THE PENAN SPEAKING FOR THE RAINFOREST

Forest and Bird, Volume 22, Issue 2, 1 May 1991, Page 32

THE PENAN SPEAKING FOR THE RAINFOREST

by

Grant Rosoman

Time is running out for the rainforest inhabitants of Sarawak — the humans, the wildlife, the plants. In a decade’s time one of the world’s largest remaining areas of intact primary rainforest could be logged, the tremendous diversity within it extinguished. Grant Rosoman recently visited the Penan tribe to investigate their plight. AST RAFTS OF LOGS float by in the mustard yellow river. On the banks the forest giants lie in clumsy piles — the booty of Malaysia's timber tycoons, ready for export to distant markets. This is the Baram River in northern Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Speeding along in an express longboat, I hurtle deeper into the interior. The remains of the once magnificent forest protrude through the patchy regrowth and scars of logging roads can be seen on nearby hill sides. Occasionally the boat pulls up at a village or forestry camp to set down passengers.

Last Eden

By nightfall, after hitching a ride on a logging company landcruiser, I arrive at the Penan village Long Bangan. By flickering lamp light I am greeted warmly and given food and drink, in front of an audience of curious onlookers. | have come to the home of the chairman of the Sarawak Penan Association, Juwin Lehan, to witness the tribe's plight and deliver money raised in New Zealand by the 1989/90 Rainforest Roadshow and the Christchurch Tropical Rainforest Action Group. The Penan are one of seven tribal groups (collectively known as Dayaks) living in Sarawak's forest interior who have been fighting for their survival as a result of the logging of their traditional lands. The Penan are particularly affected as they are nomadic huntergatherers, living solely off the plants and animals in the forest. Over the 40,000 years that their ancestors have inhabited the area, they have developed a lifestyle in harmony with an ancient forest ecosystem. It is they who can show us what real sustainable forest management is and how to tread lightly on this Earth. Borneo has been described at the "last Eden’, after its amazing array of plants and animals. Its biodiversity, 180 million years in the making, has yet to be fully appreciated. Many unique animals inhabit the forests: 15 cm-long cicadas, 13 species of hornbills, the endangered clouded leopard, sun bear, orang-utan and rhinoceros. Just one family of forest trees, the dipterocarps, which happen to make up the majority of the timber species exploited, contains in excess of 300 species. A mere 10 hectares of Sarawak rainforest may support 700 tree species, more than the total number of native tree and shrub species found in New Zealand. However, it is this very richness that has brought the whine of the chainsaw and conflict to these tranquil forests. In 1989 Malaysia made $NZ4.3 billion

from timber exports, a major part of this being unprocessed logs from Sarawak. The Sarawak Government and the timber industry cash in on the forests, the very same forests that the 650,000 tribal people depend on. In New Zealand we obtain over half of our tropical timber imports from Malaysia either directly, or indirectly via Hong Kong or Taiwan. Much of this originates in Sarawak. The timbers such as balau, chengal, merbau and ramin are commonly used for decking, joinery, furniture, weatherboarding and some structural purposes. We have locally grown timber alternatives available for every present use of tropical timber. As a consumer of tropi-

cal rainforest timber, New Zealand is directly contributing to the destruction of the forests and the lives of the people who depend on them.

Logging blockades

As logging intensified in the mid-1980s and the Government ignored the Dayaks’ pleas for their land rights to be recognized, the frustrated tribal people ran out of options. They chose to blockade the loggers. In 1987, when the first blockades were mounted, they lasted for several months and brought the logging to a halt in many areas. The blockades have continued, with hundreds of Dayak people arrested and detained for periods in jail. Recently some have been convicted and fined. As a result, the tribal people made a plea for help to the rest of the world.

The money I delivered was to go towards legal, travel and food expenses incurred as a consequence of the blockades. In early February, the Penan and other tribal people resumed the blockades against a Government that has been given international support for the continued destruction through a recent International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) report (see box). I was deeply saddened by the state of the people, the forests and rivers as a result of the logging. The Penan are such gentle and warm people whose modest lifestyle has been shattered. Even though a lush blanket of vegetation clothed the hills around Long Bangan and Long Iman, it was only secondary growth, regenerated since the loggers moved on five years ago. With the disappearance of the primary forest went most of their food, medicines, building and craft sources. Their staple food (the sago palm) is now relatively scarce. With the trees went the wild fruits, the main food of the wild pigs. The pigs were their major protein source and where the Penan could formerly catch one in one to two hours, it now takes two to three days. The tajim tree's sap was used as a poison for blowpipe darts; the nearest tree is now four hours away. Craft and medicinal resources have been similarly depleted. Rivers run yellow with the silt from the disturbed soils, even in small streams days after rain. Where in half an hour they could catch enough fish for the whole family, there are no more.

