Tong Tana December 1999 - Bruno Manser Fonds

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.