http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/10/31/southneast/2371544&sec=southneast
Friday October 31, 2008
Kelabits want access
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: The minority Kelabit community in the Bario highlands of northern Sarawak will ensure that the building of a 300km mountain-logging road will not destroy the terrain’s ecosystem, said the Kelabit National Association.
Part of the Bario highlands, located near the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, had been alienated for selective logging, said association president Gerawat Gala.
He said the logging project had the blessings of his community members who lived all over the highlands.
They had given approval to timber giant Samling Corporation to manage this long, winding logging road from the summit of Bario to Miri, said Gala.
He added that the Kelabits, a minority ethnic group in Sarawak, had taken part in the decision-making process before the projects were approved by the Sarawak government.
The community would ensure that utmost care be taken to prevent damage to the Bario ecology, he said.
“We recognise that government authorities had licensed part of the highlands for selective logging and have decided to cooperate with the authorities and Samling Corp to ensure our community benefits from the improved accessibility.
“We value our environment and are mindful of the need to ensure continued sustainability of our forests. As a community, we have worked well with the timber company in addressing various issues that affect us.
“The logging road is needed as, without the link, we cannot realise the development potential of our people,” he said.
Recently, concerns were expressed by environmental watchdog group Borneo Resources Institute over the opening of Bario for the projects.
Ba’Kelalan state assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining said the road was needed to bring down prices of goods and fuel in Bario and prevent shortages.
The institute’s Sarawak coordinator Raymond Abin had the Bario-Miri logging road may result in more highland forests being logged.
Abin’s fears may be true, but Gala said the logging would not cause much harm as the timber felling would be done via selective logging.
“Our community will not allow our forests and mountains to be destroyed. We will work closely with the timber firm to ensure our forests are sustained,” said Gala.
Asked about the size of the area allocated for logging, Gala said he did not have exact figures.
On how his community would ensure no major damage would be inflicted by the logging, he said that Samling Corp had assured this to his people.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Bario communities wanted the logging road
The Star Online
Published: Thursday October 23, 2008 MYT 2:44:00 PM
Updated: Thursday October 23, 2008 MYT 3:02:46 PM
'Bario communities wanted the logging road'
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: The Sarawak government had to allow a logging road built all the way into the remote Bario highlands to ensure villagers had access to goods and fuel at lower prices and to prevent future shortages of necessities.
Ba'Kelalan state assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining said on Thursday that the road was constructed after the highland communities had discussed the matter. "The people of Bario discussed this issue at length. They decided that the logging road had to be built. This logging road built by Samling Corporation has connected Bario all the way to Miri. "It will facilitate smoother transport of large amount of food, goods and fuel from Miri to Bario. This will help to ensure enough supply of these neccessities in the highlands. "An ample supply of these goods will help to bring down the price of these commodities in the highlands.
"At present, suppliers have to pay huge overhead costs just to transport these items to Bario by flights and by land from other smaller towns. "That is why the prices of fuel, food and other daily necessities and construction materials in Bario are five times more expensive than in urban areas of Sarawak.
"This logging road will eventually help to reduce the prices and ensure constant stable supply at all times," he told The Star.
Balang was responding to the concerns expressed by environmental-watchdog group Borneo Resources Institute concerning the 300km-long logging road that had been built right to the summit of the 1,600 metres high mountain.
Institute coordinator for Sarawak, Raymond Abin, had said the construction of this road might result in more highland forests being logged.
The clearing of the Bario forests would irreparably damage the ecosystem and alter the weather pattern, Abin had said. The institute had also questioned why the construction of the Miri-Bario logging road had not been made public before building began and why an environmental-impact assessment study was not done beforehand.
Balang responded on Wednesday that as far as he knew, the logging road built by Samling Corporation did not to be gazetted publicly.
"There is no need for any public announcement of the project because it is built by a private company. It is Samling's right to construct the road following the request from the people of Bario," he said.
Asked if the construction of the logging road into the highlands required an EIA, Balang said that he was not sure about this matter. On concerns that the interior's ecology and weather system would be damaged permanently, he said his main concern now was to help alleviate the hardship suffered by his constituents as much as possible.
Published: Thursday October 23, 2008 MYT 2:44:00 PM
Updated: Thursday October 23, 2008 MYT 3:02:46 PM
'Bario communities wanted the logging road'
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: The Sarawak government had to allow a logging road built all the way into the remote Bario highlands to ensure villagers had access to goods and fuel at lower prices and to prevent future shortages of necessities.