Forest knowledge

Most days I went with the Penan into the regenerating forest to collect food and firewood or to hunt. I was in awe of the depth of knowledge they had of the forest. Juwin, the headman of Long Bangan, could name and describe the use of any plant that I cared to point out. He knew where to find different herbs or trees: mid-slope on a hill, near a stream, on a swampy fringe. He could also name any bird or animal by sound or sight. Here was a vast store of knowledge which was being lost. The young people cannot follow the old ways or perpetuate the ancient forest wisdom. The forest provides them not only with their livelihood; it is also the centre of their many rituals and spiritual beliefs. They are part of the forest and the forest is part of them.

""Save our forests"’

For many of the Penan and the other tribal groups their lives have been irreversibly changed. I asked Juwin Lehan, the Sarawak Penan Association Chairman, what the Penan now wanted. He replied: "We are very sad. The noise of the logging trucks night and day makes us feel very sad. We want the logging of our lands stopped now and our rights to these lands recognized. If this happens soon then we have a chance. We want to stay living in the kampongs but be able to live off the jun-

gle around us. We would like the Government to help us build better houses and provide us with a school and a clinic." Another Penan man described their situation: "We feel like a fish out of water with our forests gone. For the companies to come and rob us of our forests is the same as us going down to the towns and just taking what we want from the shops." With their forest resources devastated, the Penan are having to learn to grow rice to survive. The also now spend a lot of their time making handcrafts to sell down the river, so they can supplement their meagre diet with tinned fish and sago out of a packet. But even the craft materials — mostly rattan — are becoming more difficult to find. Many of the children have infected sores, indicating some major deficiencies. Since the logging malaria has become common. For the Penan to live off the forests they need to have large areas of mature forest, to provide them with a sustainable source of forest produce such as sago, fruit, vegetables, herbs, rattan and wild animals. The intact forest also provides valuable soil protection, leaving the rivers and streams clean. Although logging in Sarawak removes only about ten trees per hectare, between 40 and 50 percent of the forest is destroyed by roading, skid tracks, loading yards and damage during felling and extraction. The torrential tropical rains quickly wash the exposed soil down the steep hill sides into the river systems. One of the worst aspects of logging the supposed "sustained yield managed permanent forest estate’, is the very short cutting cycle. Some areas | visited were being cut over again after only eight years, whereas the

Government claims all logging is on a 25 or 40-year rotation. A recent study found that in no way are the present logging practices sustainable. All the primary forests available for timber production are due to be harvested within 11 years (see box). No thought is given to the sustainability of the non-timber values of the forest or the lifestyles of the tribal forest people. Any hope of the Government stepping in to aid the people or halt this forest destruction is a pipe dream. The Government does not recognize the land rights of the tribal people, not

even on legal customary land (in June 1990 the High Court ruled that the natives had no right to challenge the validity of a logging licence issued on their customary land). Malaysian government policy is "to bring all jungle dwellers into the mainstream of society." In the words of the Malaysian Prime Minister, who was recently elected for another term, "there's nothing romantic about these helpless, half-starved and disease-rid-den people’. The bottom line in all this, is the immense wealth that is generated by the ‘mining’ of the forests.

