Support Indigenous forest protection in Borneo

Happy new year! We have so many reasons to celebrate, with last year seeing some big gains for Indigenous-led climate justice in Sarawak. 

Firstly, timber giant Samling stopped logging and withdrew its machinery from a key conservation area. 

Samling has withdrawn from several sites on Indigenous territory in the upper Baram River Basin thanks to massive pressure from local communities. This shows how our coalition of grassroots organizations with relatively small financial means has a big impact, even when facing powerful corporations with deeply embedded political ties.

Secondly, we published the Baram Heritage Survey Community Atlases.

These atlases were the result of two years of wildlife, social, hunting and fishing surveys collected by community members from 6 different villages. The people of Baram have an incredible depth of knowledge, and the atlases can be used to help outsiders understand their lives and the forests they have managed for centuries. The survey provided jobs for 10 people during a time when many had lost their source of income, in a remote area where very few paying jobs exist. 

And lastly, plans for the Baram Peace Park started to take shape!

Official plans for this trailblazing Indigenous-managed protected area were approved by the International Tropical Timber Organization. In 2023 we will be working with our local partners to get the project off the ground. Our work will continue to push for alternative rural livelihoods that promote sustainability and forest protection, not destruction.

Thanks to your generosity, we’re making it happen! Please support this important work by donating to The Borneo Project today. 

In solidarity,

Jettie Word, Director.