Malaysia to allow logging in indigenous 'peace park' to proceed

Malaysia, the country with the fastest rate of greenhouse gas emissions growth since 1990 among middle and upper income countries, will allow logging to proceed in a contested rainforest area in Sarawak, on the island of Borneo.

The government of Sarawak said it will not recognize the status of a rainforest "peace park" established last month by Penan tribesmen. The park was declared by the Penan as a means to draw attention to their complaints that logging companies continue to decimate their traditional lands. The peace park lies within a zone slated for logging.

Sarawak state forest director and Acting Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Planning and Resource Management, Len Talif Salleh said international media coverage of the peace park "tainted Sarawak's image." He claimed the Penan are being "instigated and manipulated by foreign non-governmental organizations" which displayed a "post-colonial mentality" and have "hidden" agendas.

Headman Jawa Nyipa (center) of Long Ajeng presents a map with the boundaries of the new "“Penan Peace Park"
"The establishment of Penan Peace Park announced by 17 Penan communities at Long Ajeng has no legal basis and is not recognized by the state government," reported The Borneo Post* after a conversation with Len.

The peace park covers some 163,000 hectares of tropical forest in Sarawak's Upper Baram region. The Penan had hoped the park could become a model for community-managed protected areas, according to the Bruno Manser Fund, an NGO that has been supporting the Penan's efforts to fight logging in Sarawak.

* The Borneo Post is owned by the Malaysian KTS logging group, according to the the Bruno Manser Fund.

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FYI: The indigenous peoples are not the only ones falling victim... There is a huge demand in the black market for endangered species. Primates, small mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians...

Wildlife caught in the (illegal) animal-trade are:

- sold as 'pets'
- killed for use in 'traditional' medicines/remedies
- held captive for entertainment (unregulated zoos, circuses)
- sold to research facilities (animal testing laboratories).


FACT: The oil palm industry is responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of orangutans. Killing a single orangutan is illegal in Indonesia, which makes you wonder why not one oil palm company has been prosecuted for the mass slaughter which continues to this day.


HELP SAVE OUR PLANET JUST BY CHOOSING TO BE
A COMPASSIONATE & EDUCATED CONSUMER!

KNOW WHERE WOOD DERIVED PRODUCTS ARE SOURCED (FURNITURE, PHOTO FRAMES, BUILDING MATERIALS, PAPER,...) BEFORE YOU BUY.


http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1216-penan.html