Samling is a notoriously destructive Malaysian logging, plantations and construction company which has faced decades of opposition from indigenous peoples such as the Penan (see for example, WRM Bulletin 100) and the Kenyah for destroying their customary lands. (1) In December 2023, the Samling subsidiary SaraCarbon listed a carbon project in the Malaysian state of Sarawak in the registry of the carbon standard provider Verra. (2) The carbon project is based on the dubious claim that the company was going to destroy swamp forests to set up acacia plantations on more than 30,000 hectares. Residents, however, report that the land has been proven unsuitable for acacia plantations. SaraCarbon would thus be claiming carbon credits for protecting forests it had no plausible intention to destroy.
In February 2025, villagers holding banners protested that Samling’s carbon project is abusing their Native Customary Land Rights (NCR). (3) “The community believes that this carbon credit project does not benefit the indigenous people, does not solve climate change issues, and is instead an encroachment on NCR land,” Sarawak Report writes. (4)
(1) Mongabay. 2021. Threat of legal action against Indigenous Borneans protesting timber company.
(2) Verra carbon registry. Marudi Forest Conservation and Restoration project.
(3) REDD-Monitor. 2025. Marudi Indigenous communities oppose Samling’s carbon project in Sarawak, Malaysia.
(4) Sarawak Report. 2025. Marudi Villagers Protest Against Samling’s ‘SaraCarbon’ Carbon Credit Project.
Samling is a notoriously destructive Malaysian logging, plantations and construction company which has faced decades of opposition from indigenous peoples such as the Penan and the Kenyah for destroying their customary lands. In December 2023, the Samling subsidiary SaraCarbon listed a carbon project in the Malaysian state of Sarawak in the registry of the carbon standard provider Verra.