Tong Tana December 1999 - Bruno Manser Fonds

January 2000
Newsletter on rainforests,
indigenous rights and timber trade
Bruno-Manser-Fonds
«AND EVEN IF EACH
ONE OF US IS JUST
A LITTLE PUDDLE, HE
CAN TRY TO KEEP THE
WATER OF HIS SOUL
PURE AND PEACEFUL
SO THAT THE SUN
REFLECTS IN IT.»
AMADOU HAMPATE

Editorial
2
New times are dawning
bm – On skis, by bike, motorbike, car, train and jet.
Faster and faster we race through space. We compress
time. Yi Pee! How the landscape is flying by! Being
present at the other end of the world by TV, cell phone,
fax, Internet, satellite. Yi Pee! For just a moment.
Quick! Everywhere! Antisocial The national train service
(SBB) closes public toilets because they do not pay
and is starting business abroad. Merger-itis of the
biggest against the rest of the world in a small unknown
village far away. The market wants a free hand
– anonymously! Several politicians play along: they
speak of transparency and resist product declaration.
They call it development and cut school subsidies because
“dumb” people don’t ask questions and buy
more when it’s cheaper. Others far away in the unknown
village pay the difference. Yet new times are
dawning. A singer sings of love, of the search for real
life and of a yearning which captivates young and old
alike: a yearning to become oneself – uniquely – to find
one’s own treasure. McDonalds Benson & Hedges
and Coke Is self-realization dependent on company
brands Enough of the standard fare of the multinationals,
being served every step of the way by their advertising
servants, then being consumed! I now set my
table using my own imagination. To share a good meal
with you To snuggle up at night; the cosy company of
good friends or strangers make a home. To help one
another, to let yourself be helped in need. “What, you
have not yet invested your assets profitably – “No! I
already gave them away before the stock exchange
crashed! Before others blow it all, before they throw
away what I held dear, I already share now what is too
much for me and what little I have left then becomes
valuable.”
Yesterday the postal employee paid the missing cents
for the postage on my packet out of his own pocket. Today
I give a stranger with no change a tram ticket. With
every good deed paradise will already begin today. The
reports from Sarawak are not rosy, and our work at the
BMF is growing over our heads – your contribution commits
us to keep going. We’re sticking with it as long as
our strength and finances last. Happy new millennium!
Bruno Manser and the BMF team
Contents
Editorial 2
Sarawak - Malaysia 3–9
Speaking of Wood 10
Switzerland 11–14
BMF internal affairs 15
Penan folk tale 16
“Hey, Mr. Surgeon, is the handle of your instrument by chance not
made of tropical wood!”
Tong Tana
Published by Bruno-Manser-Fonds (BMF)
Association for the peoples of the rainforest
Heuberg 25, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland
Telephone ++41(61)261 94 74
Fax ++41(61)261 74 73
e-mail: info@bmf.ch
Internet: http://www.bmf.ch
Editors: Bruno Manser, John Kunzli
Authors: B. Manser (bm), J. Kunzli (jk), David Koechlin (dk),
Dominik Bucheli (db)
Photos: B. Manser, BMF, E. Bruenig, J. Schar, L.P. Chiang
Drawings: B. Manser, Larissa Schönfelder
Translations: R. Gogel (French), B. Jäckli (English), J. Kunzli,
B. Manser (German)
Edition: 6200 (4000 German, 1500 French, 700 English)
Published three times a year
Please note: Voluntary contributions are very welcome
and much needed !
Thank you! Donations:
Switzerland/Liechtenstein:
Post account: 40-5899-8
Coop Bank account, 4002 Basel, Acct. 421329.29.00.00-5
France: La Poste, Strasbourg, Acct. CCP 2.604.59T
Germany: Deutsche Bank, Lörrach (BLZ 683 700 34)
Acct. 1678556
Printed by Gremper AG, Basel

Sarawak - Malaysia
Taib Mahmud –
Chief Minister without power
bm – In 1987, 4700 natives of Sarawak brought 1600
loggers with 210 bulldozers to a standstill for months
with peaceful roadblocks in order to preserve their
virgin forests with all their vitally essential resources
from the wilderness. The Chief Minister Taib Mahmud
replied with a hunting ban for non-residents and declared
areas as biosphere reserves for the Penan. But
not a soul ever took notice of Taib’s decision: up to the
present day employees of the logging companies can
plunder wildlife stocks unhindered using rifles and fish
the indigenous peoples’ rivers empty using illegal
methods, even in designated protected areas.
Poachers, water pollution and violence: Lakei Suti
(“the short man”), a Penan nomad from the Magoh
river reports: they secretly carry out electrical fishing in
our area. At the fork to the Patah river we met them
with two cars loaded full of fish which they wanted to
sell downriver in Limbang. At the Meli-it we saw many
dead fish floating down the river one day. They had
fished with poison but only took the largest, not even
collecting fish as thick as a lower arm, so many were
killed! When we wanted to prevent a logger from fishing
in our river with a casting net, he unlocked his rifle and
pointed it at close range right at my chest. We could
only deflect the shot upwards into the trees through a
blow on the barrel! Employees of the Ravenscourt
Company (Samling Group) set many snares; many
mouse deer, porcupines and argus pheasants died
in them as well as one of our dogs. They shoot deer
and wild boar and when the wounded animal stumbles
down onto steep ground they just climb back into
their car and drive off. If this continues we will soon
not have any animals left! And the poison with which
they spray their stored timber, their machine oil which
they just pour into the ground – doesn’t the rain wash
all this into the riverwater with which we make our sago
and which we drink! The Raut Company had promised
not to fell any wood in the protected area on the Magoh
Borneo Post, July 15th, 1987
river designated by the government as ours. When they
nevertheless crossed the watershed with their bulldozers
at the Batu Iran we took the foreman to task.
He then called the manager Ling who came out of his
car with a crate of Coca-Cola. He placed the crate in
front of us and invited us to drink. Enraged, we threw
the Coke cans down the slope one after the other. He
then called for help from the forestry commissioner
Kusui who came and said he was from the government.
He fired a salvo of shots right over our heads
from close range so that the smoke got in our noses
and our ears hurt. And then Taib Mahmud and his government
says we Penan have it easy! Why does he not
teach his people good manners!
Mobile Dental clinic: appeal to Taib
“We ask our Chief Minister Taib Mahmud to accept
Bruno Manser’s offer of a mobile dental clinic for us
in the headwater regions so that our teeth can be
mended soon,” said T.K. Kayan Etek, governmentappointed
chief and Penan from the Ulu Limbang.
3
Ikan Cemáh

