KUCHING: SAVE Rivers is committed to preserving and conserving the Upper Baram Forest Area (UBFA) for the future of local generations.
An area of 283,500 hectares or three times the area of Singapore with a population of around 4,000 should be protected for its local community, nature, sustainability and cultural heritage.
According to the managing director of SAVE Rivers, Celine Lim, she is committed to three principles in the establishment of the region’s conservation project.
“It is a community effort designed to protect Sarawak’s last remaining primary forest, celebrate local culture and develop sustainable livelihoods.
“This project received full confirmation from the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) in 2020 and has received funding from the City of Basel, Japan, and is still waiting for more,” she said when met by the media at the SAVE Rivers’ high tea at Telang Usan Hotel here yesterday.
Commenting further, she said the project received solid support from the local community, the Sarawak government and the Federal government, especially the Federal Ministry of Plantation and Commodities.
“We are proud that the native local community here is very supportive of the project because it is also to protect the socio-ecology of animals, plants and the socioeconomics of the population.
“This is in addition to preserving traditional methods of earning income and making this place an ecotourism attraction.
“At the same time, it also empowers the indigenous community to defend their rights and the land,” she added.
She said that SAVE Rivers also held workshops and visits almost every month to the area to prepare the community in the management of UBFA, especially in relation to conservation projects.
Lim hoped that the project would get the support of more parties so that efforts to protect the area could be realised.
For the record, the area has 32 villages consisting of 18 Penan villages, seven Kenyah villages, two Saban villages, two Kelabit villages and two other villages.
