DOCSLIB.ORG

West Sarawak

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
West Sarawak THE DISTRIBUTION OF MIGRATORY WADERS IN SOUTH-WEST SARAWAK Phillip J. Edwards & Duncan Parish Edwards,P.J. & Parish,D. 198•. The distribution of migratory waders in south-west Sarawak. Wader Study Group Bull. 54: 36-40. The first complete survey of waders to be undertaken on the south-west coast of Sarawak was carried out between Santubong and Kuaia Igan during the period of southward migration in 1985. Combining the results of a ground and an aerial survey gives a minimum usage for this stretch of coast of 30 757 waders plus 357 at two inland sites. Thirty-four species of wader were observed including two new records for Sarawak. The distribution of waders was found to be heavily in•iuenced by the presence of healthy mangrove systems. One site of international importance was discovered - Putau Bruit. This held almost 604 o• all the waders recorded during the survey including over 14 of the world populations of Asian DowitcherLimnodromus semipaimatus and Eastern Curlew Wumenius madagascariensis. Phillip J. Edwards, Environmental Management Consultants Ltd., The Old School, Carlton, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 9JY, UK. Duncan Parish, Asian Wetland Bureau, Institute of Advanced Studies, Universiti Malaya, Lembah Pantai, 59100 Kuaia Lumpur, Maiaysia. INTRODUCTION METHODS Of all the wetlands of the world, least is Before undertaking the field surveys, known about those of South-east Asia while topographic and land-use maps of the entire concurrently there is perhaps most human Sarawak coastline were examined together with pressure upon them. In addition to their oblique colour aerial photographs taken as part commercial value, these coastal wetlands are of the National Coastal Erosion Survey (Stanley important to large numbers of waders migrating Consultants 1985). These enabled easy between their Dreeding grounds in northern identification of areas with extensive China and Russia and their non-breeding grounds mangroves and mudflats, those with sandy in Australia. In order to elucidate the routes substrate, and those sections which are these waders use, their major refuelling stops, eroding. These studies indicated that the only and the numbers involved, the East Asia/Pacific areas with wide mudfiats were in the two large Shorebird Study Programme (INTERWADER) was bays at either end of the state. The bay established in 1983. As part of its 1985 immediately east of Kuching was selected for programme, a survey of the major mangrove and the first survey (Figure 1) and a later study mudflat areas of the Sarawak coast was looked at Brunei Bay (Howes and NPWO 1986b). undertaken. Ground surveys were undertaken using 10 x 40 Utilization of coastal areas by migrant waders binoculars and 20 x 60 telescopes mounted on in $arawak has previously been little studied. tripods. Beaches and mudflats were surveyed Limited observations were made by Smythies either from small fishing boats or, more (1957), Fogden (1965, 1966), Croxall (1969), satisfactorily, after landing from small speed and Burton (1978) and some collections were boats. In the case of sand or hard mud, the made by Banks (1935) and Harrison (1950, 1957). area could be traversed easily on foot. 'Where However, no comprehensive survey was completed. extensive areas of soft mud were encountered, This paper provides details of the first landing was possible only from the numerous complete survey of waders to be undertaken on rivers that bisected the flats, and counts were the south-west coast of Sarawak, carried out made, therefore, only from these places. between Santubong and Kuaia Igan from 28 Surveys were made for the most part by two September to i November 1985 and of an aerial people, one identifying and counting, the other survey conducted on 8 November 1985. recording. Checks were made at random intervals by reversing the roles. In cases where only one person was able to survey, counts were made STUDY AREA AND HABITATS into a pocket tape-recorder and transcribed later in the day. Sarawak, one of the two East Malaysfan states, is situated on the northern side of the island All stages of the tidal cycle were encountered of Borneo. The coastline is approximately 1 050 during the survey period. By consulting km long and is orientated generally in a SW-NE tide-tables it was attempted to survey sandy direction. Much of this length comprises sandy coasts near high tide in order to