The Bakun Dam project and its consequence to the Indingenous People and the ecosystem of Sarawak, Malaysia.

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Overview

• The Bakun Dam is located in Sarawak, Malaysia 37 km north of the Bulai river (Lee).
• The dam being constructed will be 205 meters high, 740 meters long, 560 meteres wide and will have a 2400 MegaWatt capacity which could potentially power a large portion of Sarawak state (Lee).
• However, the construction of the Bakun Dam will potentially destroy 69,640 hectares of rich ecosystems by submerging them. This is relatively the same size as Singapore (Lee).

The construction of Bakun and its effects to the indingenous people

• Around 15 communites would be effected as a result of the construction of the dam (Lee).
• Approximately 9,500 indigenous people will be effected (Choy, 2004).
• The indigenous people effected will include: Kenyah, Kayan, Cajang, Ukit and the Penan (Choy, 2004).
• The indigenous people around the area of Bulai river close to the Bakun dam are mainly subsistance famers that practice shift cultiviation (Choy, 2004).
• Their main source of meat is fishing and hunting (Lee).
• They obtain most of their resources from the jungles (Choy, 2004).
• Losing this land would not only mean losing their food supplies and critical resources, but also their ancient burial grounds (Lee).

The ecosystem and forests of Sarawak

• The Island of Borneo is rich in primary tropical rainforests. Including the areas of closer to the rivers and seas are the large mangrove forests that strech from Malaysia's part of the Borneo island to Indonesia (Borneo Project).
• The area proposed for the construction of the dam would jeporadize many native species that reside in the area. There are about 100 species of flora and fauna that are native to the area. Some of the famous flagship sepcies that reside within this area are the Great Leaf Monkey, the Borneo Gibbon, and the Malayan Sunbear (Borneo Project).
• Much of the timber and other valualbe resources from the forests come from this area of Sarawak (The Third World Network).

The indingenous people and their struggles

• It isn't uncommon for the indingenous people in the Sarawak area to be exposed to exploitation and enviromental injustice. For example, besides the troubles with the Bukan Dam project, the Penan tribesmen have been fending off large logging companies that have threatened to exploit and own most of their homelands (Choy, 2004).
• The Bukan Dam project covers about 51 percent of the land area that is owned by the natives. However, owning the land does not necessarily mean that they are not liable to reposseion and utility of land if the central government of Malaysia decides to do so (Lee).
• The displacement of people from their homes would also mean a loss to their way of lfie and many other important resources that sustains the indingeous people's way of life (Lee).

The proposal of Bakun Dam over the years

• The state of Sarawak is rich in natural resources. Large products of palm oil, natural gas, rubber, and timber are its main sources of export. Many of these resources have been utilized and economically, Sarawak up till today is looking to expand economically (Lee).
• The Bukan Dam was proposed in 1980s, but was rejected in 1990 due to enviromental impacts that it would cause to the area. However, later in the 90s, the booming economy encouraged many politicians to take up the project. The Bukan Dam if constructed would have created a revenue 11.6 billion in anual income (Lee).
• Economic strategist also presumed that the resivour area would attract foriegn investment by creating aluminum, pulp, paper and other industries (Lee).
• The economic plan also justified that it would bring indigenous people of the area to be integrated into the economy. The initial plans also highlighted employment and other oppurtunities that might be enjoyed by the indingenous people of the area (Choy, 2004).
• However, the economic downfall of 1997 halted the project from being carried out (Lee).
• When the project was proposed to be resumed later on, many objections were raised by different NGOs and indingenous groups. The objections were stated as:

1.  The current energy consumption of the whole Sarawak state is only 500 MW. 700 MW of electricity is already being generated from present sources and there is room for expansion to about 1000 MW. At the same time, the prediction for energy usage in Sarawak is expected to drop from 9.8 percent in 2000 to just 5.6 percent in 2010 (Kua 2000). Thus, it makes the energy generated by Bakun Dam unnecessary (Lee).
2. Critics also commented that Bakun's electricity is neither the cheapest nor the cleanest. The cost of Bakun's electricity will actually be the most expensive ever and when electricity prices increase, the Malaysian consumers will have to bear the costs (Lee).
3. Furthermore, the dam is sited in a remote part of Sarawak, which means that it has to rely on the transmission of electricity through overland and undersea cables that may not be the safest options. Also, the environmental impacts of these cables are still unforeseen (Lee).
4. Lastly, the indigenous people have been consulted on a limited level concerning the planning of the dam. There is no public access to the important feasibility studies and no feedback is collected from the public on the Environmental Impact Assessment process (Lee).

(The following numerical points are direct quotes from Hui L. Lee's "Enviromental Justice Case Study")

Other video sources:

Video to Bakun Dam Sarawak, Malaysia

Work Cited:

Choy, Yee K. Sustainable Development and the Social and Cultural Impact of a Dam-Induced Development Strategy---the Bakun Experience. Pacific Affairs. Mar.-Apr. 2004. Keio University. 23 Oct. 2008 <ebsco database: academic search primier keyword: bakun dam>. 

"Court halts demolition of Bakun houses." The Borneo Project. 23 July 2008. The Borneo Project. 23 Oct. 2008 <http://borneoproject.org/downloads/bakun%20demolition%20stopped%2023%20july%2008.doc>.