Sarawak - Malaysia
4
The Penan wait and hope
The rough road to achieving
biodiversity conservation in northeastern
Sarawak
bm – In 1993 the Sarawak government decided to protect
1688 km 2 of forest in Lanjak Entimau (Western
Sarawak) as a wildlife sanctuary with support of the International
Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the
local population. Based on this positive and productive
partnership, Sarawak and Swiss foresters worked together
on a similar but much more ambitious project in
Eastern Sarawak and submitted the proposal to the
Sarawak Authorities in early 1998.
This proposal is of local and global interest, as it links
already existing National Parks and Nature Reserves in
Brunei, Sarawak and Kalimantan (Indonesia) to the
largest Biosphere-Area in the whole of South-East-
Asia, covering 23,489 km 2 of forest and forest land
that spans across three States in the interior of
Borneo. Over 70% of the area has already been legally
put under some kind of protection, though large parts
of this area are only protected on paper (e.g. Pulong
Tau and Magoh area in Sarawak). The proposed extended
protected area, buffer zones and sustainable
forest management areas in Sarawak include: large
parts of steep mountain forest (not suitable for logging);
the last remnants of dipterocarp virgin forest in
the region (some of which has been proposed for
protection by the government); – as well as some
logged off and secondary forest areas. With the
commitment of neighbouring countries, the area could
still be enlarged to include some endemic bio-regions
of Sabah and protected areas nearby to the total
project area (the Batu Apoi-Forest Reserve in Brunei,
462 km 2 , and of the Sembakung Extension in Kalimantan,
5000 km 2 ).
The ultimate goal of the project is to create a win-win
project in the long-term for all stakeholders, including
local people living in Eastern Sarawak, the Government
of Sarawak and logging companies. When Bruno-
Manser-Fonds was approached to comment on the proposal
we were very critical that once more, indigenous
peoples like the Penan may be the losers again. However,
we support the project’s aim: to protect intact
virgin forest within the area for biodiversity conservation
and to promote the wise use of non-timberproducts
by the Penan and others. This in conjunction
with the implementation of sustainable timber extraction
in degraded areas to bring added income to the
state and all concerned parties.
The project idea has gained support from Malaysian
citizens, e.g. the former Director of the ITTO and
the former President to the United Nations General
Assembly. Even the Sarawak Timber Association (STA)
recognized the importance of the project proposal. For
the implementation of the project, a substantial financial
commitment has already been made, which exceeded
any prior grant financing in Sarawak. The World
Bank, the US-Government, the Swiss Government and
Japan have also shown interest in making financial
contributions to the realization of the project.
In April 1998 the Swiss Ambassador to Malaysia
accepted an invitation by the Sarawak Government to
promote the project idea, supported by many both
within and outside Malaysia. The delegation was
warmly received by the Chief Minister of Sarawak, who
recognized the importance of biodiversity conservation
and sustainable use of natural resources in the proposed
project area.
However, the project has not made any further steps
since then. Why Essentially because one man objected:
Sarawak State Secretary HAMID BUGO! As a result,
today, nearly two years after the launch of the project
idea, nothing has happened at all, and the forests
are depleted in an even higher rate than before.
The reasons why Hamid Bugo is against biodiversity
conservation and the sustainable use of forest resources
as promoted through this project is not
known. Perhaps the Chief Minister of Sarawak has an
answer, as to why he has not yet made a clear decision
in favor of the people of Sarawak, who suffer from
the negative impacts of destructive logging, such as
landslides, pollution, local climate change, floods,
droughts and forest-fires. It seems that a unique opportunity
for the well-being of many is being foregone
for the special interests of some. The press and
Malaysian citizens should demand answers.

Proposed Biosphere Area in Eastern Sarawak in relation to already existing
Protected Areas in Brunei Darussalam and Kalimantan/Indonesia
Ref. Designation Country Name of Area Area km 2
1 National Park Malaysia Gunung Mulu 530
2 Forest Reserve Brunei D. Labi Hills, Ladan Hills 749
3 Nature Reserve Indonesia Sungai Kayan, Sungai Mentarang 16’000
4 Proposed Biosphere Area in Malaysia 6’205
Totally border-crossing-connected Protected Area: 23’484
5 Nature Reserve Indonesia Sembakung Extension 5’000
6 National Park Brunei D. Batu Apoi 462
7 Wildlife Sanctuary Malaysia Lanjak Entimau 1’687
5
Source: Protected Areas of the World, IUCN, 1991