identify beaches but two areas of extensive mangrove and high-tide roosts. Muddy coasts were counted mudflats occur in a large bay east of Kuching near mid-tide, where possible, and preferably in the south-west of the state, and in Brunei on the flood so that boats did not get Bay in the north-east. The majority of the stranded. Time allowed only one count along sandy coast is vegetated with Casurina each part of the coast with the exception of equestifolia and backed by ribbon development Jerijeh North Sands (counted at both high and of agriculture. The mangrove areas are low tide on the same day) and a small section dominated by Rhizophora spp. and, where the of Pulau Bruit (counted twice, 3 weeks apart). coast is actively accreting, by Avicennia marina. The palm Nipa fruticans predominates Aerial surveys were made using helicopters along the banks of the estuarine rivers. provided by the RMAF. One was flown between 37 RESULTS ',• Mudflats x•, Limits of iurv©y A total of 28 694 waders were recorded during the ground survey while the subsequent aerial suzvey produced a count of almost 23 000. The difference between these totals may be accounted for by difficulties in counting birds from the air, e.g. high speed and in places high altitude, leading to under-estimation. Differences may also be due to the onward migration of some birds between the ground surveys in September and October and the aerial survey in November. Not all the aerial counts were, however, lower than the corresponding ground ones. In some sectors, where the ground counts were hampered by poor access or bad weather, the aerial counts revealed larger concentrations of waders. The figures have been combined, therefore, to give a maximum count. This reveals 30 757 waders on this part of the coastline with another 357 found on the two inland sites (Table 1). Of the 28 694 waders observed during the ground survey, 20 576 (71.74) were identified to genus or species. Thirty-four species were recognised of which two were new records for Sarawak, namely Black-winged (or Pied) Stilt Himantopus himantopus ieucocephalus and Sharp-tailed Figure 1. hocation of the survey area. Sandpiper Caiidris acuminata (Edwards and Polshek 1987). Table 2 provides a breakdown of the numbers recorded by species and by survey sector. It shows that the five most abundant Kuching and Samunsan (to the west) at 1 000 ft species were Redshank Tringa totanus (18.44) , and at 1 000 ft in a Sikorsky 61. No waders Greater Sandplover Charadrius leschenauiti were recorded, possibly because the altitude (15.34), Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus was too great. The aerial survey coinciding (13.64), Red-necked Stint Caiidris ruœicollis with most of the area covered on the ground was (8.04;, and Curlew Sandpiper Calidris flown in an Allouette Mk .3 at 60-i00 knots œerruginae (7.74). below 5U0 ft. Count data were recorded on tape together with information on habitat. Coastal Sites Photographs were taken at important sites. Figure 2 illustrates the distribution of waders over the 14 coastal sectors surveyed. No particular pattern emerges from this although Table I. Distribution of waders by sector along the Sarawak coast, recorded during ground and aerial surveys in September - November 1985. Ground Aerial max•%r:.• • MaX. Sector Survey Survey Coun• Count S. Buntai - S. Bako 1 161 270 1 161 3.73 West coast •ako NP 149 NS 149 0 48 East coast Bako NP 98 211 211• 0 68 M Tebas - K. Samarahan 34 46 46 •' 0 15 K Samara•an - K. Sadong 4 054P 5 3?2 5 372 17 27 K Sadong - K. Lupar 154 151 i54 0 5O K Lupar - K. Saribas 622 473 622 2 00 K Saribas - K. Kabong 1 263 145 1 263 4 06 K Kabong - K. Rajang 600 913 913 2 94 K Rajang - K. Beiawai 746 94 746 2 4O K Beiawai - K. Paloh 368P 940 940 Pulau Bruit 18 597 14 300 18 597 59 77 Pulau Patok 256 NS 256 0.82 Maura Lassa - K. Ig•n 317 NS 317 1.02 Sub-total 28 331 22 943 30 757 98.•1 Tekajong marsh and rice paddies 134 NS 134 0.43 Kuching Airport 223 NS 223 0.75 TOTAL 28 688 22 943 31 114 NS = Not surveyed, P = Partial count, S = Sungai, K = Kuala, M = Muara The maximum count column contains the number of birds recorded on either the ground or aerial surveys - whichever is the highest. The 4 maximum count is the percentage of birds recorded in each sector, based on totals in the maximum count column. Table 2. Distribution of different wader species by sector along the Sarawak coast. A B C D E F G H I • K L M N o P TOTAL % Bhck-winged Stilt 3 3 0.01 Oriental Pratincole 109 0.38 Grey-headedLapwing 1 0.01 Pacific Golden Plover 34 157 0.55 Grey Plover 13 246 372 1.30 Little Ringed Plover 1 17 0.06 Kentish Plover 1• 3 55 0.19 MalaystanPlover 1 4 0.01 MongolianPlover sb 9 51 • 114• 1266 4.41 Greater Sandplover 3O3 41• 23 741 I91 179 49 I179 3137 10.93 Black-tailed Godwit 2 4 1 3 1074 I084 3.78 Bar-tailed Godwit 16 22 25 581 695 2.42 Limosa sp.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 14346 Inai 2020 E.Docx
