Old Miri River, Mudflat no more ...

22nd November 2008 1130 hrs.

The final act of reclaimation of the Old Miri River! No more mudflats, no more waders here. Another one bites the dust! Today, there were 2 Little Egret, 2 White-breasted Waterhen, 2 Common Sandpiper, 1 Pacific Golden Plover, 4 Little Ringed Plover, 1 Striated Heron.

Let's bet on what's coming up next over this spot over the next few months, anyone? Anyone?

Infamous Malaysian quotes on Oil Palm.

“The best way to improve your golf is to chop down the rainforest…We get too much rain in Sarawak… it stops me from playing golf.”

James Wong, Sarawak’s Minister of Environment and Tourism (and at the time logging concession holder) on deforestation and climate disruption at a meeting between Wong and an international mission on native rights and rainforests (1988).

“Our efforts towards sustainable forest management have been on-going for 100 years since 1901. Since then, our forests have been managed in a sustainable manner (…)”.

Plantation, Industries and Commodities Minister Peter Chin, 4 January 2005

“In Malaysia, the expansion of oil palm plantations over the last decade came from conversion of other economic crops, i.e. rubber, cocoa and coconut, while the balance came from logged-over forests of areas zoned for agriculture.”

Yusof Basiron, director Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 2006.

"By 1990 we have stopped approving new jungle areas to becovered under plantations.”

Yusof Basiron, director Malaysian Palm Oil Council, 19 May 2006.

“We are not cutting down forests. Most plantations are in their second or third planting cycle, so we are planting on the same plot of land.”

Michael Dosim Lunjew, Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities Secretary-General, 15 May 2007.

“We will not use virgin jungle and forest reserves for oil palm cultivation. So the issues written by the foreign press and non-government organizations on deforestation are not occurring in Malaysia.”

Peter Chin, Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, 28August 2007.

“The government will not allow the clearing of forest areas for any new oil palm plantations. We don’t have to reduce the protected forests to increase new oil palm plantations.”

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, 25 June 2008.

“Sarawak is not facing the destruction of its forests and ecosystem as a result of the cultivation of oil palm.”

Abdul Taib Mahmud, Sarawak’s Chief Minister, 26 June 2008.

Blatantly lifted from FOF Oil Palm 2008 Report.

Bario, The Kelabit Highlands

I am first to admit, I'm a sucker for out-in-the boonie places with colorful locals, fantastic scenery, copious amounts of fresh air, lack of tourists, obvious scarcity of the usual trappings of Paris-New York-London-Tokyo-Amtersdam type amenities. Dang, I do enjoy this lack of modern day ecoutrements (sic). And no phone coverage ... I am out of range!

What BLISS!

It was a first trip to Bario by MNS Miri and gang, and already we are conspiring a few more future trips to the famed Kelabit Highlands. Our short trip didn't do this place justice ... but hey, Bario ain't going nowhere too fast.

The view from the clouds as we crossed the countryside was depressing at first with thousands of hectares of cleared forests and oil palm plantations, some actively in progress. It gradually changed to primordial green again as we approached Mulu National Park, passed near Brunei border and zipped alongside Gunung Murud. These later sights from the air were most awe-inspiring.

The tiny De-Havilland Twin Otter flew like these small ungainly minibuses, landing on the small airstrip was itself an adventure. No lithe stewardesses on this flight! Outside tough, fresh oxygen-fortified mountain air! The freshness felt unreal, the light crisp and clear.

Birding was good ... a bit late for waders perhaps but we did flushed out a few Snipes sp., Wood Sandpipers in and along the paddy fields. Several montane species was heard and some seen: Bornean Treepie, Chestnut-capped Laughingthrush, Mountain Crested Serpent Eagle, Ochraceous Bulbul, Ruddy Cuckoo Dove and others. Black-headed Munia were seen aplenty and a couple of Dusky Munia too. Trogon was heard along the trails. Ashy Drongo and Golden-whiskered Barbet seen just alongside the road. Oh, yeah Bario is apparently Yellow-vented Bulbul central ... they were everywhere, almost omni-present!

The short visit didn't allow any prolonged excursions into the wilds of the forest but we did see the skin of a leopard cat of sorts, a trophy proudly hanging on the wall as part of a living room decoration. A little monkey kept as a pet provided comic relief for a short duration at one of our stops at Pa' Ukat.

There were plenty of local crafts to gawk at too. Bamboo-rattan backpacks, weaved artwork and glass beads. All definitely worth exploring in future visits.

Photography would definitely be something to do here. Other than the aereals on the way in and out, great winding treks with amazing vistas of paddy fields, longhouses and little huts surely suffice for some great landscapes. Interesting features of the Kelabits adorned with traditional costume and jewellery would be a subject in itself. Flora and fauna abound as ready subjects in and around jungle trails.

What else to do in Bario?

Mountain biking : the trails look most enticing, exploring the jungle single-tracks and ex-logging double tracks would be epic.

Camping, jungle trekking : enjoy nature at an even more basic level.

We stayed at De Plateau Lodge in Bario Baru, approximately 20 minutes ride on the back of a 4WD from the airport ... superb quiet place run by Douglas Bala and his family. Spacious house with several nook and crannies to soak in the Bario fresh air. The gazebo amidst the pitcher plants and various pitcher plants was heaven sent, you can sit there all day. We saw a nesting flowerpecker from there ... And did we mentioned the food? Simply gorgeous!!!

