of Brunei. They have close ties to the Lun Bawang. The elevation there is slightly over 1,200 meters. In the past, because there were few roads and because the area was largely inaccessible by river because of rapids, the highlands and the Kelabit were relatively untouched by modern western influences. Now, however, there is a relatively permanent road route on which it is possible to reach Bario by car from Miri. The road is marked but driving without a local guide is not advisable, as it takes over 11 hours of driving to reach Bario from Miri through many logging trail junctions and river crossings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penan people</span> Indigenous people of Borneo

The Penan are a nomadic indigenous people living in Sarawak and Brunei, although there is only one small community in Brunei; among those in Brunei half have been converted to Islam, even if only superficially. Penan are one of the last such peoples remaining as hunters and gatherers. The Penan are noted for their practice of 'molong' which means never taking more than necessary. Most Penan were nomadic hunter-gatherers until the post-World War II missionaries settled many of the Penan, mainly in the Ulu-Baram district but also in the Limbang district. They eat plants, which are also used as medicines, and animals and use the hides, skin, fur, and other parts for clothing and shelter.

Ulu Baram is a remote area of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is an encased alluvial plain, created in part by the Baram River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hose's palm civet</span> Species of carnivore

Hose's palm civet, also known as Hose's civet, is a viverrid species endemic to the island of Borneo. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 30% over the last three generations and suspected to be more than 30% in the next three generations due to declines in population inferred from habitat destruction and degradation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruno Manser</span> Swiss environmental activist

Bruno Manser was a Swiss environmentalist and human rights activist. From 1984 to 1990, he stayed with the Penan tribe in Malaysia, organising Indigenous rainforest blockades in Sarawak against timber companies. After he emerged from the forests in 1990, he engaged in public activism for rainforest preservation and the human rights of indigenous peoples, especially the Penan, which brought him into conflict with the Malaysian government. He also founded the Swiss non-governmental organization (NGO) Bruno Manser Fonds in 1991. Manser disappeared during his last journey to Sarawak in May 2000 and is presumed dead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batu Lawi Hill</span> Mountain in Malaysia

Batu Lawi is a twin-peaked mountain in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo) that has played important roles in both ancient mythology and modern history. The taller 'male' peak is 2046 metres above sea level, while the female summit is at 1850 metres. It is one of the highest mountains in the state of Sarawak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baram River</span> River in Sarawak, Malaysia

The Baram River is a river in Sarawak on the island of Borneo. The river originates in the Kelabit Highlands, a watershed demarcated by the Iran Mountains of East Kalimantan, which form a natural border with Sarawak. The river flows westwards through tropical rainforest to the South China Sea. The Baram River terminates in a delta, which is subdivided into two units: East Barma Delta of Middle-Late Miocene age and West Baram Delta of Late Miocene-Quaternary age. The western unit is composed of mudstones enriched in organic components which constitute substantial oil and gas reserves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bario</span> Town in Sarawak, Malaysia

Bario is a community of 13 to 16 villages located on the Kelabit Highlands in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, lying at an altitude of 1000 m (3280 ft) above sea level. It is located close to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, 178 km to the east of Miri. It is the main settlement for the indigenous Kelabit tribe. There are regular flights between the Bario, Miri and Marudi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy</span>

The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy ("SCORE") is an economic region and development corridor covering central Sarawak, a Malaysian State on the island of Borneo. SCORE was launched in 2008. It is one of the five regional development corridors launched throughout Malaysia during the Abdullah Badawi administration. SCORE is managed by the Regional Corridors Development Authority ("RECODA"), a state government agency created through an Ordinance of the State Legislative Assembly.

The North Sarawakan languages are a group of Austronesian languages spoken in the northeastern part of the province of Sarawak, Borneo, and proposed in Blust.

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Malaysia faces several environmental issues. Malaysia's environment possesses megadiverse biological diversity, with globally significant endemism and biodiversity, but is threatened by several issues. Deforestation is a major issue in the country that has led to many species becoming threatened with extinction. As a major economic sector, palm oil production has had a substantial environmental impact. Air pollution is also a major issue, with the country one of the most affected countries by seasonal Southeast Asian haze. The country is also affected by climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deforestation in Borneo</span> Deforestation

Deforestation in Borneo has taken place on an industrial scale since the 1960s. Borneo, the third largest island in the world, divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, was once covered by dense tropical and subtropical rainforests.

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Sarawak's population is very diverse, comprising many races and ethnic groups. Sarawak has more than 40 sub-ethnic groups, each with its own distinct language, culture and lifestyle. This makes Sarawak demography very distinct and unique compared to its Peninsular counterpart. However, it largely mirrors to other territories in Borneo - Sabah, Brunei and Kalimantan.

