Penan Declare 163,000 Hectare Area In Baram Their Peace Park

November 30, 2009
Bernama

MIRI, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- A group of 200 Penan has declared 163,000 hectares of forest area in the Upper Baram as a Penan peace park, claimed a Swiss-based environmental movement, Bruno Manser Fund (BMF).

In an e-mail to Bernama here Monday, BMF claimed that a declaration ceremony took place at a remote village of Long Ajeng in Baram recently to endorse the creation of the park aimed at conserving the area, being the Penan's last remaining primeval forests, as a nature reserve.

"The Penan wish to develop tourism in their region and insist on the protection of their native customary rights," the statement added.

The statement quoted a Penan former penghulu, James Lalo Kesoh, as saying that his community still depended on the forests for their livelihood and they should needed to be preserved for future generations.

"Even though we have settled down and started life as farmers since the late 1950s, we still depend on the forests for our food supply, for raw materials such as rattan for handicrafts, for medicinal plants and for other jungle produce," he said.

Meanwhile, Long Ajeng headman Jawa Nyipa said they hoped the declaration would enable them to live peacefully with their neighbouring tribes and as "fully recognised Malaysian citizens."

"We call this park 'Peace Park' because peace is a very important concept in our culture," he added.

BMF said the proclamation of the new park marked the Penan's challenge to the Sarawak government which had earmarked the area for logging.

-- BERNAMA

‘No plastic’ for three days campaign in Penang

Nov 28, 2009
The Star

GEORGE TOWN: It is “No Plastic Day” on Tuesdays and Wednesdays too in Penang from Jan 1.

The state government has decided to extend its “No Plastic Monday” campaign against the use of plastic bags to three days in a week.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said all hypermarkets, supermarkets and mini-markets would be required to abide by the ruling for their licences to be renewed under the Local Government Act and Municipal Council of Penang Island (Food Establishments) by-laws.

“Consumers who insist on plastic bags will still pay 20sen per plastic bag, which will then be channelled to the state government’s ‘Partners Against Poverty’ fund to wipe out hardcore poverty,” he said.

Lim said even single stores at shopping malls would now be required to adhere to the ruling on Mondays.

He said according to data provided by 45 supermarkets, hypermarkets and other retailers, Penangites saved on the use of more than one million plastic bags since the campaign kicked off in July.

“To date, we have also collected RM21,403 for the fund for the poor,” he added.

“Due to tremendous public support, the state has decided to extend it to three days after discussion with all stakeholders, including non-governmental groups and plastic manufacturers.”

Dams, bio-fuel plantations cannot be classified "green energy": NGO

November 27, 2009
The Star
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: Hydro-electric dam projects and biofuel-plantation projects that uproot tribal folks from their ancestral homes must be de-listed from their ''green energy'' tags and classified as ''people-destructive and eco-unfriendly'' projects, said the latest report from Survival International, a global organisation involved in protecting tribal people.

The organisation, with its headquarters in London, wants the international community and governments to stop classifying these energy-production projects as ''green projects'' if these projects ruined the lives of native communities.

Survival International Director, Stephen Corry, in an email to The Star Friday, furnished a copy of the latest report entitled ''The Most Inconvenient Truth of All'' in which the RM9bil-Bakun Dam and the RM3bil Murum Dam projects in central Sarawak were cited as among these global projects that had harmed the indigenous people and the environment.

The report also criticised similar projects in places in Africa and other continents.

It said that from South America to Borneo, the native people and the environment were suffering more intensely compared to before because of the so-called green projects being implemented by governments and rich corporations.

''Bio-fuel is being promoted all over the world as the alternative green energy to fossil fuels. However, in the pretext of going green, the reverse is actually happening.

''From South America to Borneo, we are seeing the destruction of massive areas of jungles and the ruin of ancestral homes belonging to tens of thousands of tribal people.

''Hiding behind these global push to supposedly prevent climate change by reducing the use of fossil fuels, governments and giant companies are actually using them as excuses to grab land from the natives.

''Projects that victimise the people like this and that harm the environment cannot be promoted or marketed as green projects,'' said Corry.

The Survival International report also said that many of the so-called green fuel projects being implemented across the globe were merely excuses to make money at the expense of the tribal folks and the ecosystem.

Corry said that the world community must see through this hidden agenda.

