Tens of thousands of hectares of Sarawak’s original territory were handed over to billionaire loggers and plantation owners who drained the country’s wealth and planted only monocultures of oil palm and acacia trees, which are home to rats and snakes.
Abang Johari has promised to stop the destruction. And indeed, the Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fonds has reminded us of this by calling for the creation of a protected Penan Biosphere With only 870 hectares of her remaining hunting grounds in Magoh, Abang Johari personally led the Sarawak State Planning Department when it proposed the region as one of seven areas that met the criteria for a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1987.
Now that he has climbed the corporate ladder to secure the post of Prime Minister and, moreover, claimed “total control” over the state’s environment, it is time for him to put this principle into practice and push through his own proposal.
Hardly a day goes by without the state government announcing supposedly green initiatives: simply by agreeing to recognize this region and banning the constant illegal deforestation of the indigenous people’s lands, financed by friendly companies, it could at least gain a little credibility.
BRUNO MANSER FUND, BASEL/SWITZERLAND
August 9, 2024 – for immediate releasePenan campaign for UNESCO biosphere reserve in Borneo
On World Indigenous Peoples Day, a group of indigenous Penan people are launching a campaign for a new biosphere reserve in Sarawak, the Magoh Biosphere. The Penan are demanding that their forests be protected from deforestation by logging companies so that they can continue to
use them sustainably, improve their standard of living and secure their rights as indigenous peoples.
(Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia) On the occasion of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, a Penan delegation from Magoh, Sarawak, is travelling to Sarawak’s capital city of Kuching to launch the campaign for a UNESCO-protected Magoh Biosphere Reserve. The area is to be managed by the Penan, an indigenous people from
Sarawak, whose culture is closely linked to the tropical rainforest of Borneo.
The Magoh Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 870 hectares in inland Sarawak, connecting Gunung Mulu National Park with Pulong Tau National Park. The region consists of primary and secondary rainforests of high conservation value and plays an important role as a wildlife corridor. It is home to threatened mammals such as pangolins, sun bears and clouded leopards, as well as several rare hornbills.
Species.
The Magoh Biosphere Reserve has set itself the goal of stopping deforestation in this area. Penan leader Peng Megut from Long Tevenga explains: “The logging companies do not consult us, but we
are here, we have always been here and we want to continue to protect the forest.” The Magoh Declaration was signed by 96 Penan from 15 communities and delivered today to the office of Sarawak Prime Minister Abang Johari. Penan leader Guman Megut from Long Dau’un hopes “that we can count on the Prime Minister of Sarawak and that he supports our desire to protect the forest for us and future generations.”
The Penan’s call for protection of the Magoh Forest is nothing new for the Sarawak Prime Minister: in 1987, Abang Johari, then Penan Minister, was responsible for a study by the Sarawak State Planning Department, which mentioned the Magoh region as one of seven areas that met the criteria for a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
Would you like to receive notifications about new articles? Visit our subscription page.