The Baram Dam, also known as Baram 1 Dam and Baram Hydro-electric Dam Project is a proposed gravity dam on the Baram River in Sarawak, Malaysia. The site of the dam is 250 kilometres (160 mi) inland from Miri, the second largest city in Sarawak. The dam is part of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy and, if completed, would support a 1,200 MW power station. In November 2015, the Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem announced that the Sarawak government had decided to shelf the Baram Dam because the people in Baram did not welcome the plan.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutang Urud</span>

Mutang Urud is an Indigenous Kelabit environmental activist, born in Long Napir in Sarawak, a state of Malaysia located on the island of Borneo. Urud is known for helping to organize anti-logging blockades in Sarawak, and as the founder of the Sarawak Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance. He was a member of the Voices for the Borneo Rainforest World Tour in 1990, and spoke to the UN to ask for a halt to logging on Indigenous lands in Borneo. Urud serves as the Executive Director of the Kalio Conservation and Development Society, and is working to record the oral history of the Kelabit people, create a dictionary of the Kelabit language, and map the Kelabit cultural boundaries.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 Gaveau, David L. A.; Sloan, Sean; Molidena, Elis; Yaen, Husna; Sheil, Doug; Abram, Nicola K.; Ancrenaz, Marc; Nasi, Robert; Quinones, Marcela; Wielaard, Niels; Meijaard, Erik (2014-07-16). "Four Decades of Forest Persistence, Clearance and Logging on Borneo". PLOS ONE. 9 (7): e101654. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j1654G. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101654 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   4100734 . PMID   25029192.
  3. ↑ "Logging, Conservation, and Native Rights in Sarawak Forests". Conservation Biology. 5 (1): 126–130. 1991. Bibcode:1991ConBi...5..126.. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.1991.tb00397.x . ISSN   1523-1739.
  4. 1 2 Alamgir, Mohammed; Campbell, Mason J.; Sloan, Sean; Suhardiman, Ali; Supriatna, Jatna; Laurance, William F. (December 2019). "High-risk infrastructure projects pose imminent threats to forests in Indonesian Borneo". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 140. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9..140A. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-36594-8. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6333816 . PMID   30644427.
  5. ↑ Brosius, J. Peter (July 1997). "Prior Transcripts, Divergent Paths: Resistance and Acquiescence to Logging in Sarawak, East Malaysia". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 39 (3): 468–510. doi:10.1017/s0010417500020739. ISSN   0010-4175. S2CID   145061179.
  6. ↑ Gaveau, David L.A.; Locatelli, Bruno; Salim, Mohammad A.; Yaen, Husna; Pacheco, Pablo; Sheil, Douglas (May 2019). "Rise and fall of forest loss and industrial plantations in Borneo (2000–2017)". Conservation Letters. 12 (3). Bibcode:2019ConL...12E2622G. doi: 10.1111/conl.12622 . ISSN   1755-263X. S2CID   92265629.
  7. ↑ Straumann, Lukas (2014). Money logging : on the trail of the Asian timber mafia. Basel, Switzerland. ISBN   978-3-905252-68-2. OCLC   895070377.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. 1 2 3 Blanchet-Cohen, Natasha; Urud, Mutang (2017-09-01). "Tana' Bawang (homeland): cultural safety and the Kelabit land struggle in Borneo". AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. 13 (3): 170–178. doi:10.1177/1177180117714409. ISSN   1177-1801. S2CID   149315901.
  9. 1 2 3 "Our History – The Borneo Project" . Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  10. 1 2 Voices for the Borneo rainforest : 1990 world tour report. Thom Henley, Western Canada Wilderness Committee. Vancouver: Western Canada Wilderness Committee-WILD Campaign. 1991. ISBN   1-895123-20-8. OCLC   242031774.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Brosius, J. Peter (1997). "Prior Transcripts, Divergent Paths: Resistance and Acquiescence to Logging in Sarawak, East Malaysia". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 39 (3): 468–510. doi:10.1017/S0010417500020739. ISSN   0010-4175. JSTOR   179156. S2CID   145061179.
  12. 1 2 "Penan Villagers Resume Murum Dam Blockade – The Borneo Project". 23 September 2013. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  13. ↑ Al Jazeera Staff. "Malaysia Indigenous communities 'hopeful' on logging dispute". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  14. 1 2 "The Landscape of Memory - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  15. 1 2 3 Amster, Matthew (2008-04-12). "Where Spirit and Bulldozer Roam: Environmenta and Anxiety in Highland Borneo". Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture. 2 (1): 74–92. doi:10.1558/jsrnc.v2i1.74. ISSN   1749-4915.
  16. 1 2 https://www.pressreader.com/uae/gulf-news/20080210/282342560530790 . Retrieved 2021-12-01– via PressReader.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. 1 2 Canada, National Film Board of, A Time to Swim , retrieved 2021-12-02
  18. ↑ International, Survival. "Penan". www.survivalinternational.org. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
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