Sarawak - Malaysia
6
Interview with Mutang Urud,
a Sarawakian Activist living in
Canadian exile
Bruno: Dear Brother Mutang, tell us something about
yourself!
Mutang: I’m a 40-year-old Kelabit from Long Napir in
Sarawak’s interior. I went to a technical college in
West-Malaysia and started a business in Sarawak
after graduation.
B: How did you get involved in the struggle of your peoples
to protect their forest
M: I guess everybody with a feeling for his community
would want to be involved. Since I was in business I
had the freedom to visit my community and witness
their struggles. Since the Government handles the situation
unfairly, I had to use my experience in the city
to help write petition letters and advised them how to
deal with arrests and court cases. Later I founded the
Sarawak Indigenous Peoples Alliance (SIPA) with the
goal to unite all indigenous peoples of Sarawak who
oppose logging. In the first two years we managed to
visit over 45 communities in the upper Baram and Limbang
area. By uniting these communities they have a
stronger and more powerful voice.
B: Have you been aware of the risks when you started
all this
M: Yes, life is full of it! One never knows what happens
tomorrow, you just go where your heart tells you to. If
you help people against injustices, there is no boundary.
The risk I take is lesser in comparison to these
people losing their traditional land forever to the corrupt
and rich.
B: Suddenly your life changed, you were arrested ...
M: At midnight on February 5th, 1992 (just after
the Chinese-New-Year-Holidays) several policemen in
2 cars came to pick me up. They questioned me until
4 am. Then we went back to my office where they went
through all my documents until 6 am. They said that I
was to be kept in custody until they knew what was
happening. At that time there was a big blockade in the
Baram-area that has gone on for several months and
the Penan did not give in. The Police and army were
ready to arrest people, but they wanted to avoid a massacre.
That’s why they were asking my advice on how
to disperse the people.
They told me that they will shoot at the people if they
have to! I knew that several Muslims were killed by the
police the year before. They were fundamentalists and
believed to be invincible. They rushed the police-barrier
with machetes, about 15 died including several policemen.
The police suspected that the reason for the
Penan being so stubborn was because certain preachers
were misleading the people like the Muslim. They
wanted me to go to upper Baram with the Inspector
General of Police, but they kept me in jail in Miri instead
and questioned me around the clock for 5 days!
After a week the Police got angry, because I did not collaborate.
They handcuffed me one early morning and drove me
800kms to Kuching. We were 10 miles from the city
where several officers were waiting in the dark and
quickly blindfolded me. I was laid down on the van seat
with one officer holding my feet and another holding my
blindfold. For about two hours they drove me around
until they said we were entering a building. I don’t know
where, because I was still blindfolded. This was the
most frightening moment, because I was led to a place
which I did not know. When they opened my blindfold I
was in a dirty cell with nothing else than my underwear!
I was interrogated round the clock until I didn’t
know if I was eating my lunch or dinner. I thought I was
getting crazy.
A month later they sent me back to Miri by plane. They
blindfolded me out of the jail. In Miri I was directly put
in jail for 2 days. I had no contacts with my family or
lawyer. The next morning my lawyer suddenly showed
up and said I had to go to court. The charge was having
organized a society without registration, but as I
was the only member of the organization, it was not a
society.
B: You were released on bail, why did you flee after
that
M: I did not flee. My sister paid the bail. The police
threatened me not to get involved in the struggle
again, but a week later, there was the court case
against the Along-group and I had to help them! I was
at Alongs court case when my lawyer called and asked
me to flee as he had serious information that I was to
be arrested again. Immediately I went into hiding and
early the next morning I left the country.
B: You kept involved in the struggle, you have been
working on papers published in the United-Nations-Human-Rights-Commission,
you have been speaking in
Geneva and New York.
M: For myself, these actions kept me connected to the
struggles at home for I felt very homesick. It also made
me feel like a brother to all other indigenous peoples
who are in similar struggles. For Malaysia and my people
it was also good, because the more people know
about the struggle, the more pressure is built upon
those responsible.
B: You met US-Vice President Al Gore, the UN Secretary
General, Prince Bernard and others: Who has
been the most supportive
M: Vice Pres. Al Gore was most positive because when
we met him in 1990, he immediately wrote a resolution
on behalf of our struggle. Just last year, at the APEC

Mutang Urud
meeting in Malaysia, he has also spoke against the unjust
arrest of Anwar Ibrahim.
B: You live in Canada in exile since you left Malaysia
M: Yes, although my initial idea was to study for two
years and then go back. The Malaysian government
made it more difficult for me to return. Now, I am married
to a beautiful Canadian, the decision is not mine
alone. Of course I’d like to return home. It doesn’t
mean one’s sense of justice has changed. One’s
sense of justice does not easily change since Human
Rights is a moral issue.
B: Did you ever have contact with the Malaysian Government
M: Yes, many times after the Environment and Development
Conference in Rio 1992. There, one Malaysian
parliamentarian even offered me a job within the
Government. The Malaysian Ambassador to the UN
wanted me to work in the department for sustainable
development. He offered it to me seconds before I had
my speech at the United Nations Assembly! Of course
I refused. Also I have been seeking amnesty from the
Prime Minister’s office through Musa Hitam, but there
was no guarantee.
B: Is there any politician in Sarawak you put hope in for
the struggle
M: All the Dayak-politicians have a good heart and
good intentions, but most of them get caught up in the
money-politics. I don’t know such a politician, but if all
the indigenous politicians work together, there is hope
for our people!
B: What vision do you have for the indigenous peoples
in Sarawak and what vision would you have for the
country
M: Indigenous peoples are very independent. For centuries
they determined their own affairs and their future.
Today, government, which doesn’t understand
their history, language and culture, takes the power
from the peoples and makes them dependent. Traditional
territories should be given back to them and the
right for self-determination has to be recognized and
implemented. In this regard, living in Canada is like a
prophetic life for me. The government in Canada is now
negotiating with the indigenous communities on equal
basis and I’d like to see this happening in Sarawak.
One aboriginal community has its own nation now:
NUNAVUT. But I don’t know how far down the road such
a thing can happen for my own country ...
B: The Dayak peoples would get back some control
over their resources
M: Definitely. Look what happened in Canada when power
was taken from the Natives: They got drunk and were
neglected in their reserves. This is very sad. I hope, this
will never happen in Sarawak! In Nunavut, the aboriginal
people may not have full control over the resources, but
they have self-determination and self-pride.
B: Do you regret anything
M: No. Somehow I asked for this, I even dreamt of it
when I was very young.My only regret would be if I am
not happy with what I am doing. But I really enjoy helping
my people.
B: You are one of the few people in Sarawak, who did
not fall into the trap of corruption, but you paid a high
price: Could you imagine living in Sarawak and work –
maybe as a politician – in favor of your country
M: The government determines the way the country
goes, for better or for worse. After thinking about this
situation for many years, I may want to work within the
al framwork government!
7
B: What is your wish for the Chief Minister
S: I wish I was the Chief Minister! The success of a government
is measured by the freedom of its visible minorities.
For Taib Mahmud, he should listen to the people
and give them more independence. No government
can kill the wishes of a people for independence and
freedom. Look at Yugoslavia, South Africa and East
Timor. One day the people will get what they want.