''As usual, where money is concerned and vast profits are at stake, the indigenous people throughout the world are being swept aside,'' he charged.

The report called for a complete global relook of hydro-electric dam projects and biofuel projects because these projects were causing even more harm to the people and to the environment as compared to before.

The Bakun project in interior Belaga district is already 95percent completed. The flooding of the dam that measures the size of Singapore Island will start next year.

The Murum project, 70kms inland from Bakun, is just starting, with site-construction already in progress.

Food Wastage everywhere....

Photo above - a secondary school event on enviroment but ironically wastage is a common happening. Who cares when food is FREE!

Let me tell you about a very disheartening event. I was at an environment meeting with big shots such as chairman of wellknown green environment group. There was a buffet lunch. And these so-called "green" persons (suppose to lead by example) left their plates with uneaten food. They couldn't finish the food but they were overwhelmed with greed. Such are the wastage culture of Malaysians! Malaysia truly Boleh! Shame on these hypocrites!


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November 27, 2009
CAP: Food wastage on the rise
The Star

GEORGE TOWN: Food wastage is on the rise in Malaysia and a concerted effort is needed to overcome this.

“It is morally wrong to waste food as there are people who are hungry or dying simply because they have no food,” said Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president Mohamed Idris.

Calling on the Government to hold a campaign against food wastage, he said it should encourage proper planning of meals, saving leftovers and sensible ordering when eating out.

“Restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets should give away food to the hungry and destitute.

“Legislations should also be introduced to penalise those who waste food including hotels, large eateries and factory canteens,” he told a press conference yesterday, adding that food wastage should be made a crime.

“Government agencies and companies should not go overboard on the amount of food served at official and corporate functions.”

Malaysians are expected to generate 30,000 tonnes of waste per day in 2020, with about 45% being food.

Website here

Penang marts must observe ‘No Plastic Monday’ from Jan

November 21, 2009
The Star
By TUNKU SHAHARIAH

GEORGE TOWN: Effective January next year, all hypermarkets, supermarkets and minimarkets will have to comply with the ‘No Plastic Monday’ if they want to get their licences renewed.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said those applying for new licences will also have to abide by the ruling.

He added, the state was aware that there were irresponsible supermarkets and minimarkets that had flouted the ‘No Plastic Monday’ ruling and had discreetly provided plastic bags to their customers.

He added, the state government was considering extending the four-months ‘No Plastic Monday’ introduced in July so that more people will get used to not using plastic bags.

“According to the data provided by 45 supermarkets, hypermarkets and other retailers, it is estimated that Penangites had saved over one million plastic bags in four months.

“Imagine if we had not embarked on this effort, one million plastic bags would now be contaminating our landfill, drainage and rivers,” he said at the prize-giving ceremony of the ‘Go Green Campaign” at Queensbay Mall Saturday.

Lim said there were 44 other “No Plastic” countries or cities like Penang, which was the first state in the country to cut down on plastic bag consumption through a voluntary programme.

“Even the Federal Government has announced that they will follow suit. All of us in the global community must realise the importance of preserving, protecting and promoting our environment not only for the investors, tourists but also for our future generation,” he added.

Lim said apart from this, other green projects by the state included the planting of 38,635 trees that accounted for 77% of state’s objective for this year.

Earlier, Lim presented a sofa set worth RM6,000 to lucky draw grand prize winner of the “Go Green Campaign” contest, Kam Gaik Mooi, 47 from Penang.

Queensbay Mall advertisement and promotions manager Wendy Wong said the mall was proud to initiate the ‘Go Green Campaign’ where customers who shop with an eco bag and spend a minimum of RM20 at the mall were entitled to participate.

She added that a total of 18,679 contest forms were received between July 6 and Sept 30.

Apart from Kam, six other shoppers received shopping vouchers worth RM100 each as consolation prizes.

Unimas calls for rescue mission of animals threatened by Murum Dam

November 4, 2009
Star
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: A Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) team had called for a wildlife rescue mission to save and relocate endangered animals at the construction site of the RM3bil Murum Hydro-Electric Dam in Belaga district in central Sarawak.

Some 19 species of mammals and 99 species of birds - many of them considered rare - will have their habitats destroyed when the flooding of the dam reservoir begins.

The team also noted that even before the construction of the dam started, logging and related human activities had already severely disturbed the flora and fauna.