    International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change. www.ijicc.net Volume 14, Issue 3, 2020 The Analysis of Food Symbols in the ‘Serarang’ Ritual of the Melanau Likow Community in Dalat, Sarawak Noor Norazila Inaia, Mohamad Maulana Magimanb*, Norhuda Sallehc , d e f Ahmad Nasir Mohd Yusoff & Mangai Tugau , Septian Aji Permana a,e , Ph.D candidate, Department of Social Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Sarawak, Malaysia, bSenior Lecturer, Department of Social Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Sarawak, Malaysia, cSenior Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Heritage, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, d Senior Lecturer, Department of Government And Civilization Studies, Faculty of Human Ecology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor,Malaysia, Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Email: [email protected]. The Serarang ritual is a form of performance performed in the Melanau Likow community to be presented to Ipok. The presentation consists of symbolic elements based on each type of food served. These symbolic elements are involved with the belief and cosmological system that surround the lives of Melanau Likow. The main focus of this research is to analyse the symbol of food in the Serarang ritual from the viewpoint of non-verbal communication. This research used an ethnographic approach and the researchers also participated in the ritual. The data was collected through an in-depth interview with the main informant, Tama Kaul, and with the other ritual practitioners. The research was conducted in Kampung Medong, Dalat Sarawak. The data analysis found that the food that was delivered to Ipok had its own meaning and could be interpreted through shape, colour, and the way it was presented.
    [Show full text]
  • The ISEAS Borneo Survey: Autonomy, Identity, Islam and Language/Education in Sarawak
    ISSUE: 2018 No. 19 ISSN 2335-6677 RESEARCHERS AT ISEAS – YUSOF ISHAK INSTITUTE ANALYSE CURRENT EVENTS Singapore | 5 April 2018 The ISEAS Borneo Survey: Autonomy, Identity, Islam and Language/Education in Sarawak Lee Hock Guan* EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute recently commissioned a public opinion survey of East Malaysian’s perspectives on Federal-State relationship, identity/religion, education/language and selected current issues. • The survey found strong support across all demographic groups in the Malaysian state of Sarawak for greater autonomy for the state, particularly in the areas of economic development, exploitation of natural resources, and education. • 63 percent of respondents identify themselves as Sarawakian first, and only about 25 per cent identify themselves as Malaysian citizens first. • The majority of respondents do not support Islam as the official state religion. 85 per cent of the Chinese respondents and 52 per cent of non-Muslim bumiputera respondents do not agree to having Islam as the state religion. In contrast 85 per cent of Muslim bumiputera respondents do. • Respondents across all demographic groups enthusiastically support reinstating English as the official state language and English medium schools in the state. * Lee Hock Guan is Senior Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. 1 ISSUE: 2018 No. 19 ISSN 2335-6677 INTRODUCTION ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute funded a survey recently which includes a section that is specifically about Sarawak. This survey was conducted between 12 and 25 July 2016. A sample of 803 respondents were interviewed via fixed-line and mobile phones. When Sarawak merged with the Malaysian Federation in 1963, the state was granted greater autonomy and had important privileges and safeguards bestowed upon it.1 Those privileges and safeguards have nevertheless been incrementally eroded or removed, especially after Singapore left the Federation in 1965 and the central government intervened to instate Rahman Yakup, a Muslim Melanau, as the third Chief Minister in 1970.
