Indigenous communities left in the dark on Borneo hydropower plan advocate for their river

The premier of the Malaysian state of Sarawak recently announced new dam projects on three rivers in Borneo without the informed consent of local people.

The managing director of the Sarawak-based NGO SAVE Rivers, Celine Lim, joins the podcast to discuss with co-host Rachel Donald how these potential dam projects could impact rivers and human communities in Borneo. She also reflects on lessons learned from a recent visit with Indigenous communities in California, who successfully argued for the removal of dams on the Klamath River and are now restoring its floodplain.

She says her community relies on the Tutoh River for food and transport, so the announcement “definitely threw the community into a frenzy because no one knew of this plan before the announcement.”

Read the full story from Danielle Keeton-Olsen and view footage of the guest's trip to California with the Borneo Project here at Instagram.

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Image Credit: A man steers his motorboat near Long Moh village on August 26, 2023. The village is located along the Baram River. Image by Danielle Keeton-Olsen for Mongabay.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Introduction

(02:36) A lack of consultation

(10:05) Legal rights and UNDRIP

(13:42) Impact of hydropower projects on Sarawak

(20:39) A relationship with the river

(27:58) Solidarity and solace on the Klamath River

(33:10) Breaking down the cognitive dissonance

(43:16) Credits