The Murum Hydroelectric Power Project (HEP), located in northeastern Sarawak is a state-initiated development project to provide power to the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE). Located in a remote area of Sarawak, the project design required a reservoir that would affect over 1,400 persons (353 households) from seven settlements.

The Social and Environmental Impact Assessment for the Murum HEP responded to the Government of Sarawak decision to adopt and incorporate the social and environmental requirements of international financing institutions into the State’s environmental impact assessment procedures for SCORE-related projects, including the assessment of the resulting consequential projects such as resettlement schemes.

The Government endeavour the environmental management of the Murum Hydro-electricity Project and the consequential resettlement of affected communities would be guided by International Standards; specifically, the Equator Principles, the International Finance Corporation’s Social and Environmental Performance Standards, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and subject to independent 3rd party review.

Chemsain facilitated the necessary consultations between the Government and the affected communities and provided objective technical advice for decision-making and to facilitate agreements. This consultation covered all aspects of the project documentation and the discussions on project impacts and potential resettlement.

To gather the extensive information required to describe the lifestyle and culture of the Penan communities for the preparation of the Contemporary Ethnography, a study team of over 20 researchers and scientists was assembled. The baseline information was collected during an extensive period of fieldwork through community group discussions, key informant interviews, stakeholder meetings and household surveys.

Key Project Elements:

1. Development of a Grievance mechanism – to address affected community concerns and provide a link between project proponent and the community.
2. Social Impact Assessment - was a part of the overall social environmental impact assessment (SEIA) for Murum Resettlement. The SEIA has three components namely: (i) the Contemporary Ethnography (CE); (ii) Social Impact Assessment (SIA); and the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP). The background information for the SIA report was drawn from the information in CE while the analysis of the SIA addressed issues related to the socio-economic impacts of the HEP and outlined the main implications for the development of the RAP. This included issues related to site options, livelihood options for the project affected communities (PACs), infrastructure needs, compensation, cultural heritage and development of a social action plan.
3. Cultural Heritage Management Plan – a register of sites of cultural significance and a plan to address the issues related to loss and / or relocation of these assets.
4. Contemporary Ethnography - provided important baseline information for the resettlement planning process and described in detail the Penan way of life, their population, culture, economy, priorities and their views and perceptions toward resettlement.
5. Social and Environmental Impact Assessment – detailed site analysis and assessment following the State requirements for the proposed resettlement sites.
6. Resettlement Action Plan - (RAP) is the culmination of the Social and Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) study carried out in consultation with the local communities. The SEIA complies with international standards for resettlement, including the World Bank Operational Policies (WB OP), the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards (IFC PS) and the United Nations Declaration for Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). The RAP outlines in detail all the considerations and processes for communities requiring resettlement including livelihood restoration, entitlements for losses, and details of the resettlement programme. This includes the institutional responsibilities and the projected budgets for all programmes. In general the RAP addressed two major sets of issues:
   • Replacement of losses resulting from the HEP; and
   • Poverty eradication through livelihood enhancement.
7. Communication Strategy – covering all press releases and public documents, public disclosure for the SEIA reports and community consultation and communication.