Ba'Kelalan state assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining said on Thursday that the road was constructed after the highland communities had discussed the matter. "The people of Bario discussed this issue at length. They decided that the logging road had to be built. This logging road built by Samling Corporation has connected Bario all the way to Miri. "It will facilitate smoother transport of large amount of food, goods and fuel from Miri to Bario. This will help to ensure enough supply of these neccessities in the highlands. "An ample supply of these goods will help to bring down the price of these commodities in the highlands.
"At present, suppliers have to pay huge overhead costs just to transport these items to Bario by flights and by land from other smaller towns. "That is why the prices of fuel, food and other daily necessities and construction materials in Bario are five times more expensive than in urban areas of Sarawak.
"This logging road will eventually help to reduce the prices and ensure constant stable supply at all times," he told The Star.
Balang was responding to the concerns expressed by environmental-watchdog group Borneo Resources Institute concerning the 300km-long logging road that had been built right to the summit of the 1,600 metres high mountain.
Institute coordinator for Sarawak, Raymond Abin, had said the construction of this road might result in more highland forests being logged.
The clearing of the Bario forests would irreparably damage the ecosystem and alter the weather pattern, Abin had said. The institute had also questioned why the construction of the Miri-Bario logging road had not been made public before building began and why an environmental-impact assessment study was not done beforehand.
Balang responded on Wednesday that as far as he knew, the logging road built by Samling Corporation did not to be gazetted publicly.
"There is no need for any public announcement of the project because it is built by a private company. It is Samling's right to construct the road following the request from the people of Bario," he said.
Asked if the construction of the logging road into the highlands required an EIA, Balang said that he was not sure about this matter. On concerns that the interior's ecology and weather system would be damaged permanently, he said his main concern now was to help alleviate the hardship suffered by his constituents as much as possible.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Borneo logging road puts rainforest, indigenous communities at risk
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1022-borneo.html
Borneo logging road puts rainforest, indigenous communities at risk
mongabay.com
October 22, 2008
A 186-mile (300-km) logging road to the top of the Bario highlands in northern Sarawak puts the state's increasingly rare natural forest at risk, warns the Borneo Resources Institute, a grassroots environmental group.
As reported by the Malaysian Star, the road was constructed by Samling Corporation, a timber company, to open up the interior to industrial logging.
"From what I know, the road was constructed by a timber company, not by the Government," Raymond Abin, Sarawak coordinator for the Borneo Resources Institute, told the Star. "Does this mean that the timber firm has been given the right to harvest the timber in the forests where the logging road runs through?
"Our institute is worried that the construction of this logging road is merely a front for the opening of the whole Bario highlands for timber extraction," he continued. "The Bario highlands is a very ecologically-important region. The ecosystem and the weather system there is very fragile."
Vast swathes of the biologically-rich Bornean rainforest that once blanketed Sarawak have be heavily logged since the 1980s. What forest remains is increasingly being replaced with industrial oil palm plantations.
The Bario highlands are populated by the Bawangs and Kelabits minority ethnic groups.
STEPHEN THEN. Concern over logging road into Bario highland. Malaysian Star. Wednesday October 22, 2008
Borneo logging road puts rainforest, indigenous communities at risk
mongabay.com
October 22, 2008
A 186-mile (300-km) logging road to the top of the Bario highlands in northern Sarawak puts the state's increasingly rare natural forest at risk, warns the Borneo Resources Institute, a grassroots environmental group.
As reported by the Malaysian Star, the road was constructed by Samling Corporation, a timber company, to open up the interior to industrial logging.
"From what I know, the road was constructed by a timber company, not by the Government," Raymond Abin, Sarawak coordinator for the Borneo Resources Institute, told the Star. "Does this mean that the timber firm has been given the right to harvest the timber in the forests where the logging road runs through?
"Our institute is worried that the construction of this logging road is merely a front for the opening of the whole Bario highlands for timber extraction," he continued. "The Bario highlands is a very ecologically-important region. The ecosystem and the weather system there is very fragile."
Vast swathes of the biologically-rich Bornean rainforest that once blanketed Sarawak have be heavily logged since the 1980s. What forest remains is increasingly being replaced with industrial oil palm plantations.
The Bario highlands are populated by the Bawangs and Kelabits minority ethnic groups.
STEPHEN THEN. Concern over logging road into Bario highland. Malaysian Star. Wednesday October 22, 2008
Concern over logging road into Bario highland
http://article.wn.com/view/2008/10/22/Concern_over_logging_road_into_Bario_highland/
Published: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 2:45:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 3:07:52 PM
Concern over logging road into Bario highland
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: The 300-km long mountain-logging road right to the top of the Bario highlands in northern Sarawak will permanently damage the ecology and weather systems in Sarawak's interior, warned environmental-watchdog group Borneo Resources Institute.