Sarawak - Malaysia
8
Tragic turn of events in the conflict
between indigenous people and
state-owned plantation companies
“The land is our blood, our breath, our life”
jk – The inhabitants of the Iban longhouses of Busang
and Bali were shocked to discover on June 19th of this
year that bulldozers of the Sarawak Oil Palm Bhd
(SOP) were destroying their rubber trees, their fruit
orchards and their crop fields in order to plant a palm
oil plantation. As the Iban erected an altar according
to their tradition to hold a “Miring” ritual to beg forgiveness
from the spirits for this desecration, the construction
work on the terrain was stopped. The 43 families
with 300 members – according to the prevailing
laws the rightful owners of the land – protested immediately
against these illegal dealings to the responsible
instances, seeking talks with the company and the government
– without success. On July 3rd the villagers
discovered that six bulldozers operating simultaneously
had started work again. At a press conference on
July 5th they requested the SOP to respect their land
rights and to pay for the damage they had caused – to
no avail.
When the “Miring” altar was forcefully destroyed on
July 10 the villagers became so agitated that work was
stopped; the next day the bulldozers were already at
work once more. In desperation five representatives of
the two longhouses travelled on July 30 to Kuching to
personally present their problems to the Chief Minister
Taib Mahmud – he did not receive them. In August
alone 7 charges were submitted to the police. They
personally reported to the police chief that a gang
recruited by the company was threatening them with
Samurai swords, rattan pipes and other weapons in
order to force them to give up their land – a practice
which not even the state will shrink from doing; the
government of Sarawak is, apart from the Shin Yang
Company (see below in “Arsonists...”) the main shareholder
of the SOP. The police undertook nothing. All efforts
of both longhouses to protect their property were
thwarted. As the Iban demanded the SOP company to
immediately stop their bulldozers on September 1,
they were attacked by the armed bandits, resulting in
a clash with serious consequences. Four of the SOP
employees were mortally wounded. Only then did the
police become active and arrested 19 indigenous men
of 17 to 60 years of age. The charge is murder, the
accused can expect the death penalty. The trial is
expected to take place on December 16.
At the beginning of October the first “Gawai Kelingkang”
was held near Rumah Busang for over 50 years.
This Iban ritual lasting several days asks the tribal and
warrior spirits for support in the coming battle against
the Sarawak Oil Palm Bhd. In order to receive the protection
of the spirits dances for raising the spirits were
held, offerings were brought and several human skulls
from former head-hunting days were presented. Various
chiefs as well as relatives of the imprisoned spoke
to the gathered crowd, “We are all sad that both our
chiefs are in prison and not present at this Gawai. We
do not want blood to be shed on our land. But our
government did not help us, it also never helped all the
other indigenous people of Sarawak whose land was
stolen.” Great is the rage and grief in Rumah Busang
and Rumah Bali; only the 5 year-old granddaughter of
the chief does not yet understand the price her grandfather
may have to pay for defending the land wich one
day will be hers.
Source: Rengah Sarawak October 12, 1999
Iban-Warrior
Sarawak’s indigenous peoples
on the web
jk – The web is valuable, especially in countries with a
censored press such as Malaysia.
At http://www.rengah.c2o.org, the voices of the indigenous
peoples of Sarawak can now be heard worldwide
– the site is warmly recommended to everyone!

