KUALA LUMPUR – Climate issues watchdog RimbaWatch has called on the Sabah and Sarawak governments to investigate the online sale of forested land in both states amounting to 80,000ha, larger than the size of Singapore.
RimbaWatch said it had identified nine land listings on Mudah.my and Facebook Marketplace, and through subsequent geospatial analysis, found that of the total hectarage on sale, 54,629ha could be classified as “undisturbed forest”.
A further 30,476ha could be classified as “degraded forest’, it said in a statement.
Both classifications of forested land combined encompass 85,105ha, which RimbaWatch said would be under threat if sold.
“For context, 85,105ha is 12,000ha larger than the size of Singapore. It is three and a half times the size of Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, larger than Penang Island, and larger than the entire state of Perlis,” the group added.
“The governments of Sabah and Sarawak should investigate these findings, given the presence of government-sanctioned maps and detailed concession information attached to some of the listings.
“Further, they should prioritise the protection of biodiversity and human rights in their development planning, and ensure that forested lands are managed with these priorities in mind and not sold to private enterprises.
“Plans to trade these lands should be cancelled with the view of maintaining Malaysia’s forest cover at the maximum possible extent,” RimbaWatch said.
The nine listings identified by RimbaWatch are :
- 54,454ha in Silat, Sarawak near the border with Kalimantan. This listing encompasses multiple concessions that are allegedly zoned for mixed-use or oil palm, RimbaWatch added. This listing is near villages, including Long Tikan, and also overlaps with an area excised from the Gerenai Forest Management Unit, that includes indigenous traditional territories.
- 297ha in Tongod, Sabah, located within or adjacent to the Milian Labau Forest Reserve.
- 10,926ha on Pulau Banggi, Sabah advertised for agriculture.
- 14,163ha near Kapit, Sarawak.
- 1,758ha near Bintulu, Sarawak.
- 4,627ha in Patah, Sarawak.
- 323ha of mangrove forest near Sibu, Sarawak.
- 2,189ha near Lundu, Sarawak.
- 275ha near Kota Belud, Sabah.
RimbaWatch said six of these listings were found on Facebook Marketplace and the remaining three on Mudah.my. Some listings mention the suitability of the land for agriculture.
Some maps attached to the sale listings also appeared to be official surveys conducted by land offices, and other listings have land titles, official letters, project proposals and other details attached to them, the group pointed out.
It stressed the need for real estate websites including Facebook Marketplace to adopt policies to ensure that such advertisements would not encourage or facilitate deforestation. – July 26, 2024