SAVE Rivers

Director of Forests cancels Osaka Metropolitan University talk to avoid answering questions over deforestation - as Sarawak Premier receives Japan's top honour for "environmental leadership" Osaka, Japan - 12 November 2025 - At a press conference in Osaka today, Indigenous representatives from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, condemned Japan's ongoing support for forest projects linked to deforestation … Continue reading Sarawak Government Ducks Indigenous Activists in Japan

Kuala Lumpur / Tokyo, 10 November 2025 — A coalition of civil society organizations has called on the Government of Japan to immediately suspend funding for International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) projects in Sarawak, Malaysia, following serious allegations of human rights violations, corruption, and environmental destruction linked to projects implemented by the Forest Department Sarawak … Continue reading Civil Society Calls on Japan to Halt Funding for ITTO Projects in Sarawak amid Human Rights and Corruption Allegations

BELAGA, Sarawak — Indigenous communities in Sarawak have won a major victory in their campaign to stop deforestation on their native lands. After clearing over 1,000 hectares of natural forest for oil palm in the last year, Urun Plantations Sdn Bhd has committed to a moratorium on further clearing in the disputed area. Community leaders … Continue reading Victory for Indigenous Communities in Sarawak as Urun Plantations Halts Forest Clearing

New evidence confirms that Sime Darby (SD) Guthrie continues to be implicated in deforestation  in Sarawak, despite its sustainability commitments and international obligations. BINTULU, 20th October 2025 — Three ground investigations between December 2024 and September 2025, supported by satellite analysis, local community testimony and drone imagery, documented active forest clearance within the Urun Plantations … Continue reading Major Palm Oil Company SD Guthrie Linked to Deforestation in Sarawak

Protecting Indigenous rights and world-class heritage requires openness, not silence In 2016, the people of Baram showed the true power of democracy. Grassroots communities, supported by NGOs and civil society, stood up against the proposed Baram hydroelectric dam and won. The project, which would have drowned villages and forests, was cancelled because ordinary people made … Continue reading Who Will Speak for Baram?

CSO Platform for Reform expresses deep concern over the recent imposition of official approval requirements for NGO engagement with communities in Upper Baram. Such measures represent undue restrictions on civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights defenders, who play an indispensable role in advancing and protecting community rights. We stand in solidarity with the NGOs … Continue reading CSO PLATFORM FOR REFORM URGES END TO RESTRICTIONS ON NGOS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

Malaysian Human Rights Commission SUHAKAM stopped by Sarawak government from visiting Penan village of Ba Data Bila, drawing criticism from local activists. MIRI, SARAWAK – Communities in the Upper Baram region of Sarawak, Malaysia, express deep concern after the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) was stopped from visiting Ba Data Bila, a Penan village at … Continue reading Malaysian Authorities Halt Human Rights Investigation at Borneo Logging Hotspot

UN timber body loses key member state after Malaysia project failure. "ITTO is no longer a credible institution when it comes to forest conservation and sustainable tropical forestry", says BMF director Lukas Straumann. (BERN/YOKOHAMA). The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has initiated consultations for Switzerland to leave the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), … Continue reading Switzerland to quit International Tropical Timber Organization

Global campaign launched to save Malaysian Borneo's last primary rainforests - Sarawak Premier Abang Johari under fire over ties to Malaysian timber tycoon (Miri, Sarawak) A newly released video by Swiss NGO Bruno Manser Fonds reveals alarming deforestation in the heart of Malaysia's tropical rainforest. Filmed in Sarawak's Upper Baram region, the footage provides rare … Continue reading Explosive logging video questions Sarawak Premier’s green credentials

This is in response for the recent press release issued by the Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) published in the Dayak Daily article on 4th September. FDS’s counsel has falsely accused that SAVE Rivers is “a private limited company with profitable motives, self-proclaiming to be an NGO.” This is an abhorrent misrepresentation for a government agency … Continue reading SAVE Rivers Responds to Misleading Claims by the Forest Department Sarawak