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.