Arson in Sarawak I
jk – The forest fires in Borneo were fortunately not a
topic this year. It was actually good luck that there was
no continuation of the conflagrations but the forest did
burn like it did in the past two years, only the rainy season
began on time and quenched the fires that were
set on purpose before a blanket of smoke could cover
SE Asia. The plantation industry continues to use the
illegal slash-and-burn methods to claim land, as the
highest authorities for the environment in Malaysia stated
in August: with the help of satellite pictures 11 companies
in the plantation business could be arrested.
The guilty also included the notorious Samling Company
and the Shin Yang Company. Both originated in the logging
industry and are now diversifying in the palm oil
business. As the interconnection of the government and
the economy were only exposed by chance, it is not surprising
that Malaysia also did not publish its air pollution
data this summer (reason: tourists should not be
deterred) and also that no legal proceedings have yet
been initiated against the 11 companies. Compared to
the method of preparing the ground without using fire
(US$ 200/ha), burning the forest is so cheap (US$
0.0004/ha) that the next catastrophe is pre-programmed.
Source: Rengah Sarawak, August 25,1999
9
Timber industry in Sarawak –
who’s making a profit
jk – As the Sarawak Forest Department reported at the
beginning of October, 70% of the approx. 120,000 jobs
in Sarawak’s timber industry are held by foreigners.
According to the Sarawak Timber Association STA they
prefer foreigners because they work more reliable and
cheaper than their own people. Further investigations
would be necessary in order to find out why the relationship
of the indigenous people and the logging industry
was so poor, the STA also stated. The BMF will
gladly make its archives available if those who are
responsible really want to find out why nobody saws off
the branch they are sitting on!
Correction: Forestry in Sarawak
jk – Two mistakes occurred in our report of the talk
with Prof. Dr. Brünig in the last newsletter of September
1999. “The elusive issues of social justice and
customary or statutory rights of land and resource
ownership remained outside the concern of Samling
Co.. The co-operation with GTZ effected little change.”
was a remark made by our editors and should have
been marked as such! We apologize to Prof. Brünig for
this omission; unfortunately nothing has changed in
the meantime as to the truth of the statement.
Furthermore the photo that was shown does not depict
the Alan-peat bog forest but a mixed forest of peat bog-
Ramin, with a giant Ramin in the center. The Alan-peat
bog forest is shown here instead (Ed. Tong Tana).
Alan-peat bog forest: if the canopy would be left intact, e.g. by
application of strip-shelterwoodsystem, sustainable forestry would
be possible using careful cutting and transportation/extraction
techniques, thinks Prof. Brünig.
Malaysian forestry experts
in Cameroon
bm – After the Malaysian Company WTK turned the
lands of several Penan tribes into a battlefield they
now export their expertise in “exploitation” to Africa –
for want of resources in their own country. During a
control tour through a WTK concession area in Djoum
in Cameroon 388 abandoned tree trunks with a total
volume of 1703 m 3 were found: they were either
illegally felled or of unsatisfactory quality.
Source: Bubinga, October 1999.

Speaking of Wood
ITTO’s “Target 2000”
“Trees can die and birds can fly.”
Quote from a member of the Sawarak Government.
jk – The International Tropical Timber Organization ITTO,
an association of all countries exporting and importing
tropical timber, was founded for the purpose of achieving
better global market access. Japan as main consumer
and Malaysia as largest producer have the main
say. Originally only meant to be a trade organization,
the ITTO was confronted during the late 1980s with
awakening protests against logging in the tropical rainforests
and as a result began to work towards the sustainable
production of tropical wood. Malaysia, pilloried
internationally for its devastating and inhumane
logging policies in Sarawak, was the first country to
call the ITTO for help in 1989, hoping that the UN
organization would help to break the boycott and thus
to improve its image. The ITTO mission, however, came
to the conclusion that in Sarawak at the most only
9.2 million m 3 /year could be logged sustainably (in
1989 over 18 million m 3 was cut!) and gave the
Malaysian state time to reach this goal until the year
2000. The figure shows, however, that Sarawak does
not only lie far from this goal but also that hardly anything
has changed during the past 10 years! The reduction
in production since 1993 can be mainly attributed
to the exhaustion of resources, whereas the low
figure of 1998 is due to the global economic and
financial crisis of 97/98 when the Asian market collapsed.
During the early 1990s the ITTO – i.e. the industry
itself – promised to boycott the trade in timber
from non-sustainable production as of January 2000.
Lately the ITTO has become suddenly very quiet. One
cannot hear a thing about how far the various member
states have realized the set “objectives for 2000”.
Even Switzerland, a founding member of the ITTO and
among the current 24 importing countries the largest
financial contributor after Japan (total 53 member
states), has committed itself to only trade in wood from
sustainable production from 2000 on. State Secretary
David Werner Syz is responsible for the realization.
Please write to the responsible person in your country
and ask her what efficient measures she will undertake
to prevent further imports of timber from nonsustainably-managed
forests border!
Address Switzerland: Secrétariat d’Etat à l’Economie
(SECO), Effingerstr. 1, CH-3011 Bern, Switzerland.
Fax: ++41(0)31 324 10 00 – everyone is invited to
support the ITTO in reaching its goals – thank you very
much!
Global free trade with forest
products
bm – New Zealand, one of the 21 member states of the
APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum), is
pressing the World Trade Organization WTO to drop all
customs duties on forestry and paper products until
2003. Friends of the Earth (FoE) warn that this proposal,
if accepted, will lead to the degradation of further
forested areas, as it does not contain any protective
measures at all. Only one fifth of the original
forests of our planet are still undisturbed. According to
the World Resources Institute the timber industry is
threatening 72% of these forested areas and is thus by
far the most important cause of forest destruction. As
the APEC states are annually losing double the amount
of forest area (0.62%) as the rest of the world (0.3%)
percentage-wise, it is obvious that the APEC cannot
play role model for global trade regulations. Measures
are necessary which stipulate sustainable management
as a prerequisite for trade, nationally as well as
internationally.
25
ITTO-directive
Sarawak Log-Production 1970–98
20
10
Annual cut (million m 3 )
15
10
5
70 73 76 79 82 85 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98
Source: Sarawak Timber Association

