08-Mar-23 15:00

Shamila Ariffin, Senior Research & Media Officer, Sahabat Alam Malaysia

These past few weeks have seen several states in Malaysia experiencing continuous rainfall, and subsequently with that, the occurrence of floods, evacuations, massive disruptions and destruction, and even the loss of life. Over in some areas in Sarawak, flooding has become more frequent and intense in recent years, as witnessed by the local communities there. NGO  Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), who have an office over in Marudi, Sarawak have also expressed their continued concern over this, and have noted that prior to the large scale conversion of forests for the purpose of monoculture plantations, such floods were rather uncommon in the upstream areas of interior Sarawak and believe that it's likely they are part of the adverse environmental consequences of deforestation. We speak to Shamila Ariffin, to discuss the situation over in Sarawak, and to help us connect the dots to how clear-cutting forests, and then turning them into monocultures has come to impact the landscape and the indigenous communities living there adversely.

Image credit: Mary Puyang, via Sahabat Alam Malaysia website