As Sarawak’s top officials plan three new hydropower dams, seemingly eager to export more electricity, some Indigenous residents of the Malaysian Bornean state are urging officials to slow down development to properly inform everyone who will be affected. Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg has been hinting at plans to build new dams since the end of last year, but he confirmed this month that the state plans to construct three more hydropower dams. The dams would be built in Kapit district’s Gaat River, Belaga district’s Belaga River and Baram district’s Tutoh River. Abang Johari gave several reasons for promoting new hydropower, ranging from the expected — more power for the province — to more unconventional, notably saying that residents now use roads instead of rivers, implying they would not be negatively affected by dams, that residents asked for the dams and that cascading dams would prevent crocodile populations from increasing. Following the announcement, more than 500 residents around the Tutoh dam site signed a petition led by the Miri-based NGO SAVE Rivers, calling for more information about the cascading dam project and an assessment of potential environmental impacts. SAVE Rivers’ managing director Celine Lim said in a press release that residents of the Baram area are frequently left in the dark about major development projects, and are not properly consulted to determine potential impacts. “The suggestion that communities no longer use the rivers is particularly alarming and demonstrates that policy makers are out of step with reality. While it…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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