International donors shocked by Forest Department’s cancellation of Upper Baram Forest Area project

MIRI (Oct 15): The Forest Department Sarawak’s (FDS) cancellation of the US$1.4 million (RM6.03 million) Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA) conservation project last Thursday has shocked international donors.

It is understood that representatives of the donors – the government of Japan, the City of Basel in Switzerland, and the Swiss non-governmental organisation (NGO) Bruno Manser Fonds (BMF) – had arrived here to attend a project meeting but were caught by surprise when told it had been scrapped.

In a statement today, BMF and Save Rivers claimed there was a lack of transparency in the Sarawak government’s decision to backtrack on the project, which involved the management of 285,000ha of forest and agricultural land in the Upper Baram region.

BMF director Lukas Straumann criticised the decision by FDS and International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) for failing to act with sufficient independence from its execution agency.

“The ITTO should have made it clear from the beginning that, in an internationally funded project, key principles such as transparency and adherence to free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) standards are non-negotiable,” he said.

UBFA was initially proposed as the Baram Peace Park for funding by the Malaysian government, and approved by the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) at its 57th session from November to December 2021. The project commenced in September 2023.

However, at the meeting last Thursday, the department said it wanted the project scrapped following ongoing challenges and disruptions in project implementation.

UBFA initially extended over 283,500ha of forest and agricultural lands in Sarawak’s Upper Baram region, including an existing area of 79,000 ha of primary forest from existing logging concessions for conservation.

SFD blamed Save Rivers and Bruno Manser Fund for scuttling the project through various actions.

ITTO executive director Sheam Satkuru said the request to terminate the “first of its kind” project should comply with due procedures.

“ITTO fully appreciates the complexities and sensitivities involved in this project and was determined to ensure that its key outcomes were attainable through close collaboration amongst all partners.

“It is indeed highly unfortunate that this innovative project will not be completed as planned,” she said.