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The Bamboo Boom Threatening Sarawak’s Forests

Fiona McAlpine, Communications and Project Manager, The Borneo Project

15-Oct-25 15:00

The Bamboo Boom Threatening Sarawak’s Forests

A new deforestation alert has been raised in Sarawak, this time around the Bakun Reservoir. Satellite and drone images show that native forest is being cleared to make way for a massive commercial bamboo plantation spanning over 44,000 hectares. The project, approved under the state’s License for Planted Forests scheme, has sparked serious concern among affected Indigenous communities and environmental groups. To help us understand what’s happening and what it means for Sarawak’s forests, we speak to Fiona McAlpine, Communications and Project Manager at The Borneo Project.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Produced by: Juliet Jacobs

Presented by: Juliet Jacobs


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Categories:  environment

Tags:  Bakun DamLicense for Planted Forests schemeSarawak biodiversityThe Borneo Projectthe bigger pictureearth mattersdeforestationgreenwashingFree Prior Informed ConsentFPICindigenous rightsnative customary land rights





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