Switzerland
Derborence
Sion
A virgin forest in Derborence
bm – A wild, steeply inclining ravine prevents access to
one of the last remaining virgin forests in Switzerland:
Derborence. The tiny forest barely 1 km 2 in size is –
although only a fly speck on the map – a unique habitat
in Europe. South of the Diablerets Glacier in a
mountain cirque afflicted by rockfalls at 1430–1700 m
above sealevel, it has been mostly spared from human
intervention for centuries thanks to its inaccessibility.
Along with the blasting of an adventurous road through
the cliffs logging finally began in this last untouched
valley. The Swiss Alliance for the Protection of Nature)
– called Pro Natura Schweiz today – was able to
acquire 50 ha of virgin forest in 1959 and place it
under total protection. Derborence lets us get a whiff
of untamed wilderness, the richness and diversity of
species in virgin forests which covered most of the
Alpine area 2000 ago. Here you can still find the threetoed
woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus), treecreepers
(Certhia familiaris) and rock partridge (Alectoris
graeca). Here mighty pines stand next to each other:
the thickest has a diameter of over 160 cm and
is 44 m high with a volume of wood amounting
to 30 m 3 ! Death is but a condition for new
life. I can count 390 annual rings on a
fallen tree with a diameter of 110 cm;
on another 300 young pines are
sprouting. Next to ferns as high as a
man and blueberries as large as peas,
with a bit of luck you can sight one of the rarest
mushrooms which resembles a frozen waterfall: the
“Hericium”. In the virgin forest of Derborence there is
over twice as much volume of wood (550 – 900 m 3 /ha,
depending on the site) as in the other regularly used
secondary forests in Switzerland (300 – 350 m 3 /ha).
Maybe in future more Swiss communities will decide
against the expensive utilization of a remote piece of
forest in order to let at least some trees reach their
natural age
Crimes against trees
bm – In the last newsletter the BMF criticized the killing
of one of the largest standing beech trees, possibly
300 years old, in order to provide the Jura viper with
more light and living space. Green leaves appeared on
the tree although the bark had been removed from
around the trunk. The water could still flow from the
roots up into the crown but the downward flow of storage
products was interrupted by the removal of the
cambium and the tree is dying. The responsible forest
warden in Kleinlützel/SO will take into account our concerns
regarding the protection of over 150 year-old
trees in similar projects in the future. In Liesberg/BL
our demand for the meaningful use of utilizable timber
has already been realized according to the local forest
warden: 85% of all felled trees are utilized for wood,
15% remain on the ground as dead wood for propagating
species diversity. Apart from the project’s area
of 8 ha the community has already placed 75 ha or
14.5% of the forested area of Liesberg under protection,
i.e. the trees are allowed to attain their natural
age – thank you!
A mighty pine in Derborence
11

Switzerland
JUMBO MIGROS COOP
correct declaration
partly correct
declaration
no declaration
insufficient
declaration
wrong/misleading
declaration
BMF investigation
db – It is astonishing how Swiss market leaders hold
their promises. In autumn 1998 and on the occasion
of Swiss TV’s “Kassensturz” (consumer’s rights) program
of October 1999, the Bruno-Manser-Fonds investigated
and evaluated the labeling according to
species of wood and country of origin of 120 wood
products in one of the branches of the three largest
Swiss shops selling building and hobby products:
Migros (annual turn over Swissfrancs 400 million),
Coop (SF 403 million) and JUMBO (SF 480 million).
The investigated products included tools, furniture,
building material, hobby materials and household articles.
In the process it became clear that the three
wholesale shops fulfill the consumer’s rights to objective
product information differently. The differences between
the shops as to how they kept their almost 10
year-old promises to reduce the use of tropical wood
and to declare products according to species and origin
became obvious.
species and origin as well as the production methods
is useful information which enables us to make our decision
for a purchase. In the field of agriculture we are
already quite progressive, only in the case of wood
products we have not yet succeeded, although opinion
polls show that the consumers are willing to pay more
for wood produced using good forestry practices.
Because the “voluntary” declaration approved by the
Federal Council did not work, Swiss Parliamentarien
Christoph Eymann submitted the Motion “For a mandatory
declaration according to species and origin for
wood and wood products” to the National Council in
November 1997, the limitation period of which expired
this autumn after not being treated within two years’
time. Christoph Eymann immediately submitted another
Motion with the same wording (Motion Eymann
No. 1999.3542). Transparency in trade and the right to
objective product information must become more than
catchwords during the next millennium – for the sake
of the forest!
12
Mandatory declaration
jk – The 1990s were marked by
the unleashed forces of global
free trade. Even the best laws
cannot help if the industry emigrates
to areas with a “Wild West”
economy where no environmental
protection, no labor laws, no human
rights hinder the capital from
multiplying. Now suddenly goods
from the furthest reaches of our
planet dominate our markets, displacing
native products and causing
many a branch of the domestic
economy to die out. Neither the
Swiss consumers, highly sensitized
if compared internationally,
nor the local producers are willing
to accept this and call for transparency
in trade and – depending
on the scandal involved – even for
an import ban. The composition,
Fire-raiser in the rainforest: Protest against JUMBO

