Dayak’s Oil Palm Planters Association rebukes Human Rights Watch call on EURD listing

KUCHING (Sept 29): The Dayak’s Oil Palm Planters Association (Doppa), a non-profit organisation which protects the interests of the indigenous palm oil smallholders, has issued a rebuke against the Human Rights Watch (HRW) who called on the European Union to list Sarawak as ‘high-risk’ for deforestation.

In expressing his displeasure, Doppa president Napolean R Ningkos described the call by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) as ‘offensive’.

He added the call was a threat to the livelihoods of indigenous palm oil farmers in Sarawak since most of them depend on fair market access for stable incomes.

“HRW should have consulted with us before including Sarawak’s palm oil in their negative campaign,” he said in a statement yesterday.

It is understood that Doppa represents more than 40,000 Dayak palm oil smallholders, and every member represents a family whose livelihoods and future are derived from the family’s small-scale palm oil farm.

“If you consider our indigenous friends and relatives who work with us in our farms to make a living, this call by HRW will send us back to living in the forests.

“We have fought too hard to get our rights to join a developed society, thus we should not stay silent while HRW misrepresents the facts about Sarawak,” Napolean stressed, adding that Doppa has been steadfast in voicing its opposition to EU’s deforestation regulation (EUDR).

When making the call, HRW included naturally regenerating forests as part of deforestation in Sarawak, which Doppa sees as a clever exploitation of the EUDR by the NGO.

In rubbishing the call, Doppa claimed that the definition of ‘forest’ in the EUDR is an attack on Sarawak natives’ rights to decide what to do with their ancestral land.

Doppa also claimed that HRW was out to sustain the exploitation by reporting that there are millions of hectares of ancient rainforests in Sarawak at risk of being razed for palm oil.

To this, Napolean said: “Naturally regenerating forests are not ancient forests. If we are to believe HRW and the EU definition of forests, then the land clearing done by my cousin three years ago is now a ‘forest’ as the natural regeneration has shrubs over five metres tall. Would the satellite mapping of EUDR exclude Sarawak palm oil because of this?

“Also, the EU’s definition of natural forest must not be applied to Native Customary Rights (NCR) land in Sarawak, considering the area developed much earlier before the introduction of the EUDR,” he argued, adding that cultivating NCR land for palm oil plantation is important for improving the socio-economic status of Dayak residing in rural areas.

Furthermore, Napolean said the EUDR’s restrictions on the opening of new planting areas for palm oil deny the indigenous communities’ rights to cultivate their land and break free from the shackles of poverty.

Doppa argued that the EU’s failure in engaging with indigenous communities prior to the introduction of its regulation is now being used by NGOs to push their agenda against palm oil.

Doppa also explained that the Sarawak government’s land-use policies are very clear and transparent, stating that no new planting of palm oil is allowed on state land except on NCR land, aside from introducing a mechanism to verify the NCR land status through one-stop centres and encouraging the Dayak to plant palm oil on their NCR lands to improve their income.

“As of September 2024, 1.13 million hectares of an estimated two million hectares of native customary lands have been mapped out in Sarawak.

“This completely refutes HRW claims that native land claims in Sarawak require additional scrutiny by the EU,” Napolean said.