Big Wins for Indigenous Communities in Malaysian Borneo!

Indigenous Land Rights and Mega Dams in Sarawak

In Sarawak, the state where Green Empowerment implemented our very first project in Malaysian Borneo, the indigenous community members along the Baram River were successful in re-gaining the rights to their land. Prior to this victory, the Native Customary Rights (NCR) land claims of over 10,000 Baram residents had been revoked when the area was claimed by the state for the construction of the Baram Dam. Advocating to reverse this decision, Green Empowerment staff member Gabe Wynn and several activists met with Sarawak’s Chief Minister to discuss the project and present the benefits of using renewable energy such as solar, wind, sustainable biomass and micro-hydro in place of mega hydro-dams. Two weeks later, a moratorium on dam construction on the Baram River was announced by the Chief Minister himself. Score one for indigenous land rights (and renewable energy)! Read more about it, including quotes from the Chief Minister, here.

Final stages of construction and testing of the micro-hydro system in Kampung Kalangaan

Sustainable Electricity in Kampung Kalangaan

The lights just came on in Kampung Kalangaan, a village in Sabah, for the first time thanks to a micro-hydro system Green Empowerment has been working on for the past year. Kalangaan is another village threatened by plans for a mega dam, but the success of the micro-hydro system electrification project shows that using alternative renewable energy sources is a viable, non-destructive and sustainable solution for communities like this.

Green Empowerment is proud of the work we’re doing to support resistance communities in Borneo and beyond to advocate for the integration of sustainable development with social justice.

It works! The power comes on in Kampung Kalangaan.

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