Our successes
Saving the Mulu rainforest
In 2019, the Bruno Manser Fonds saved 4,400 hectares of rainforest near the UNESCO-protected Mulu National Park in Sarawak from destruction by an oil palm plantation. Thanks to local protests and international pressure, the bulldozers had to be withdrawn.
Awarded map of the rainforest
In 2017, the Bruno Manser Fonds published the map series "Penan Community Maps - Sarawak, Malaysia" at a scale of 1:35,000 based on 15 years of mapping work. The territories of 63 Penan villages, covering almost 10,000 km² of rainforest, were mapped: 7,000 bodies of water, 1,800 mountains and 1,500 arrow-poison trees are now listed under an indigenous name for the first time. In 2019, the we received the "Prix Carto" of the Swiss Society for Cartography, one of the world's most prestigious cartography prizes, for the maps. The maps are available in the shop.
Cancellation of the Baram Dam
In 2016, the government of Sarawak definitely renounced the construction of the controversial 1200 MW dam on the Baram River and returned the expropriated land to the affected indigenous communities. The dam would have flooded 26 indigenous villages and 400km² of rainforest. The Bruno Manser Fonds supported protest actions and blockades of the affected population, worked out alternative energy scenarios with science and exposed involved consulting firms from the global North.
Clean energy in the rainforest
After the victory against the Baram Dam, the Bruno Manser Fonds led a campaign for clean electricity in the rainforest. The pressure worked: The Sarawak government now wants to electrify all villages with solar panels by 2025!
Protection of one of the last primeval forests in Europe
The European Court of Justice stopped the illegal logging of the Bialowieza Forest in Poland in 2017. The coalition of Polish NGOs supported by the Bruno Manser Fonds achieved an important success.
Retention of the timber declaration obligation
In 2019 the Federal Council had to bury its plan to abolish the wood declaration obligation. Lobbying by the Bruno Manser Fonds and a petition to parliament had an impact.
Rainforest park for indigenous people
The government of Sarawak supports the Baram Peace Park, a virgin forest park initiated by the Bruno Manser Fonds, and submitted a funding application to the International Tropical Timber Organization ITTO in 2018. The indigenous villages are currently negotiating with the Sarawak Forestry Department on the implementation of the park.
Innovative Penan tree nursery
The strengths of the Penan are their knowledge of trees and access to the last areas of primary rainforest, which they have successfully protected with blockades against logging. The Bruno Manser Fonds tree nursery, founded in 2019, builds on this: In this unique project, the Penan village of Long Kerong supplies the surrounding villages with seedlings. Through the sale, Long Kerong generates a sustainable income for the community and enables the surrounding communities to upgrade their deforested forests. To do so, they collect seeds from jungle giants and care for the seedlings until they can be planted.
The water in our river has been contaminated by the logging.