This week we learned a mega-dam project planned for the Baram River in Borneo has been abandoned. Through a sustained, peaceful protest of the dam, the indigenous population has protected its land from development and destruction.
This stand-off began when the “Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy” (SCORE) program wrongfully appropriated indigenous people’s land rights. Communities, farms, and human rights were forfeited for hydroelectric dams throughout the region.
This huge win was achieved, mostly, through two road blocks. That’s it. These strategically placed road blocks stopped dam developers from getting to the proposed site of the dam. Surveys of the land couldn’t be conducted, trees couldn’t be cut down, and cement for the dam couldn’t be poured. The vigilance of these fierce protectors of the land ensured it would remain theirs and untouched.
Logging companies and the Malaysian government tried to forcibly dismantle the road blocks. After immediate international outcry, they abandoned this effort but, the project was still slated for development.
The villagers were not going to forfeit their land to illegal seizure and the dam was not going to be abandoned. It was a stalemate. Until, Chief Minister of Sarawak, Adenan Satem, announced a moratorium on the project, the first of its kind. Read our original coverage of the moratorium.
This moratorium ended Monday March 21, 2016 when land rights were restored to the indigenous population. They now had the legal authority to determine the future of their land – and that future does not include the Baram Dam.
We are so proud to support this work along with our partners Earth Island Institute, SAVE – Rivers Sarawak, and Borneo Resources Institute. We are inspired by the fearlessness and the commitment of the indigenous people of the Baram region in Sarawak state.