    [Show full text]
  • Paul Beavitt My Aim in This Paper Is to Consider the Relationship Between
    Paul Beavitt: Melanau Sickness Images: Spirits Given Physical Form 95 MELANAU SICKNESS IMAGES: SPIRITS GIVEN PHYSICAL FORM Paul Beavitt My aim in this paper is to consider the relationship between art and the act of healing with respect to one society in north eastern Borneo. This group, the Melanau, lives on the coastal areas of what is now the state of Sarawak, in East Malaysia. They were studied in 1949 and 1950 by Dr. H.S. Morris who died before he completed his planned publications. However, Beatrice Clayre edited his proposed study of Melanau ritual and belief for the Sarawak Museum Journal, and this volume provides the main source for this account. There were some 44,000 Melanau in Sarawak in 1960 - Jones 196 - three years before the formation of Malaysia - and, of these, some 10,000 followed traditional religious practices at that time, the rest were Moslem and Christian. Since this time, the number practicing traditional beliefs has declined further and greater numbers have become incorporated into Islam, and the population has intermingled more with coastal Malays. It is widely accepted that the Melanau were originally a part of the Kayan, Kajang, Kajaman population group, who were thought to have originated in the Usan Apau uplands of north central Borneo but later moved down river toward a number of coastal locations (Figure 1 on CD) where they began to cultivate the sago palm, in the swamp forests, frequently flooded by a combination of monsoon tides and the high rainfall in the region (in excess of 150 inches per year).
    [Show full text]
  • English for the Indigenous People of Sarawak: Focus on the Bidayuhs
    CHAPTER 6 English for the Indigenous People of Sarawak: Focus on the Bidayuhs Patricia Nora Riget and Xiaomei Wang Introduction Sarawak covers a vast land area of 124,450 km2 and is the largest state in Malaysia. Despite its size, its population of 2.4 million people constitutes less than one tenth of the country’s population of 30 million people (as of 2015). In terms of its ethnic composition, besides the Malays and Chinese, there are at least 10 main indigenous groups living within the state’s border, namely the Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Bisaya, Kelabit, Lun Bawang, Penan, Kayan, Kenyah and Kajang, the last three being collectively known as the Orang Ulu (lit. ‘upriver people’), a term that also includes other smaller groups (Hood, 2006). The Bidayuh (formerly known as the Land Dayaks) population is 198,473 (State Planning Unit, 2010), which constitutes roughly 8% of the total popula- tion of Sarawak. The Bidayuhs form the fourth largest ethnic group after the Ibans, the Chinese and the Malays. In terms of their distribution and density, the Bidayuhs are mostly found living in the Lundu, Bau and Kuching districts (Kuching Division) and in the Serian district (Samarahan Division), situated at the western end of Sarawak (Rensch et al., 2006). However, due to the lack of employment opportunities in their native districts, many Bidayuhs, especially youths, have migrated to other parts of the state, such as Miri in the east, for job opportunities and many have moved to parts of Peninsula Malaysia, espe- cially Kuala Lumpur, to seek greener pastures. Traditionally, the Bidayuhs lived in longhouses along the hills and were involved primarily in hill paddy planting.
