Sabah 100-year carbon trading deal: Controversy as indigenous communities bemoan lack of consultation, details

KOTA KINABALU: The road to Kampung Buayan in Ulu Papar on Sabah’s west coast changes from asphalt to gravel, and then just red earth which turns almost muddy instantly after a short spell of rain.

News of the Nature Conservation Agreement , a carbon trading deal signed in late October last year, has such indigenous communities concerned. Under the agreement, Hoch Standard will restore and commercialise 50,000 ha from this designated area over the first two years of the agreement’s term. However, the state government remains bullish about the long-term economic benefits and viability of the project.“NO GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL EXPLAINED THE AGREEMENT”

Dr Ho, who is also Singapore’s non-resident ambassador to Mexico, reportedly said that the company is in active discussions with Sulawesi, Western Australia and East Timor on other carbon trading projects. Likewise, former Sabah senator Adrian Banie Lasimbang, an activist who has been working with the indigenous communities on various development projects over the years, said he only learnt about the deal after he saw media reports.

Similarly, head of non-governmental coalition Sabah Environment Protection Association Alexander Yee said he was not against the idea of a carbon trading deal. However, he expressed misgivings over how the NCA was finalised. A copy of the leaked agreement has been posted on online forums and critics of the deal argue that some of the clauses might put the local communities at a disadvantage.

Mr Golokin, Hoch Standard’s advisor who signed the agreement on behalf of the company, declined to comment when approached by CNA.Malaysia's Sabah aims to win big as world's first green palm oil stateIn Ulu Papar, there are five villages with over 1,000 residents. From their perspective, they are concerned that the carbon trading deal might affect their livelihoods which are dependent on what nature provides.

A school in Kampung Buayan, which is attended by children from the surrounding villages in Ulu Papar. “With what we now know about the wording of the agreement, we might not be able to enter the forests for our traditional herbs and hunt for food.”Irene Kodoyou and her husband Julius Kurumbong are no strangers to land issues. In this photo, they pose with posters protesting an earlier proposed dam in Ulu Papar, which would have displaced them and other villagers. Sabah’s Attorney-General Nor Asiah Mohd Yusof has also weighed in on the issue.

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