Three people were killed and seven injured when a landslide swept through a logging camp in the Upper Limbang region of the Malaysian state of Sarawak. The Bruno Manser Fund, an NGO that campaigns on behalf of Sarawak’s indigenous people, links the landslide to logging.
“The landslide is a direct consequence of destructive logging practices,” it said in a statement. “The landslide took place near Long Sebayang on the upper reaches of the Limbang river. Logging in the area, which is claimed by local Penan and Kelabit communities, has been controversial since the mid-1980s when locals set up a number of logging-road blockades to prevent the timber companies from encroaching their rainforests.”
The group says that logging in the area is currently being carried out by Lee Ling Timber, a company headquartered in Limbang. Samling also operates in the area.
Research elsewhere has shown that removal of trees and vegetation from hillsides can increase the incidence of landslides.
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