Borneo 2001 - Deforestation


Contents Kelabit Highlands Deforestation	185 198

194. Deforestation
We had to go to the nearby Penan-village Long Beruang to arrange with guides since none of the schoolboys in Long Banga where interested. The area we passed was logged a couple of years ago and it was not a pretty sight. The vegetation was low and impassable, dead trunks were pointing towards the sky like skeleton fingers.
One big concern for the villagers was how to get wood for their houses. A typical house lasts about 15 years before it starts to rot due to the humidity, and now there are no trees to use for new ones.
It took just a few minutes to arrange two guides in Long Beruang, but it required a lengthy discussion before we decided to go with the truck as long as it was possible along the old logging road. The other choice was to stay in the village for the night and then continue on foot on a trail the next morning.