Rent a kerbau for a day or two and see where else Bario can take you!

More Bario pictures.

Our Rainforest Lose!

Native Customary Rights issue is a sensitive and complicated one. The way by which the State and various arms of the state dealt with the matter does not make it any clearer or more transparent. Sarawakians at least have NCRs, Orang Asal of West Malaysia has no such thing, they are merely squatters on their own home. Your backyard today, maybe a golf course tomorrow. Maybe even a SimeDarby Club House, for which you are not welcomed of course.

Today, I learnt something new. While trying to expose friends, colleagues and immediate community about the struggles of our Indigenous Community, I stumbled upon a CD What RainForest? by Hilary Chiew and Chit Too together with the various other OA articles on sale.

In the CD, an Iban community leader from Batu-Niah-Suai area made something crystal clear for me :

State recognises NCR as land as that land which is cultivated by the indigenous people on a regular and sustained basis.

Natives consider all land worked by their ancestors since time begin as NCR, which included land presently being worked on pemakai menoa, land left fallow, forests within their traditional domain, ancestral hunting ground, places held special as shrines and burial ground. The concept of pemakai menoa goes beyond mere agricultural use and extends to hunting, fishing and living off the produce of the jungle.

State "leases" NCR land (based on their narrow definition) to plantation companies to be developed ie. thru logging concessions, oil palm plantations. Many native communities in Sarawak have been displaced by this self-serving definition. Many a logging concessions and plantations have gone ahead, multi-millions made. Many more are in the pipelines.

Native communities then came back with a strategy to develop all the land that they've defined and recognised as their NCR land into plantations to avoid land grabs by State, agencies and companies given the concession, prompted by the narrow, self-serving NCR definition by the State. Through gotong-royong, communities are felling trees and planting them with oil palm.

Native communities clear lands they traditionally preserve for communal use pulau galau to prevent their land from being appropriated by the State. Only cultivated land is afterall NCR by the State's own definition.

There won't be much rainforest left in the years to come. At the rate both sides are going, "We green the earth with oil palm" may one day sadly be a reality. What rainforest?

Only our rainforests stand to lose, presently Sarawak already has the highest deforestation rate in the world. I've always thought that the dubious "honor" belonged to Kalimantan.

Seagull? Tern? Gull-billed tern non-breeding?

The minute I saw it on the bino, my heart raced. It's big, it's tall, it stood like a gull. Dang ... a seagull! I raced back to the car, told the kids to wait 15 more minutes while I scrambled to bring out the tripod and the scope.

A couple of lorry drivers piling sand onto flats looked as I was hurrying across the road towards a fallen tree, a cover. I looked back, smiled, executed a small half-hearted wave with my palm and continued my way to the spot.

No, it's not a seagull. It's a large tern. Black legs, black bill, preening. There's no black marking anywhere else on his mantle or head. White chest, light steel gray on the coverts and back of head ... the sloping of the headt to the bill looked weird. I think it's a Gull-billed Tern.

The Miri River Mudflat Buffett is gone!

Well, I stopped by after breakfast Nov 2nd to see our favorite spot for waders in Miri. Yep, that one across the road from HSBC. It's gone ... they've flattened both the northern and southern section of the river and the mudlats with it. Heavily loaded lorries filled with sand were going back and forth, several earth movers mopping up after them.

Other than the lorries and earthmovers, all I saw there that morning were 4 birds : 1xlittle ringed plover, 1xpacific golden plover, 1xlesser sandplover and 1xwhat I thought was a non-breeding gull-billed tern. It stood like a gull, heavyset black bill, black legs and stood quite tall, I thought initially it was a gull until I looked thru the scope. Will confirm which tern this is later.

THE MUDFLATS IS GONE! Plenty of waders sighted, recorded and photographed there back in February-April, the new season looked promising in August when we saw the little ringed plovers, stints, red-shanks and wood sandpipers with Karim Madoya. We were planning to follow-up with more obs in November and perhaps an AWC (first in the city) next year! I guess that is now completely out of the question, they beat us to it! By the time January AWC comes around again this site will be concrete canals.

BAG OF *^%&!!!

Miri Aereals, some you see, some you don't

And you thought the view was bad from the ground. These pictures were taken only a couple of weeks back on my return flight from Kuala Lumpur. All around Lambir NP you see systematic clearing of forests into terraces for what I suspect in the end will be planted with palm oil ... shocking! Don't recall seeing destruction of such scale when I first flew in here in 1990, still remembered someone on the same flight mumbling "Oh, my god ... it's all jungle!". Much has been cleared since.

These rampant clearing goes right to the coast up to the edge of the beach, they probably try growing them on the beach too if they can. Someone mumbled something about not clearing prime forests for plantations not long ago, but nobody cares what this guy thinks anyway. Looser!

One can imagine what would happen during the landas season or even during the occasional heavy rains we have here in Miri. The entire coast turns teh-tarik! We saw that firsthand during our beachwalk between Bungai and Tusan, 5500 hectares was just cleared there recently for a similar scheme.

How does this affect visibility in the water I wonder? All along the coast between Miri and Similajau, we have quite extensive complex of corals which are favs of local divers. The Miri-Sibuti Marine Park is not that far away from land. Gazetted and all.

I figure if we don't mind scraping up entire sections of our coasts for deep sea ports and polluting our air and seas with carcinogens, this we'd do with not so much as a blink! Sigh!