CONTENTS

1.0 Background
- Located between latitudes 1.5N and 3.0N and longitudes 113.5E and 115.3E,
encompassing Balui River and its tributaries some 37 km upstream of Belaga town.
- Its covers about 14,750 km
2
area.
- current land use types are primary Forest (74%), selectively logged forest (21%) and
shifting cultivation together with grass Land/bust land (5%).
- The climate is characterized by an annual precipitation exceeding 4000 mm, mean
annual evapotranspiration of about 1300 mm and average temperature of 25C.
- flooding an area currently occupied by 15 communities. Land will be flooded up to
228 m above sea level.
- Most of the area to be flooded is constituted by swiddens, swidden fallows (temuda),
gardens, fruit trees, plantations, graveyards, work areas, and areas of primary forest
with economic value to the local population (as a source of food and raw materials).
- The majority of the population in the Bakun area are Kenyah and Orang Ulu.

2.0 Project Area
a. Location
- the proposed area is located within the bakun dam catchment area.
- divided into 3 blocks
Block A (approx. 122,000 ha)
Block B (approx. 19,200 ha)
Block C (approx 24,000 ha)
- State land (within dam catchment area)
- Only can reach by the logging road access
- Approximately 12 kilometres from the nearest town (Belaga Bazaar)

b. Population

No. Name of
Longhouses
Bilek Population No. of
Families
Farm Area
(Acres) (Ha)
1. R. Juman 95 578 143 429 174
2. R. Daro 115 468 105 315 128
3. R. Balui Ukap 84 414 97 291 118
4. R. Lesong 128 646 142 426 172
5. Long Bulan
6. R. Kulit 209 1,274 279 837 339
7. Long Jawi
8. R Lahanan 89 535 138 414 168
9. R. Kelap 103 477 99 297 120
10. R. Belor 101 429 101 303 123
11. R. Nyabong
12. R. Punan Talun


c. Economic Activities
Majority of the populations in the Bakun area are practice shifting conventional economic
activities such as :
- Fishing
- Shifting Cultivation
- Hunting
Many of the educated villagers have also moved to settle in towns where they have
modern jobs such as being teachers, businessmen and in the private sectors.

3.0 Topo

No. Block Area Topographical Remarks
1. A 122,000 (Ha) -
2. B 19,200 (Ha) 365 m-1067 m - Mountainous part on the
left side of the area
(Gunung Kajang-1067M)
- Approximately 55% of the
area considered as the land
that below 500 metres from
the sea level.
3. C 24,000 (Ha) 490 m-735 m - Basically, the area area
500 metres below the sea
level.
- The highest peak of the
block is 735 metres (Bukit
Penoh)
- In term of land level / slope
Block C is suitable for
plantation development.



- Bakun has a rugged topography with sharp crest and steep slopes.
- Most of the area is above 500 m a.s.l.
- However the selected project area is made up of hilly and mountainous
- The highest peak here is more than 1000 metres height which is located at the
certain part of the proposed area
- The another constrain to developed the area is there are too many river

4.0 Soil
- Bakun is predominantly characterized by soils of the Skeletal and Red-Yellow
Podzolic Group.
- excessively drained soils with shallow to moderate depth (25-50 cm of the
surface)
- shifting cultivation of hill paddy is still commonly practiced.


4.1 Land Capability (for agriculture purposes)

- Most of the proposed areas are include in the Class 5 for the agriculture
purposed.
severe limitation that agriculture is not feasible
Consider as slopes steeper than 33
Very severe erosion
Frequently floods of long duration
Excessive salinity or shallow soils over bedrock

- Another grade of the land capability for the area is Class 4 which consist :
May suitable for a few crops
Two or more serious limitation
Drastically limit the range of crops
Require the special conservation practise
Risk of the crop failure is high
Limitation may seriously affect the timing and ease of tillage, planting and
harvesting.

- Class 3 of agriculture capability among the land in the proposed area which
define as:
Two or three moderate or one serious limitation
Limitation may seriously impede farm operation
Restrict the choice of crops and increase fertilizers needs.
Source : Department of Agriculture, Sarawak
Soil and Survey Division




5.0 Infra / Roads

- Can be reach by unpaved road heading to Belaga Bazaar
- The selected proposed Block A, B and C only can be reach by logging trail

6.0 Existing Plantation


7.0 Recommendation



Getah
memerlukan hujan 180 sm - 250 sm setahun
suhu diantara 25 - 30 darjah Celcius
Ketinggian tanah dari paras muka laut ialah 500 meter
Semakin tinggi ditanam semakin berkurangan perolehan hasil dan kecergasan
pertumbuhannya
tanah sesuai untuk tanam getah ialah jenis lom yang mempunyai saliran yang
bebas, tidak masin, tidak masam atau sentiasa banjir.

Kelapa sawit
pada ketinggian 0 - 500 meter di atas aras laut.
Kelapa sawit menyukai tanah yang subur dan tempat terbuka, dengan kelembapan
tinggi. Kelembapan tinggi itu antara lain ditentukan oleh adanya curah hujan yang
tinggi, sekitar 2,000-2,500 mm setahun.

Shifting cultivation needs to continue
Shifting cultivation is the most efficient agricultural technique in the Balui area at this time.
Despite common prejudices to the contrary, study after study has shown that shifting
cultivation is a sustainable agricultural technique which does not degrade the environment
or deplete timber resources. Shifting cultivation is sustainable because nearly all the
clearings are on secondary jungle; thus the same lands are used in rotation, after the
vegetation has been allowed to regenerate.
Shifting cultivation becomes a problem only when the population density is too high. The
population density in the upper Balui is very low, hence the continuation of shifting
cultivation is unproblematic.
It is not suggested that all resettlers must continue to practice shifting cultivation, but rather
that they be allowed to continue to do so in a sustainable fashion. In fact, given the growing
interest in producing cash crops and engaging in other cash-producing activities, a
significant sector of the affected population can be expected to reduce or even cease to
practice shifting cultivation; this means that the population increase which can be expected
in the coming years will not bring about a comparable increase in hill padi cultivation. I am
not suggesting that resettlers should continue swidden agriculture for ever, but rather that
they will progress better if they maintain a subsistence economy which they master while
becoming more proficient with different agricultural activities and industries.
Instead of fighting shifting cultivation, it will be more productive to enhance its effectiveness
further. For instance, it would be useful to collect and study all the varieties of rice
cultivatedin the area in order to study their properties. The development of soil-measurement
kits and
other techniques could help in an enhanced selection of farm sites. Elsewhere in Borneo,
the development of rattan gardens has been profitable in remote areas (Poffenberger &
McGean 1993b: 46-47), and the same would probably be the case in the Balui