With disdain!
Arson in the rainforest: JUMBO
jk – In the spring of 1999 the JUMBO wholesalers, belonging
to Maus Holding (Manor, Nordmann a.o.) and
market leader in the building and hobby sectors, sold
garden furniture in 37 Swiss branches made of wood
from Sarawak as “Camping 1999”. According to a label
from the supplier the woods Keruing and Yellow
Balau were used which were “taken under full state
supervision and control, the area reforested again in
Sarawak, Malaysia, and southern Laos”.
The meaning of state-controlled forest management in
Sarawak is known to all by now. Both hardwoods only
grow in the rainforest. There is no reforestation of
Keruing and Balau in Sarawak. The BMF asked JUMBO
for information as to the area concerned, the type of
reforestation and the company carrying this out – without
success. Only when Swiss TV’s “Kassensturz” program
paid them a visit to ask permission to shoot a
film there did the giant start to move. Hurriedly all suppliers
of wood were notified that JUMBO could not afford
negative propaganda in future and that for this
reason they will only accept suppliers from 1st January,
2000, who credibly certify and declare their goods.
After further research the BMF obtained documents
about the garden furniture. According to these papers
the Kong Thai Company in Sarawak is logging a peat
bog forest on an area of 200 km 2 , selling the logs to
the Hua Chin saw mill. It is then exported by the Bilwin
Bhd. Company to Vietnam, where it is made into garden
furniture for the European market by Scanviwood
Ltd. of Denmark in Ho Chi Minh City. An undated
declaration of Sarawak Timber Industry Development
Corporation was enclosed with the papers in which it
accredits itself with sustainable forest management
as well as an old working plan which was valid until
1994, according to which “as much timber as possible
should be removed from the forest”. The fact that indigenous
people also live here was only mentioned at
one point (no. 17 of 59) which states that the local
populace profits in diverse ways from the rainforest.
Not a word on reforestation can be found in the papers!
Unfortunately JUMBO had believed these completely
worthless documents.
For this reason five BMF activists climbed onto the
roof of the JUMBO headquarters in Dietlikon/ZH on
October 22, opened their banner stating, “arsonists in
the rainforest” and lit smoke bombs while Bruno
Manser remained on the ground with the voluntary
BMF firebrigade and informed the management of
JUMBO about the following demands:
1. JUMBO will refrain from further purchases of wood
from virgin rainforests (Ramin, Keruing, Balau,
Limba, a.o.).
2. JUMBO will publish the trade figures on products
made of Ramin, Balau, Keruing. How much profit
did JUMBO make with these woods in 1999 and
how much does JUMBO still stock
3. JUMBO will finance a project for the peoples affected
by logging in Sarawak with profits from its
sales program “Camping 99”, from Ramin strips
and other products made of wood taken from ravaged
virgin forests. This could consist of the mobile
dental clinic for the Penan and Kelabit suggested
by the BMF in Sarawak/Malaysia (running
costs for 2 years: US$ 200,000; present starting
capital: US$ 10,000).
4. JUMBO will declare all woods and wood products
according to species and origin.
JUMBO’s CEO Claude Lewin agreed in written form with
points 1 and 4 but took no notice of the demands for
transparency and recompensation. The head of
JUMBO’s environmental section, Peter Stefani, immediately
assumed his role as “chief of the fire brigade”
and with no need for instructions put out a symbolic
fire with a watering can.
Bruno Manser will gladly accept the invitation to talk
about the issue in a workshop for JUMBO employees.
The BMF, however, also assumes that JUMBO demonstrates
ethical responsibility and stands by its demand
for recompensation. The BMF also still demands the
same from Coop and Möbel Pfister – if necessary, the
BMF will again climb up on the roofs next spring – for
the sake of the forest!
13
JUMBO’s environmental chief extinguishes a symbolic fire.

Switzerland
Rubber tree plantations
jk – In large Swiss wholesale stores one can find cheap
products such as kitchen boards, curtain poles and
more often also furniture made of rubber tree wood
(Hevea). The following words are often written on the
products, “Our contribution to the environment: this
wood is from plantations.” Information as to species
and origin is usually missing. Even environmental
organizations found it sensible to use the wood when
the tree stopped producing latex and no primary forest
had to be cleared. The Malaysian umbrella organization
of the timber industry MTC noticed the same thing.
Enthusiastically it reported on new developments with
genetically modified rubber trees which are not being
planted for their rubber anymore but only for timber
production. “Because the wood of the rubber tree is
accepted internationally,” as Datuk Ismail Awang of
the MTC stated. The BMF’s opinion is: ask for native
Maplewood with your next purchase – the best for your
household!
Source: The Star, October 13, 1999
In praise!
imagination. Where it was technically feasible, concrete
was replaced by wood throughout the entire superstructure.
Raw worked silver fir trunks serve as pillars.
Instead of exporting downgraded stifled
beechwood to Italy, it is made into massive wooden tables
here in Switzerland, which possess a unique
charm especially through their attractive colouring.
Many thanks to the three united associations of the
trades of Basel and the forestry school in Lyss for the
invitation and the tour.
Community campaign
db – We congratulate the following communities on
their decisions to renounce the use of wood from
the exploited virgin forests in public buildings: Würenlos/AG,
Rüte/AI, Schlatt-Haslen/AI, Wenslingen/BL,
Malans/GR, Utzwil/SG, Ramsen/SH, Stein am Rhein/
SH, Nunnigen/SO and Lucens/VD. In the meantime
260 communities with a total population of 2,7 million
and 5 cantons have made this decision. We are especially
happy that all parts of the Canton of Appenzell
Innerrhoden renounce the use of wood from exploited
virgin forests in public buildings. We are looking forwards
for the corresponding decision from the cantonal
government!
Increased use of native wood
bm – The Intercantonal Forestry School in Lyss proves
with its new building, finished in 1997, that wood possesses
unbeatable qualities if used with expertise and
Ban on use of timber from non
sustainable production permitted
according to international law.
bm – Public administrations can give preference to native
wood and desist from using wood from virgin
forests. They can request a serious proof of sustainable
production. The study thus refutes the reasons
stated by the Federal Ministry of Transportation (Bundesverkehrsministerium)
in Germany in 1997 which
suspended the 1989 ban on using tropical wood in the
construction of federal roads by decree; the reason
stated it would violate the International Tropical Timber
Agreement (ITTA, 1997). The legal report by Dr. Harald
Ginzky can be ordered directly from:
ROBIN WOOD, Postfach 10 21 22, D-28021 Bremen,
email: robin_wood@umwelt.ecolink.org
Halberds against tanks
bm – “If we compare the careful sustainable management
of Swiss forests with the industrial clearcutting
practices in Canada, it becomes obvious that we stand
no chance on the market; with our production costs,
it’s like fighting tanks with halberds.”
Remark of a Swiss forest owner, heard by a silent listener
in the train. It seems that forestry is in a global
state of war. The BMF’s suggestion for peace: local
supply.
14
Forestry-school, Lyss

