The degradation of rainforests in Sarawak, East Malaysia, and its implications for future management policies

Abstract

The paper focuses on rainforest degradation in Sarawak during the rapid economic development of the state since the late 1970s. Evidence from government statistics, satellite and cartographic data, together with the responses of interviewees in rural areas, indicate that forest degradation is due not only to the activities of commercial timber companies, but also to those of rural communities, and has originated in, and been maintained by, the current systems and policies governing land tenure and natural resource exploitation in the state. The research indicates that more sustainable forms of development in Sarawak's rural areas will not be feasible until issues of a centralised government administration and the unregulated exploitation of natural resources are resolved. © 1995.