Forests & Biodiversity

Stop the encroachment on Rumah Labang native customary territory

Recently, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) received a complaint from the Iban community of Rumah Labang in Nanga Seridan, Tinjar, Sarawak pertaining to the operations of an oil palm plantation project that has encroached on their native customary rights (NCR) territory. The community had actually been informed about the proposed project since before the year 2018. Right from the very beginning, they have expressed their …

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Be transparent on cable car project

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) is very alarmed to learn about the announcement by the Chief Minister of Penang that the cable car project to Penang Hill has been awarded to Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, at an estimated investment of RM 245 million and is based on a 30-year concession period and will be located in the …

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CBD COP15 – How it has fared so far

Week one (03 – 10 December 2022) of the 15th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD) taking place in Montreal, Canada, ended dismally with the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) text nowhere near arresting the biodiversity crisis. Some government delegates are negotiating the GBF text as if it’s …

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What’s at stake at the CBD COP15

The second part of the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) will begin from 07 December 2022 until 19 December 2022 to negotiate and finalise the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (post-2020 GBF) that would hopefully effectively address the current biodiversity crisis. COP15 hosted by China will take place in Montreal, Canada. …

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Financial institutions must not contribute to forest and peatland destruction and transboundary haze

As the climate and biodiversity crisis intensifies, credit to forest-risk commodity companies increased 60 per cent between 2020 and 2021 A new report, released today by the Forests & Finance Coalition, whose members include the Rainforest Action Network, Profundo, TuK Indonesia, Bank Track, Amazon Watch, Reporter Brasil, Friends of the Earth US and Sahabat Alam …

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Malaysian CSOs learn the links between finance and forest protection

On July 5 and 6, Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Profundo, as part of the Forests and Finance Coalition, organised a 2-day introductory capacity-building workshop for Malaysian civil society organisations (CSOs) in Kuala Lumpur. The workshop was attended by 16 participants from 10 CSOs, which included groups that work on forests, climate change, community rights and …

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Time to stop blaming nature and take responsibility

Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) calls on the Kedah state government to take more responsibility for the Baling floods in Kedah and the devastation that resulted in the death of three persons, including a pregnant woman and the loss of homes of hundreds of others. SAM is appalled by the response of the Menteri Besar of …

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Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework underway

Between 21 and 26 June 2022, the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Open Ended Working Group 4 (OEWG4) is meeting in Nairobi, Kenya to discuss the draft of a new framework for biodiversity under the CBD. More than 1300 registered participants are participating both in person and online. SAM is also present …

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Protect environmentally sensitive areas

It is World Environment Day (WED) on Sunday, June 5. The 2022 WED campaign #OnlyOneEarth calls for collective, transformative action on a global scale to celebrate, protect and restore our planet. Malaysia, which is blessed as being one of the 17 mega-biodiverse countries in the world according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), must do …

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Be consistent: Malaysia’s one step forward, one step back in forestry management

In conjunction with the International Day of Forests, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) would like to highlight the importance of being consistent in our efforts on forest protection in this country, both at the federal and state levels. We would like to begin by applauding four important positive developments on forest protection in Malaysia in the …

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