(MY) calls for help in rescue mission of animals

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Wednesday November 4, 2009 _ The Star

Unimas calls for rescue mission of animals threatened by Murum Dam By

STEPHEN THEN

 

MIRI: A Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) team had called for a wildlife

rescue mission to save and relocate endangered animals at the construction

site of the RM3bil Murum Hydro-Electric Dam in Belaga district in central

Sarawak.

 

Some 19 species of mammals and 99 species of birds - many of them considered

rare - will have their habitats destroyed when the flooding of the dam

reservoir begins.

 

The team also noted that even before the construction of the dam started,

logging and related human activities had already severely disturbed the

flora and fauna.

 

Unimas had carried out a ground survey at the Murum Dam site, located some

183km from Bintulu, and had found that the region has a rich heritage of

plant and animal-life.

*Danger zone:* The construction site of Murum Dam will have the habitats of

many animals destroyed when the flooding of the reservoir begins.

 

The university’s Centre for Technology Transfer and Consultancy had deployed

a team of researchers to the Murum area to study the impact that the dam

will have on the ecosystem.

 

The team had compiled a report on their findings and had forwarded the

report to the state authorities and to Sarawak Energy Bhd, the lead

developer of the dam project.

 

The construction of the Murum Dam has begun in earnest, with site clearing,

road clearing, hill blasting and transportation of raw materials and workers

in full-swing.

 

“A field survey of 15 sites in the forests affected by the Murum project

found 99 species of birds and at least 19 species of mammals.

 

“Fifteen of these bird species are classified as rare. Sixteen species of

these birds are protected and six species, mainly the Hornbills and Argus

Pheasants, are protected under the Sarawak Wildlife Pro­tection Ordinance.

 

Other protected mammals included the Western Tarsier, Borneon Gibbon and

Giant Squirrel.

 

“The Naked Bat, Red Langur and Borneon Gibbons are threatened species. Some

39 species of these birds are endemic to Borneo and 23 of these species are

already threatened,” said the report.

 

Among the endangered bird species found in Murum are Lesser Fish Eagles,

Indian Cuckoo, Red-bearded Bee-eater, Great Slaty Woodpecker and Black-thigh

Falcon and many species of hornbills found only in Sarawak, said the report.

 

The clearing of the access road into Murum Dam site from the Bakun

Hydro-Electric Dam some 70kms away, had already affected many of the animals

and birds along the route, the report said.

 

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Wednesday November 4, 2009 - The Star

Despite protests, construction of the Murum Dam goes into full gear By

STEPHEN THEN

 

MURUM: There is no stopping the construction of Murum Dam now, it would

seem.

 

The RM3bil hydro-electric dam project in Belaga district in central Sarawak

will unlikely be halted despite ongoing protests from environmental

activists and the 2,800 affected natives.

 

Construction had already gone into full-gear, the site and access roads into

Murum had been cleared, the Malaysian-China contractor had been hired for

building the main dam wall, the contract signed and the workers deployed to

the site.

A view of the Murum Valley which will be flooded to create an 80m-high

reservoir for the Murum Dam. (inset) A sign post erected near the valley

signalling the construction of the RM3bil Murum Dam is in progress. By

Stephen Then / The Star

 

*The Star* visited Murum and found that signposts and road signs erected all

over Murum, a crystal-clear indication that the state government was going

ahead full-steam with the project despite desperate attempts by concerned

folk to stop the construction works.

 

The Land and Survey Department had already classified the entire Murum

Valley as state-acquired land.

 

It is understandable that the Murum natives are angry. The project had been

carried out without their consent and they have to vacate their ancestral

home.

 

They will lose their farms and native customary land. In September, 14

longhouse chiefs from Murum and a group of activists from several

environmental watchdog groups staged a peaceful protest in front of the

Chief Minister’s Office in the state capital.

 

That attempt was futile. Not only did the Chief Minister’s Office staff

refused to meet the protestors, they called the police.

An uncertain future: The lives of the Murum natives hang in the balance

with the construction of the dam.

 

The natives are now contemplating legal action to halt the Murum Dam

construction, but past experience has shown that this too will be futile in

the end.

 

“We will continue to do what we can to try to stop the project. The affected

residents are looking at all available avenues,” said Raymond Abin, director

of Sarawak Conservation Action Network, a coalition of more than a dozen

NGOs from the state as well as the rest of Malaysia.

 

While they may want to continue their protests and legal actions, the

affected folks must prepare for the worst.

 

They will sooner or later be forced to move out from Murum Valley and the

banks of Murum River because the entire region will be flooded to create a

35,000ha reservoir. The Murum Dam is expected to be completed by 2013 to

generate 900MWs of power.

 

The protests and legal suits will only delay the project or disrupt it

temporarily. The state will not bow to such pressure, as demonstrated by the

Bakun and Batang Ai hydro-electric dams.

 

The activists should give more attention to helping the affected folk secure

a better compensation package.

 

The affected residents must be united and must firmly demand for better

housing facilities at the resettlement sites with free housing units, free

electricity and water supply, proper roads, public transportation, schools,

clinics, written guarantees of land titles and assurance of jobs from the

Murum Dam development.