Logging still threatens Bornean forest once envisioned as an Indigenous-led peace park
A conservation park that Indigenous communities from the Malaysian state of Sarawak believed they could co-manage and self-govern has been transformed into a timber concession and stripped of critical tree cover, according to a recently published report. A group of civil society organizations based in Malaysia and abroad launched the report, “Plundering the Baram Peace […]
A once-promised community-led conservation park in Sarawak, Malaysia has been reduced to a timber concession, according to a new report titled "Plundering the Baram Peace Park." The report, released by civil society organizations from Malaysia and abroad, details the transformation of the Upper Baram Forest Area, which was intended to be co-managed by Indigenous communities.
The park was proposed over 15 years ago and gained momentum in 2021 when the Sarawak forest department sought funding from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), securing $1.4 million to develop a park program with 32 Indigenous Penan, Kenyah, Kelabit, and Saban communities. However, the report highlights the logging of primary forest and irregularities in the concession process, as well as the continued financial support from ITTO, despite the collapse of a coalition involving Indigenous community members, the Sarawak government, and civil society in 2024.
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