    [Show full text]
  • The North Kalimantan Communist Party and the People's Republic Of
    The Developing Economies, XLIII-4 (December 2005): 489–513 THE NORTH KALIMANTAN COMMUNIST PARTY AND THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FUJIO HARA First version received January 2005; final version accepted July 2005 In this article, the author offers a detailed analysis of the history of the North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP), a political organization whose foundation date itself has been thus far ambiguous, relying mainly on the party’s own documents. The relation- ships between the Brunei Uprising and the armed struggle in Sarawak are also referred to. Though the Brunei Uprising of 1962 waged by the Partai Rakyat Brunei (People’s Party of Brunei) was soon followed by armed struggle in Sarawak, their relations have so far not been adequately analyzed. The author also examines the decisive roles played by Wen Ming Chyuan, Chairman of the NKCP, and the People’s Republic of China, which supported the NKCP for the entire period following its inauguration. INTRODUCTION PRELIMINARY study of the North Kalimantan Communist Party (NKCP, here- after referred to as “the Party”), an illegal leftist political party based in A Sarawak, was published by this author in 2000 (Hara 2000). However, the study did not rely on the official documents of the Party itself, but instead relied mainly on information provided by third parties such as the Renmin ribao of China and the Zhen xian bao, the newspaper that was the weekly organ of the now defunct Barisan Sosialis of Singapore. Though these were closely connected with the NKCP, many problems still remained unresolved. In this study the author attempts to construct a more precise party history relying mainly on the party’s own information and docu- ments provided by former members during the author’s visit to Sibu in August 2001.1 –––––––––––––––––––––––––– This paper is an outcome of research funded by the Pache Research Subsidy I-A of Nanzan University for the academic year 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • The Response of the Indigenous Peoples of Sarawak
    Third WorldQuarterly, Vol21, No 6, pp 977 – 988, 2000 Globalizationand democratization: the responseo ftheindigenous peoples o f Sarawak SABIHAHOSMAN ABSTRACT Globalizationis amulti-layered anddialectical process involving two consequenttendencies— homogenizing and particularizing— at the same time. Thequestion of howand in whatways these contendingforces operatein Sarawakand in Malaysiaas awholeis therefore crucial in aneffort to capture this dynamic.This article examinesthe impactof globalizationon the democra- tization process andother domestic political activities of the indigenouspeoples (IPs)of Sarawak.It shows howthe democratizationprocess canbe anempower- ingone, thus enablingthe actors to managethe effects ofglobalization in their lives. Thecon ict betweenthe IPsandthe state againstthe depletionof the tropical rainforest is manifested in the form of blockadesand unlawful occu- pationof state landby the former as aform of resistance andprotest. Insome situations the federal andstate governmentshave treated this actionas aserious globalissue betweenthe international NGOsandthe Malaysian/Sarawakgovern- ment.In this case globalizationhas affected boththe nation-state andthe IPs in different ways.Globalization has triggered agreater awareness of self-empow- erment anddemocratization among the IPs. These are importantforces in capturingsome aspects of globalizationat the local level. Globalization is amulti-layered anddialectical process involvingboth homoge- nization andparticularization, ie the rise oflocalism in politics, economics,
    [Show full text]
  • Getting the Malaysian Native Penan Community Do Business for Inclusive Development and Sustainable Livelihood
    PROSIDING PERKEM 10, (2015) 434 – 443 ISSN: 2231-962X Getting The Malaysian Native Penan Community Do Business For Inclusive Development And Sustainable Livelihood Doris Padmini Selvaratnam Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Email: [email protected] Hamidah Yamat Faculty of Education Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Email: [email protected] Sivapalan Selvadurai Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Email: [email protected] Novel Lyndon Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Email: [email protected] ABRSTRACT The Penan are a minority indigenous community in Sarawak, Malaysia. Traditionally the avatars of highland tropical forests, today they are displaced, in a foreign setting, forced to pick up new trade and skills to survive the demands of national economic advancement. Forced relocation did not promise jobs, but necessity of survival forced them to submit to menial jobs at construction sites and plantations to ensure that food is available for the household. Today, a new model of social entrepreneurship is introduced to the Penan to help access their available skills and resources to encourage the development of business endeavors to ensure inclusive development and sustainable livelihood of the Penan. Interviews and field observation results analysed show that the Penan are not afraid of setting their own markers in the business arena. Further analysis of the situation show that the success of the business is reliant not just on the resilience and hard work of the Penan but also the friendly business environment. Keywords: Native, Penan, Malaysia, Business, Inclusive Development, Sustainable Livelihood THE PENAN’ NEW SETTLEMENT AWAY FROM THE HIGHLAND TROPICAL FOREST The Penan community is indigenous to the broader Dayak group in Sarawak, Malaysia.