BMF Internal
Where have the poison arrows gone
bm – In the jungle among the primitive Penan people it
is normal to respect the possessions of one’s neighbors.
In civilized Switzerland one cannot recommend
(anymore) leaving one’s things unattended even for a
moment; there has been no clue to the whereabouts of
my rucksack which I left in a hurry under a bush for
want of a luggage locker on July 6 at the train station
in Dietlikon – as well as its contents worth 3,000
Swiss Francs, including the quiver of poison arrows.
Maybe a clairvoyant could help
Nicole and Laura had practised shooting unpoisoned!
arrows using a blowpipe at an event for children. When
Thanks!
dk – We would like to express a very big thank you to
the following persons and institutions which supported
us so generously in 1999: Jean-Jacques Belet, Ernst
Beyeler, Erika & Jürg Binz, Michel Bovey, Samuel
Buri, Arturo Cuéllar-Nathan, Ulla Dreyfus, Greenpeace
Switzerland, Elsbeth Meier, Ruedi Mettler, Maria
Meylan, Olivier Murset, Mark & Ursula Nussberger, Andreas
Ochsenbein, Pro Natura, Renate & Alex Rabus,
Gisèle Rappaz, Nanni Reinhart-Schinz, René & Monika
Rohner , Marco Sager, Eira Schader, Irma Spaenhauer,
Dr. Urs-Peter Stäuble, Barbara & Daniel Strub-Roth,
Dr. Michael Tschanz, Veronika Von Stockar, Martin
Vosseler, Arnold Witzig, Wolfgang Wolfsgruber, the
cities Winterthur and St. Gallen as members of the
Climate Alliance as well as the anonymous donors.
Many heartfelt thanks also to the numerous contributors
who keep supporting the BMF with smaller donations,
every Franc is a commitment for us to continue!
Without the voluntary helpers this would not be possible
– thank you very much:
Marco Bähler, Charlotte Bélet, J.J. Belet, Michel Bovey,
Wädel Brunner, Dominik Bucheli, Marianne & Steve
Dodd, Roger Graf, Guy-Betrand Jaquier, Brunone
Morandi, Sarah Moylan, Chantal Pfiffner, Peter Rudin,
Jürg Schär, Larissa Schönfelder, Michael Studer,
Barbara Sturm, Norbert Vock, Mel & Ben.
The web
Since some time our newsletter can be read on our
homepage “http://www.bmf.ch”. Apart from the
newest information on the BMF you can also find
almost all back issues of our newsletters.
Events
The exhibition of Bruno Manser’s diaries “Die Tagebücher
des Bruno Manser” can be seen in the “Naturmuseum”
in Lucerne until March 19, 2000.
15
Nicole, Laura and budgie Gino – Thank you!
they heard that I got a fine over 1,000 Francs because
of my all too great trust in the good in human nature,
they made little “lucky parcels” out of toys such as
Snurfs, stuffed animals and a pirate’s head mixed with
sweets and sold them for 1 Franc on the street. They
added their allowances to the proceeds and presented
a proud 107 Francs and 10 cents, accompanied by
budgerigar Gino, as a contribution to my fine – our
heartfelt thanks! In future I will be more careful, yet I’ll
keep believing in the good in mankind!
Trees, forests and religions
bm – Persons of different cultures and spiritual
backgrounds have met for the fourth “Klingenthal Symposium”
in France, in September 1999, to find common
conclusions of the world religions about the
safeguard and management of forests. Present were
members of Bahaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism,
Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Shintoism, Taoism,
Rationalists, Indigenous Peoples of Africa, Asia
(including a Penan women from Sarawak), Australia,
Canada, South America, a.o.. The result has been
put on paper and can be ordered thanks to the organizers
at:
Jean Pierre Ribaut, Pax Christi – 27 rue Rabié,
F-33250 Pauillac, fax: 33 (0)5 56 59 68 80,
e-mail: “marie.cais@wanadoo.fr”

Penan folk-tale
The wish to fly
told by Along Segá, Ba Adang
Jengeto spoke to his wife, “Look at me, I am fast. There is only one
thing I have not yet tried out – flying.”
“Oh, if you did not grow wings from birth you will fall to your death!”
“Oh no, I am really fast! How many people have already lost against me –
I am unbeatable!”
Jengeto possessed the leopard tail amulet and could jump from tree trunk
to tree trunk up in the heights. As the two reached a field of ferns Jengeto
began to climb upwards onto a slanting trunk.
“I will fly from up there!”
“If you jump you will die!”
warned his wife.
“Oh no!”
he called to his dearest as he
reached the top,
“Look, great lady,
here I will fly for the first time!”,
spread his arms and jumped into the air.
“Weppp!” it sounded as he fell into the fern field
and “ooohhhh – ooohhhh” he moaned.
“This is the voice of the one who is dying and wanted to fly!”,
his wife fanned air in his face until he came back to life.
“Well, you wanted to fly – where are your wings now, my friend”
she mocked.
“Oh, I really thought I could fly because I was so fast.”
“Jengeto – Peloho – Petem O-o”,
rhymes the humorous
storyteller ad lib,
“Jengeto has fallen
down together with
the termite nest
which he wanted
to hold onto.”
16