History of Coffee Farm Development with Local Communities and Wildlife in Ulu Baram, Sarawak

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33736/jbk.11027.2025

Keywords:

Ulu Baram, coffee farms, mammal conservation, community-level initiatives, mountain science

Abstract

In the upper reaches of the Baram River (hereafter Ulu Baram) in the central highlands of Borneo, there is a movement to conserve biodiversity effectively and sustainably in areas outside national parks and wildlife reserves. This initiative is led by local communities with cooperation from the state government. This study examines a coffee farm in Ulu Baram as a case study, analyzing the impacts of the farm’s development strategies on the local community from both socio-economic and ecological perspectives. The owner has maintained operations for 20 years, keeping revenues just above breakeven. Coffee cultivation requires a certain level of labor, making it a space for community-building and enabling different ethnic groups to collaborate. The coffee farm caused limited environmental disturbance and did not lead to a decline in wildlife or significant changes to the forest landscape. The presence of medium-to-large animals, including rare species, and the documentation of their reproduction in the adjacent secondary forest suggest that farm development and wildlife survival can coexist under sustainable management.

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Published

2025-12-29

How to Cite

Kikuchi, H., Bundo, D., Izumiyama, S., & Kanazawa, K. (2025). History of Coffee Farm Development with Local Communities and Wildlife in Ulu Baram, Sarawak. Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan, 11(2), 40–52. https://doi.org/10.33736/jbk.11027.2025

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2025): Jurnal Borneo - Kalimantan

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Articles

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