    [Show full text]
  • A Small Mammal Survey Within the Planted Forest Zone, Bintulu, Sarawak
    A SMALL MAMMAL SURVEY WITHIN THE PLANTED FOREST ZONE, BINTULU, SARAWAK Roslina Ragai 1, and Andrew Alek Tuen 2 1 Conservation Department, Grand Perfect Sdn Bhd, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia 2 Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, UNIMAS, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION A small mammal survey was conducted in areas of Small mammals, as defined by Stoddart (1979) are planted forest and secondary growth forest in the mammals with an adult weight of less than 5 kg. They Forest Department Sarawak’s Planted Forest Zone are among the most successful group of mammals in (PFZ) in the Bintulu Division. Two comprehensive the world in terms of number of species and the range small mammal trapping surveys were conducted of habitats that they occupy (see Tuen et al., 2006). within the period 4 July until 29 July 2006 in order to Although the small mammal species diversity and study the small mammal assemblages in acacia distribution in Sarawak tropical rain forests has been plantation blocks and forest remnants of the PFZ. The well studied (Tisen & Lading, 1997; Payne et al., two sites were Samarakan Planted Forest Zone 1998; Han, 2000; Han, 2005; Wilson & Helgen, 2005; (SPFZ) and Sg. Mina Wildlife Corridor (SMWC). For Tuen et al., 2006; Dagang, 2006) not nearly as much is both sites the traps were paired within acacia known about the assemblages and structure of small plantings and in adjacent natural secondary forest. mammal communities in tree plantations, especially in From a total effort of 1400 trap-nights, 13 species of plantations with a mixed mosaic of natural forest and small mammals comprising 33 individuals from the sylvicultural habitats (Stuebing, 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • The Demographic Profile and Sustainability Growth of the Bidayuh Population of Sarawak
    International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol. 8 , No. 14, Special Issue: Transforming Community Towards a Sustainable and Globalized Society, 2018, E-ISSN: 2222-6990 © 2018 HRMARS The Demographic Profile and Sustainability Growth of the Bidayuh Population of Sarawak Lam Chee Kheung & Shahren Ahmad Zaidi Adruce To Link this Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i14/5028 DOI: 10.6007/IJARBSS/v8-i14/5028 Received: 06 Sept 2018, Revised: 22 Oct 2018, Accepted: 02 Dec 2018 Published Online: 23 Dec 2018 In-Text Citation: (Kheung & Adruce, 2018) To Cite this Article: Kheung, L. C., & Adruce, S. A. Z. (2018). The Demographic Profile and Sustainability Growth of the Bidayuh Population of Sarawak. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(14), 69–78. Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s) Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com) This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode Special Issue: Transforming Community Towards a Sustainable and Globalized Society, 2018, Pg. 69 - 78 http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/IJARBSS JOURNAL HOMEPAGE Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://hrmars.com/index.php/pages/detail/publication-ethics 69 International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Accessibility and Development in Rural Sarawak. a Case Study of the Baleh River Basin, Kapit District, Sarawak, Malaysia
    Accessibility and development in rural Sarawak. A case study of the Baleh river basin, Kapit District, Sarawak, Malaysia. Regina Garai Abdullah A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2016 School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand i Abstract To what degree does accessibility to markets correlate with levels of development? This is an important question for those living in remote, underdeveloped parts of Southeast Asia during the final phases of de-agrarianisation. My study recounts the experience of rural-based Iban households living in the Baleh river basin of the Kapit District (population of 54,200) within a day or less travel by river to the small market town of Kapit (with a population of 18,000). With no connecting roads to the rest of Sarawak and reliant almost entirely on river transport, the local economy remains underdeveloped and is losing population. My field work among 20 villages in three accessibility zones of the Baleh river basin was undertaken over the three month period of May-July 2014. Structured interviews were conducted with 20 village headmen (tuai rumah), 82 heads of household, and 82 individuals within the households. Data was also systematically collected on 153 other individuals, including both residents and non-resident members of these bilik-families. My conceptual framework draws on von Thünen’s model of agricultural land use in order to generate expectations about the possible effects of market accessibility. While the sale of vegetables and other commodities accords with expected patterns, most rural households are in fact dependent on other, largely non-agricultural sources of income.
