Friends of the Earth Malaysia (SAM) has recently uncovered documents showing that the Sarawak government approved three major plantation projects in the Bakun catchment area, a protected forest region supposed to maintain the dam's ecobalance.

Representatives of the organisation "stumbled upon" environmental assessment reports that approved the projects at the Natural Resources and Environment Board in Kuching late last year.

The Bakun dam, which is proposed to generate 2400 megawatts of hydroelectricity for Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, has cost the government over US$5 billion.

According to SAM, ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim was widely quoted in local newspapers as saying that "we should realise that we will gazette a catchment area covering 1.5 million hectares which may not have been created if the Bakun project is not implemented."

Reading from a statement at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today, SAM council member Mohideen Abdul Kader (right) said, "The projects have been carried out in breach of the promises made by the government, and also contradict the Bakun dam's original Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) recommendations."

He added that the projects would affect Sarawak rainforest by causing loss of biodiversity, creating sedimentation which would shorten the dam's lifespan, threatening the livelihood of the indigenous peoples who live in the area and contributing to global warming.

A team of SAM activists have investigated the projects and found large areas of cleared forest 13km upstream of the Bakun dam. Photos taken by the activists show muddied rivers, dust-covered shrubs and logs transported away by trucks.

Penan families interviewed

Furthermore, in an area where, according to EIA reports, "no permanent settlements" exist, SAM has managed to interview Penan families who have lived in the area for hundreds of years.

"I guess the authorities just missed these people," says SAM honorary secretary Meena Raman.

The interview is with a man called Alunju, from the Penan settlement of Long Singu along Sungai Luar. Alunju testifies that his family has been living there for generations, and laments that officials ignored reports lodged by his longhouse.

"They said we have no rights," Alunju says in the video.

Kader questioned the lack of transparency in land and forest governance matters in Sarawak, saying that the Federal Environmental Quality Act of 1974 (EQA) had been retrospectively amended in the state such that the public had absolutely no say in project implementation.

Reading from a SAM statement, Kader said, "Unlike the EIA requirements in Peninsular Malaysia, the law in Sarawak excludes public participation unless the project proponent so desires."

This creates a non-transparent EIA process in the state, he argued, and is contrary to good governance.

SAM calls upon the authorities who approved the three projects to explain the reasons for their approval.

"Why did the authorities not keep their 1996 promises, and why did they not comply with the original EIA recommendations for the dam?" Kader asked.

The organisation also called for law reform in Sarawak to include public participation in such important decisions that affect all citizens.

"Because of the lack of public participation, the EIA process is flawed." said Raman. "The reports contain gross misrepresentations of the real situation in Sarawak."

Watch the four-minute clip here.