Institute coordinator for Sarawak, Raymond Abin, said this road might result in more highland forests being logged and this would spell the end of the pristine nature of Bario.
"We (his institute) are totally caught offguard by the news that this logging road has already been built all the way into the top of Bario highlands.
“The Bario highlands is a very ecologically-important region. The ecosystem and the weather system there is very fragile.
"From what I know, the road was constructed by a timber company, not by the Government. Does this mean that the timber firm has been given the right to harvest the timber in the forests where the logging road runs through? "Our institute is worried that the construction of this logging road is merely a front for the opening of the whole Bario highlands for timber extraction," he said on Wednesday. Ba'Kelalan state assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining has confirmed that the logging road had been constructed right into the heart of the 5,000 feet high Bario mountain range, connecting it all the way to Miri.
Balang said the road would open up the entire Bario highlands for socio-economic development and will herald in a new era of progress for more than 5,000 highlanders living in Bario.
"The construction of this logging road is a very important move to link the people of the highlands with the outside world. This logging road will enable the interior folks to travel all the way from Bario to Miri by land, something that was impossible before.
"This logging road is crucial because it will open up accessibility to settlements that were once only linked by flights. It will facilitate easier transport of fuel and food into the remote highland settlements," he said, adding that the journey from Miri to Bario via the logging road will take at least 13 hours.
The road from Miri will cut through Marudi, Long Banga, Padilih and up the slope of the Bario highlands to the Bario Airport.
The Bario highlands is similar in geographical settings to the Genting highlands. Populated by the Lun Bawangs and Kelabits minority ethnic groups, Bario is well-known for its fragrant rice and tourism spots. Balang on Wednesday said the logging road belonged to Samling Corporation, not the state or federal Government.
"The road will remain under the jurisdiction of Samling. However, it is the people's wish to see the road eventually upgraded into a Government-road. I hope the Government can adopt the road and tar-seal it in the near future," he said.
Balang said the construction of the Miri-Bario logging road did not infringe into any national park or forests reserve. Abin said his institute wanted the state government to disclose whether any logging concession had been given out in the Bario highlands and if any environmental impact assessment was done before the road was built.
Published: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 2:45:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday October 22, 2008 MYT 3:07:52 PM
Concern over logging road into Bario highland
By STEPHEN THEN
MIRI: The 300-km long mountain-logging road right to the top of the Bario highlands in northern Sarawak will permanently damage the ecology and weather systems in Sarawak's interior, warned environmental-watchdog group Borneo Resources Institute.
Institute coordinator for Sarawak, Raymond Abin, said this road might result in more highland forests being logged and this would spell the end of the pristine nature of Bario.
"We (his institute) are totally caught offguard by the news that this logging road has already been built all the way into the top of Bario highlands.
“The Bario highlands is a very ecologically-important region. The ecosystem and the weather system there is very fragile.
"From what I know, the road was constructed by a timber company, not by the Government. Does this mean that the timber firm has been given the right to harvest the timber in the forests where the logging road runs through? "Our institute is worried that the construction of this logging road is merely a front for the opening of the whole Bario highlands for timber extraction," he said on Wednesday. Ba'Kelalan state assemblyman Nelson Balang Rining has confirmed that the logging road had been constructed right into the heart of the 5,000 feet high Bario mountain range, connecting it all the way to Miri.
Balang said the road would open up the entire Bario highlands for socio-economic development and will herald in a new era of progress for more than 5,000 highlanders living in Bario.
"The construction of this logging road is a very important move to link the people of the highlands with the outside world. This logging road will enable the interior folks to travel all the way from Bario to Miri by land, something that was impossible before.
"This logging road is crucial because it will open up accessibility to settlements that were once only linked by flights. It will facilitate easier transport of fuel and food into the remote highland settlements," he said, adding that the journey from Miri to Bario via the logging road will take at least 13 hours.
The road from Miri will cut through Marudi, Long Banga, Padilih and up the slope of the Bario highlands to the Bario Airport.
The Bario highlands is similar in geographical settings to the Genting highlands. Populated by the Lun Bawangs and Kelabits minority ethnic groups, Bario is well-known for its fragrant rice and tourism spots. Balang on Wednesday said the logging road belonged to Samling Corporation, not the state or federal Government.
"The road will remain under the jurisdiction of Samling. However, it is the people's wish to see the road eventually upgraded into a Government-road. I hope the Government can adopt the road and tar-seal it in the near future," he said.
Balang said the construction of the Miri-Bario logging road did not infringe into any national park or forests reserve. Abin said his institute wanted the state government to disclose whether any logging concession had been given out in the Bario highlands and if any environmental impact assessment was done before the road was built.
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