    [Show full text]
  • United Nation Public Service Award Nominee Miri Hospital, Sarawak, Malaysia
    United Nation Public Service Award Nominee Miri Hospital, Sarawak, Malaysia Category 1: Reaching the poorest and most vulnerable through inclusive services and partnerships; I am honoured to write this letter of reference for Miri Hospital’s submission for the United Nation’s Public Service Award in “Category 1: Reaching the poorest and most vulnerable through inclusive services and partnerships”. While Malaysia has a very good health care delivery system that has virtually achieved Universal Health Coverage in Peninsular Malaysia, the state of Sarawak on Borneo Island, is still struggling to achieve Universal Health Coverage, especially to those inhabitants who live in the remote and rugged interior areas of the State. Those inhabitants (e.g., the semi- nomadic Penan tribes) include the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the population. They live in small groups either in settlements or villages making it uneconomical to provide fixed health care facilities such as clinics. So, they are covered by mobile health care teams that travel along logging roads or by the Flying Doctor services. Such mobile teams are constrained by time and by the weather; thus, they can provide only the most basic of health services such as childhood immunisation and basic antenatal and postnatal care. The services are also provided solely by Sarawak Health Department. Baram District (population 64,000), in the northern part of Sarawak, is one of the most remote areas of the State. Provision of healthcare in such remote areas of Sarawak has always been a challenge due to poor accessibility and high operational cost. Most of the rural areas are served by a network of primary care clinics under the public health program of Sarawak Health Department whereas specialised medical care is available in urban hospitals.
    [Show full text]
  • Changes in Social Organisation and Livelihood of the Berawan Community Since the Formation of Malaysia
    THEN AND NOW: CHANGES IN SOCIAL ORGANISATION AND LIVELIHOOD OF THE BERAWAN COMMUNITY SINCE THE FORMATION OF MALAYSIA Jey Lingam Burkhardt Centre for English Language Studies, Sunway University, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia Juergen Martin Burkhardt (PhD) Fakulti Bahasa Moden dan Komunikasi, University Putra Malaysia Serdang, Malaysia *Corresponding author Email addresses: [email protected] / [email protected] ABSTRACT The Berawan are a small Orang Ulu people group to which four longhouse communities belong: Long Jegan and Long Teru on the Tinjar River, and Long Terawan and Batu Belah on the Tutoh River. The Tutoh and the Tinjar are tributaries of the Baram river. This paper presents a socio-economic sketch of the Berawan in the early 1960s and contrasts it with the early 21st century situation. A picture is drawn of the social organisation and livelihood of the Berawan community. The following trends are discernible: Longhouse living has become more comfortable but at the same time more cash dependent. The education level of the Berawan has risen significantly while their opportunities to engage in traditional livelihood activities such as rice planting, hunting and fishing are reduced nowadays due to the conversion of vast tracts of lands into palm oil plantations and the silting of the rivers. This has increasingly led the younger generation to migrate out of the village. On the other hand, contrary to popular belief that the tourism industry has a primarily adverse influence on ethnic minority culture, we found that the economic value that tourism offers can promote local culture in encouraging people to remain on their ancestral land.
    [Show full text]