Aktuell

May 12, 2022

Indigenous delegation from Borneo expects Dutch government to suspend MTCS

Indigenous delegates from Malaysia visit the Netherlands, top importer of MTCS certified timber, to raise concerns about the certification scheme

May 9, 2022

NGOs demand MTCC acknowledge certification scheme's shortcomings and take action

In conjunction with MTCC’s participation at PEFC International’s members meeting in Dublin, civil society organisations argue MTCC is unable to uphold timber certification standards.

May 6, 2022

Experts at Swiss Anti-SLAPP Conference Identify Samling’s Lawsuit Against SAVE Rivers as an alleged SLAPP Suit

As companies increasingly rely on legal intimidation around the world, Samling is identified as one company in Malaysia allegedly using legal action to silence public participation

Mar 24, 2022

Penan challenge logging giant Samling with video message from the ground

After Samling denied claims that it entered the Penan territory of Long Pakan late last year, the community has released proof from the ground of a clear intention to extract timber: satellite images of a logging road built by the company on their land.

Nov 29, 2021

Baram communities start signature campaign against logging

New community signature campaign condemns selective consultations and requests a stop work order for timber giant Samling in Sarawak’s interior

Nov 22, 2021

Winter Games not possible in the Ukrainian Carpathians, International Olympic Committee says

Lack of infrastructure and the impact on protected areas are not in line with the IOC's sustainability requirements – Environmental NGOs score major victory in bid to protect the Carpathians from controversial huge ski resort.

Nov 9, 2021

55 environmental groups call on IOC to stop Winter Olympics plans for Ukraine

Concern for Carpathians is at the center of a letter to Prince Albert II of Monaco, president of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Sustainability Committee

Oct 20, 2021

Baram Communities Lodge Complaint about MTCC Failures with International Certification Body PEFC

Civil society organisations argue MTCC dispute resolution process is faulty, standards not met for Gerenai Forest Management Unit under timber giant Samling

Oct 6, 2021

Penan scale up blockades against logging giant Samling

Penan elders from Long Pakan set up blockade against timber extraction from their forest – the second blockade against Samling in the Baram region within a month

Sep 14, 2021

Penan step up campaign to save Sarawak’s last primeval forests from logging

Timber giant Samling’s operations in Upper Baram blocked by joint community action – Penan communities denounce logging on their ancestral lands

Aug 30, 2021

Over 100 organisations and companies demand Malaysian timber giant withdraw SLAPP suit against Sarawak NGO

Samling Group is suing civil society organisation SAVE Rivers and its directors in a SLAPP suit

Aug 9, 2021

Logging company sues environmental defenders for RM 5,000,000

Samling Group is suing local Sarawak civil society organisation and its directors in a SLAPP suit

Jul 5, 2021

Swiss city to sponsor Sarawak forest conservation project

Basel mayor Beat Jans announces a $200,000 contribution to the International Tropical Timber Organization's (ITTO) Upper Baram Forest Management Area – 24 indigenous communities in Malaysian Borneo are to benefit from the conservation and sustainable development of their forest lands.

Jun 16, 2021

Destructive logging: EU urged to press for Ukrainian forest sector reform

New investigation identifies unjustified "sanitary logging" as key mechanism behind destructive logging in Ukraine – First in-depth local case study details abusive practices in two State Forestry Enterprises in the Ukrainian Carpathians that are exporting large amounts of timber to the European Union

Jun 10, 2021

Certification body launches dispute resolution process between Malaysian timber giant Samling and Sarawak Indigenous communities

Civil society groups call for a moratorium on logging in affected areas until the dispute can be resolved, and for environmental and social impact assessments to be released immediately.

Jun 2, 2021

Indigenous communities threatened with legal action by logging giant as floods devastate Sarawak

One of Malaysia's largest timber conglomerates is threatening to silence civil society with legal action. Meanwhile, the current floods impressively demonstrate the environmental costs of deforestation

May 26, 2021

Tong Tana: Land rights in the rainforest

The area around the Mulu National Park could soon be completely protected from deforestation.

May 20, 2021

Indigenous communities lodge official complaint against Malaysian timber giant Samling

Sarawak communities criticize flawed certification of logging operations

Mar 7, 2021

Community alerts Sarawak Government of ongoing logging in Upper Baram Forest Area

Samling is encroaching into the territory of Long Ajeng, even though the Penan community is within the Upper Baram Forest Area/Baram Peace Park supported by the Sarawak Government and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

Feb 16, 2021

EU Parliament speaks out clearly against the huge Svydovets ski resort project in the Ukrainian Carpathians

On 11 February, the European Parliament adopted the annual report on the implementation of the EU Association Agreement with Ukraine. The report contains a clear criticism of the planned mega ski resort project in Svydovets and illegal logging in the Ukrainian Carpathians. The support of the European Parliament is a great success for the Free Svydovets movement which campaigns for the protection of a unique natural landscape.

Dec 16, 2020

ITTO supports community forest conservation initiative in the Baram Area, Sarawak

The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) officially endorses the Baram Peace Park/Upper Baram Forest Area to protect the forest and support community livelihoods in Sarawak — at the same time, the timber company Samling continues to log the area.

Nov 3, 2020

Petition calls on international timber certification body to uphold sustainability and indigenous rights in Sarawak

While communities continue to express concern about certificates granted under the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme, a petition with 6,629 signatures from around the world now calls on the international certification body PEFC to step in.

Oct 14, 2020

IKEA: No sustainability without transparency

Furniture giant refuses to provide precise information on the origin of wood from high-risk countries

Oct 6, 2020

Ikea denies purchase of illegal timber from Ukraine

Investigation commissioned by IKEA found no evidence of illegal wood in its supply chain

Oct 1, 2020

Penan communities appalled by timber certification issued without their knowledge

Penan communities from the Limbang area only learnt about the issuance of a timber certificate affecting their area two years after the fact – they now demand respect of Free, Prior and Informed Consent

Sep 10, 2020

IKEA faces investigation for breaching Swiss timber declaration laws

Failure to comply with Swiss consumer laws indicates furniture giant's problem with its supply chains in Eastern Europe

Apr 21, 2020

«When humans invade an ecosystem, viruses spread»

The Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) talked to Kinari Webb, physician and founder of Health in Harmony, about how environmental destruction affects human health and allows for diseases like COVID-19 to spread.

Apr 14, 2020

Joint NGO Statement on Tokyo 2020 Olympics’ «Fake Sustainability»

Organizers called on to learn from & fix procurement failures linked to rainforest destruction in light of the Olympics postponement

Mar 24, 2020

Indigenous leaders question ongoing oil palm and timber activities during COVID-19-lockdown

Oil palm and timber companies received permits to continue work in Sarawak despite national lockdown – indigenous leaders criticise the government’s decision

Oct 15, 2019

Bruno Manser feature film to open Zurich Film Festival

Major Swiss movie production honours missing rainforest advocate Bruno Manser.

Sep 6, 2019

Sarawak natives challenge Malaysia’s palm oil industry

Indigenous Penan and Berawan communities file lawsuit against palm oil development destroying rainforests near the UNESCO-protected Gunung Mulu National Park

Jun 18, 2019

Oligarch’s resort plans threaten primeval beech forests

A planned mega ski resort in the Ukrainian Carpathians threatens some of Europe’s last primeval beech forests.