Indigenous groups in Sarawak push for formal decision-making power and direct revenue sharing in the state’s upcoming carbon trading laws.
KUCHING: Native communities in Sarawak, who make up around 60% of the state’s 2.8 million population, are calling for a formal role in decision-making and a direct share of financial benefits from upcoming carbon trading laws being developed by the state government.
The Sarawak Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has submitted an official request to the state government, urging that indigenous communities be included as key stakeholders in shaping carbon trading policies.
DCCI president Datuk Allan Keripin Nangkai said native groups should not only be consulted but also given formal authority in policy formulation and benefit-sharing mechanisms linked to carbon-related revenue.
“We DCCI want the state government to accord the native communities in Sarawak official roles in shaping carbon trading policies and laws, making decisions, and benefit-sharing with regards to financial revenue from the carbon trading projects in Sarawak,” he said.
He stressed that indigenous communities are the original custodians of Sarawak’s forests and should therefore be recognised as rightful stakeholders in any carbon economy initiatives.
“The native communities in Sarawak are the indigenous inhabitants of the Sarawak forests. We are therefore the rightful custodians of the Sarawak forests,” he said.
“It is only right that we benefit from the carbon trading projects being implemented by the state.”
Allan made the remarks during a Gawai-Kaamatan dinner held in Kuching, jointly organised by DCCI and the Sabah Kadazan Dusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He said the Sarawak Orang Ulu business community, along with other ethnic groups, also supports the call for broader inclusion of native communities in carbon trading arrangements.
DCCI is proposing that the state government establish a joint consultative platform involving native organisations to ensure inclusive participation in the development of carbon trading policies.
Allan said such a mechanism would help ensure transparency, fairness and shared ownership in Sarawak’s emerging green economy initiatives.
