Satellite images prove ACCOR partner's rainforest destruction
Satellite images released today by the Bruno Manser Fund prove Interhill's responsibility for the depletion of tropical rainforests in Sarawak / Malaysia. Interhill, a controversial Malaysian logging company, is currently engaged in the 388-room hotel project Novotel Interhill Kuching in cooperation with the French ACCOR group.
The satellite image analysis, which is based on LANDSAT images, shows the continuous deforestation of a 55,000 hectare logging concession (Nr. T 0339) that Interhill has been exploiting since the late 1980s. The logging concession, which covers the Patah and Akah river valleys in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak (Borneo), is inhabited by indigenous Penan communities. The Penan have repeatedly protested against Interhill's activities and are currently struggling to preserve their last remaining forest reserves.
Whereas in 1991, before the arrival of Interhill, the Akah river valley was covered by lush virgin jungle, this same area in 2005 is seen to be devastated by a close grid of logging roads. The satellite images also show that the area close to Long Pakan, a Penan village that is currently struggling against Interhill, was already logged by the company less than twenty years ago.
Since the 1980s, Sarawak's logging industry has become notorious for its unsustainable harvesting practices. Last week, the Bruno Manser Fund demanded ACCOR's withdrawal from the project in a registered letter to CEO Gilles Pélisson. So far, ACCOR has not commented on the Bruno Manser Fund's demand.
Go to the resources section for download of satellite images
(26 February 2009)