A corrupt government

The Chief Minister of the Sarawak Government and his deputy control the issuing of logging licences. A complex system of back scratching and bribes has evolved for the granting and working of a concession, with some of the bribes from the prospective contracting companies reaching $40 million. In the run-up to the 1987 State elections, a smear campaign run by the two main parties revealed that politicians, their relatives and associates control more than half of the total area (2.9 million ha) of forests licensed out to be logged. This farcical state of affairs is epitomized by James Wong, Sarawak’s Environment and Tourism Minister, who has over 100,000 ha of logging concessions. Any account of the exploitation of a developing country’s resources would be incomplete without the multinational connection. Malaysia currently supplies 60 percent of the world export market in tropical timber, with 95 percent of Sarawak’s 13 million cubic metres per year exported as unprocessed logs. It is Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United States, the EEC, Australia and New Zealand which provide the ready markets for the timbers. Mostly the timber is marketed and processed by the Japanese multinational giants such as the Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Sumitomo, Nichimen, C Itoh & Co, Mitsui & Co and Nissho Iwai corporations. They also have investments in the logging infrastructure such as roading and bridges that is often couched as "development aid’’. Most of the timber finishes up in a rubbish landfill or an incinerator, as nearly all of the Japanese log imports become either plywood for construction formwork and car cases, or are pulped for paper and cardboard. The New Zealand Government recently sold pine forests in Coromandel, Manawatu and Otago to Earnslaw One. Earnslaw One's sister company, Rimbunan Hijau is one of the major companies logging in Sarawak. A number of Japanese multinationals involved in rainforest destruction have investments in New Zealand. C. Itoh & Co is a partner in the

Southland woodchip mill that the National Government recently gave the green light to resume beech forest woodchipping. In October 1990 Nissho Iwai Corporation jointly bought into forests in the Wairarapa and Northland. Sumitomo has a share in Comalco NZ, is connected with the iron sand mining and along with Mitsubishi and Mitsui & Co buy much of our coal.

Is there any hope?

There is still some hope for the forests and the people. International protests are putting pressure on the destructive tropical timber trade. There is growing consumer resistance to the use of tropical rainforest timbers. Around the world conservation groups are seeking bans on the import of tropical timbers that do not come from sustainable logging operations or do not have the consent of the traditional forest owners and users. This is a key feature of the New Zealand tropical rainforest campaign and was a policy in the 1990 Vote for the Environment charter, of which Forest and Bird was a member. Cashmere High School in Christchurch recently became the first school in New Zealand to ban the use of rainforest timbers. Austria recently banned the import of unsustainably produced tropical timbers and 200 West German city councils have decided not to use tropical timber in any of their building programmes. With only about 12 percent of its forest cover remaining, Thailand has banned logging altogether. In the words of a Penan woman, Libai Uwe, "if the people in the far away countries would like to see us living, then they should not buy timber from our country." For the true worth of the forest to be appreciated, uses other than timber need to be emphasized. These include fibres, resins and oils, as well as food, medicinal and craft products. This year Trade Aid hope to market the baskets and bracelets made by the tribal people of Sarawak. By buying these we can support the people in their fight to save the

forest — a very positive form of development aid. The New Zealand Government needs to become a stronger advocate of forest conservation measures to countries like Malaysia, providing a greater level of aid, especially to promote the uses of the forest other than timber, as a source of income for the local people. If we want tropical rainforest conservation, then we should be prepared to help pay for it, as to some extent the income from the sale of timber is being used to develop the economies of the Third World. New Zealand can also assist with the establishment of a comprehensive and secure parks and reserves system. A proposal to set up two large biosphere reserves for the Penan in northern Sarawak needs to be supported. There are a few grassroots organizations working in Malaysia for the rights of the tribal people and the environment. One such group is Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia). They have championed the case of the tribal people and deserve any monetary support we can give them. They have plans to help organize and co-ordinate the different tribal groups and assist them into forms of development which are good for them and their environment. Harrison Ngau of Friends of the Earth Malaysia and recently elected MP for the Banam says "the next five years are critical. We have a chance now, or we have a disaster." 4 Grant Rosoman has recently finished a M. Applied Sci,degree in Nature Conservation at Lincoln University. He visited Sarawak in March/April 1990 and is currently based in Christchurch working for the New Zealand Rainforests Coalition, of which Forest and Bird is a member.

What you can do!

@ support a ban on tropical rainforest timbers; e buy rainforest products that are sustainable, such as the rattan baskets and bracelets from Trade Aid, and boycott the products of the multinationals involved in rainforest destruction; @ write to Government ministers in Malaysia, New Zealand and Japan, telling them of your concerns. Write polite letters to: YAB Tan Sri Datuk patinggi Abdul Taib Mahmoud Chief Minister's Office Bangunan Tunknu Abd. Rahman Putra Petra Jaya, 93503 Kuching Sarawak, Malaysia or The Prime Minister Datuk Dr Mahathir Mohammed Prime Minister’s Department Jalan Dato’ Onn 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia or Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu Souri Kantei 2-3-1 Nagata-cho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100, Japan