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Witness History: The struggle to save Borneo's rainforests

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The struggle to save Borneo's rainforests

22/07/2020 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The struggle to save Borneo's rainforests

When logging threatened the rainforests of Sarawak, local communities fought back

When logging threatened the rainforests of Sarawak, local communities fought back with blockades and an international publicity campaign.

The rainforests of Sarawak in Malaysia on the island of Borneo are some of the richest and most biodiverse ecosystems on earth - but for decades they've been under threat from commercial logging, permitted by the Malaysian government. In the 1980s, local people from the Penan and Kelabit ethnic groups began to fight back against the logging, setting up blockades and appealing to international environmental groups for support. Their campaign would make headlines around the world.

Lucy Burns speaks to activist Mutang Urud, who helped organise the blockades and later went on a world tour to attract attention to their cause.

PICTURE: Tribespeople with spears block the road as plantation company vehicles approach a blockade in Long Nen in Malaysia's Sarawak State in August 2009. (AFP photo/Saeed Khan via Getty Images)

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