By Joseph Tawie
The Sarawak government appears to have little
concern for environmental “heritage” in its pursuit of material gains.
KUCHING: The construction of Baram
Dam will have devastating effects on the lives of Sarawak’s indigenous
communities.
Some 20,000
Kayan, Kenyah and Penan will see their longhouses, villages, land and cultural
heritage submerged once the dam is completed.
According
to state PKR deputy chairman See Chee How, the “effects will be far worse” than
the Bakun Dam construction which displaced about 10,000 natives.
“In Baram,
some 20,000 natives are to be displaced and relocated. It will also cause the
total destruction of our trees, plants, animals and insects.
“Some of
these may have important medicinal values,” See said.
He said so
far the state government showed no “concern” over the proposed dam’s impact on
the community and environment.
“The state
BN government just cannot be bothered as it is more interested in enriching its
leaders and cronies.
“It is just
not bothered about the EIA (environmental impact assessment) report. Our
environmental ordinance is different from the ordinances in other countries,
including from the Peninsula.
“If you
fail the EIA, you cannot proceed with the project. But our ordinance has
limitations in terms of protecting the rights of the people and the
environment.
“In fact,
it (state ordinance) is encouraging the government to proceed without regard to
EIA, ” he said.
Unjust policy
See said it
is imperative that the state government identifies the adverse effects
resulting from such a construction and mitigate them.
“So how are
you going to protect the human resources and the cultural heritage of the Orang
Ulu?
“How are
you going to protect our plants, animals and insects?” he asked.
He believed
that the government policy is to justify building the dam first and then carry
out a feasibility study.
See, who is
also Batu Lintang assemblyman, was commenting on the on-going works to
construct the dam.
He believed
that there are two reasons why the state government is anxious to build the
Baram Dam despite the state having two hydro-electric dams – the Bakun and the
Batang Ai dams.
Firstly,
Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), the business flagship of the family members of Chief
Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, has allegedly entered into an agreement with
foreign companies to set up smelting plants, including an alloy smelting plant
in Bintulu.
“All these
dirty and polluting industries coming to Sarawak need a lot of hydro-power.
“Secondly,
the Baram valley has the oldest rainforests in the world, with some of the best
timber species found here.
“Currently,
the state government cannot give licence to its cronies to log these timber
because of the strong objection from the natives and the pending court cases
against the felling of the timber.
“But by
constructing the dam, the authorities have to cut the timber first and clear
the forest.
“So, how
can the Orang Ulu communities object?” asked See.
‘Wealth’ lost
See added: “When we talk about wealth, it is not just about timber alone.
See added: “When we talk about wealth, it is not just about timber alone.
“There are
lots of animals, birds and insects which we don’t even know about. Some of
these could be very useful. You don’t know what you are losing.
“We have
not even catalogued them.”
According
to See, Baram has plenty of important plants that are of medicinal value.
Located
between the inflows of Sungai Patah and Sungai Kahah from the left and Sungai
Hit from the right, the Baram Dam will be 162 metre high above foundation level
and its structure across the Baram River will have a crest length of 685m.
It will be
constructed and designed as a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam in
order to provide 300MW of electricity.
Due to the
topographical conditions in the project area, a 70m high “saddle” dam will be
constructed about five kilometre south-west of the site.
It is
expected that the Baram Dam will submerge an area of 38,900 hectares (389 sq
km) of land and forest, which is more than half the size of Singapore and will
create a catchment area of 896,600 hectares.
The
submerged area is 90% native customary rights (NCR) land consisting of “pulau
galau”, “pemakai menoa”, and “temuda” land along with cultivated lands,
gardens, villages, churches, graveyards, community forests and sites of historical
significance.
“This means
that more than 50% of the Kenyah and their longhouses, 45% of the Kelabit and
their longhouses, and 80% of the Penan in the Telang Usan area are going to be
relocated like animals to a holding area like Sungai Asap.
“You know
Sungai Asap resettlement is a total failure,” See said, adding that the people
are going to lose everything – their longhouses, villages, properties, way of
life, their pride and their very soul.
“Imagine
the chaos, the destruction of their life and the miseries the displaced people
are going to face.
“Worse
still, there is no plan yet to resettle these people,” he said.
Source : FMT
EmpireMoney.com
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