Unimas had carried out a ground survey at the Murum Dam site, located some 183km from Bintulu, and had found that the region has a rich heritage of plant and animal-life.

The university’s Centre for Technology Transfer and Consultancy had deployed a team of researchers to the Murum area to study the impact that the dam will have on the ecosystem.

The team had compiled a report on their findings and had forwarded the report to the state authorities and to Sarawak Energy Bhd, the lead developer of the dam project.

The construction of the Murum Dam has begun in earnest, with site clearing, road clearing, hill blasting and transportation of raw materials and workers in full-swing.

“A field survey of 15 sites in the forests affected by the Murum project found 99 species of birds and at least 19 species of mammals.

“Fifteen of these bird species are classified as rare. Sixteen species of these birds are protected and six species, mainly the Hornbills and Argus Pheasants, are protected under the Sarawak Wildlife Pro­tection Ordinance.

Other protected mammals included the Western Tarsier, Borneon Gibbon and Giant Squirrel.

“The Naked Bat, Red Langur and Borneon Gibbons are threatened species. Some 39 species of these birds are endemic to Borneo and 23 of these species are already threatened,” said the report.

Among the endangered bird species found in Murum are Lesser Fish Eagles, Indian Cuckoo, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Great Slaty Woodpecker and Black-thigh Falcon and many species of hornbills found only in Sarawak, said the report.

The clearing of the access road into Murum Dam site from the Bakun Hydro-Electric Dam some 70kms away, had already affected many of the animals and birds along the route, the report said.

Muru Dam: More than 100 wildlife species at risk

Nov 2, 2009
Star
By STEPHEN THEN

MIRI: Some 19 species of mammals and 99 species of birds, many of them considered rare and endangered, will have their habitats destroyed because of the construction of the RM3bil Murum Hydro-Electric Dam in Belaga district in central Sarawak.

These creatures, living in the Murum, Danum and Plieran valleys, will be forced away or drowned by the inundation of 24,000ha of land and rivers under 141m of water once the dam is completed by 2013.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) carried out a ground survey at the Murum Dam site, located some 183km from Bintulu, and found that the region has a rich heritage of plant and animal life.

The university’s Centre for Technology Transfer and Consultancy deployed a team of researchers to the Murum area to study the impact that the dam will have on the ecosystem.

The team had compiled a report on its findings and forwarded it report to the state authorities and Sarawak Energy Bhd, the lead developer of the dam project.

The Star obtained a copy of the report, in which the researchers had recommended urgent measures to be taken to rescue the affected animals before the flooding of the dam reservoir begins.

(The construction of the Murum Dam has already begun in ernest, with site clearing, road clearing, hill blasting and transportation of raw materials and workers in full-swing).

“A field survey of 15 sites in the forests affected by the Murum project found 99 species of birds and at least 19 species of mammals.

“Fifteen of these bird species are classified as rare. Sixteen species of these birds are protected and six species, mainly the Hornbill and Argus Pheasant, are totally protected under the Sarawak Wildlife Protection Ordinance.

“The totally protected mammals encountered during the survey included the Western Tarsier, Borneon Gibbon and Giant Squirrel.

“The Naked Bat, Red Langur and Borneon Gibbons are threatened species. Some 39 species of these birds are endemic to Borneo and 23 of these species are already threatened,” said the report.

Among the endangered bird species found in Murum are the Lesser Fish Eagle, Indian Cuckoo, Red-Bearded Bee-eater, Great Slaty Woodpecker and Black-thigh Falcon and many species of hornbill found only in Sarawak, said the report.

The report said that these birds and mammals are a very integral part of the Murum territory.

The clearing of the access road into Murum Dam site from the Bakun Hydro-Electric Dam some 70km away has already affected many of the animals and birds along the route, said the report, pointing out that the noise pollution, clearing of the timber and the loss of the plants and insect lives had resulted in the mass migration of some of the birds already.

The Unimas team proposed that a wildlife rescue mission be carried out soon to save and relocate these animals, especially the mammals that would not be able to migrate to higher grounds once the area was flooded.

The team also noted that even before the construction of the dam started, logging and related human activities had already severely disturbed the flora and fauna in the three valleys.

Murum and Bakun are adjacent to each other. There are at least four giant timber consortiums carrying out logging operations in the Bakun and its hinterland, as well as several huge oil-palm plantations that had converted post-logged regions into massive oil-palm estates.