Please support this important alert being launched by Forest Peoples Programme (FPP)
The mangrove forests in Pitas, Malaysia are under threat. In less than two years, more than 2,000 acres of mangrove forests have been destroyed to create shrimp ponds, violating the local communities’ rights and environmental regulations. The last 1,000 acres of community mangrove forests are now also targeted for expansion. Please help the indigenous communities in Pitas to protect and conserve their remaining forests.
You can help push for real change by endorsing the letter calling on Musa Aman, Chief Minister of Sabah, Malaysia, to stop the destruction of community mangrove forests in Pitas.
Sign here now
Below you can find a summary of the situation in Pitas and the call for support – it would be much appreciated if you could share this widely with your networks. If you have questions or would like to receive additional information on this case, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
BACKGROUND ON PITAS
In 2010, the Malaysian government launched a new economic initiative aimed at turning Malaysia into a high-income economy by 2020. One of the projects under this plan sought to tackle extreme poverty in the district of Pitas, one of the poorest in Sabah, by establishing the country’s largest shrimp farm and promising job opportunities for local communities. Instead, the project has led to the destruction of the mangrove forests which are their main source of food and income.
So far, all of the communities’ complaints and calls for action have been unanswered. The communities’ hope is that strong international support will lend increased weight to the letter, which they will resubmit to the Sabah Chief Minister, Musa Aman, along with the list of all endorsements. Please consider giving them your support by signing the letter before 15th February 2017.
For those of you who would like to know more, pls. see the following:
Video on the situation in Pitas
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=B30sxZubIdA&t=1s
Article in The Ecologist on the situation in Pitas
http://www.theecologist.org/ News/news_analysis/2988348/ poverty_alleviation_shrimp_ farms_destroy_mangrove_forest_ grab_indigenous_land.html
Call to Action for solidarity with the Pitas communities shared by Land Rights Now
http://www.landrightsnow.org/ en/get-involved/campaigns- stories/
