ISLAMABAD: The Borneo Case, a documentary on activists protesting the destruction of the Malaysian Borneo Rainforest that reveals the wealth the minister in charge of the rainforest accumulated during his tenure, was screened at the United Nations Information Centre as part of the ongoing Human Rights through Cinematography Festival.

The screening was hosted by the Embassy of the Netherlands. Although it began late because of some technical difficulties, the documentary kept the audience comprised mainly of young students riveted.

The Borneo Case traces the path of some unlikely activists who begin by protesting the decimation of the Borneo Rainforest but end up tracking a complex international money trail that reveals the astronomical wealth the minister in charge of protecting the rainforest accumulated during his tenure.

Illegal logging, the plantation of palm oil trees, and subsequent construction of massive hydropower dams in a country which has no shortage of electricity has resulted in the extinction of more than 90pc of the Borneo Rainforest.

The main activists featured in the film are Mutang Urud, an exiled tribesman from the indigenous people being displaced by the environmental destruction, British journalist Clare Rewcastle, and Peter Jaban, a radio anchor.

The documentary shows how the activists are threatened during the course of theirinvestigation and,in the case of the journalist, hacked so thather computer sends information to Malaysia every few minutes.

As one learns during the documentary state-backed hacking or cyber spying is impossible to prevent.

The radio anchor is critical to the activists work as they start broadcasting an illegal radio station called Radio Free Sarawak.

At the start of the campaign the media in Malaysia is state-controlled and the radio station allows them to inform people of the horrific impact of deforestation and the associated corruption.

Mutang had moved to Montreal some 20 years ago after having been tortured and imprisoned for protesting illegal logging.

Through Radio Free Sarawak he hears that the government has planned to build 12 mega hydropower dams which would drown the valley of his birth.

At the same time, the journalist and anchor had begun their investigation into who had benefited from the destruction of the rainforest a trail that led them to Taib Mahmud, chief minister of the state for more than three decades.

The documentary depicts how the investigation resulted in the resignation of the minister and suggested that the prime minister of the country may also have been involved, and eventually shows how hundreds of thousands of people were drawn to the streets while international justice systems tracked the stolen wealth.

The film included footage of logging operations in Sarawak and interviews with the late Along Sega, a headman of the nomadic Penan in the Long Adang area in the north of Sarawal( as well as some exquisite footage of the lastremaining parts of the rainforest.

Dutch Ambassador Ardi Stoios Braken moderated a short panel discussion after the film.

She said: `The story we just saw was not unique and it is a story repeated in many parts of the globe.

In this panel discussion, we hope that certain issues that are being discussed in the movie are also relevant to people in Pakistan.

Panellists included Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency Director General Farzana Altaf Shah, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation representative Minà Dowlatchahi, LEED Pakistan CEO Ali Taugeer Shah and World Wildlife Fund PakistanSenior Programme Director Rab Nawaz.

Responding to the statement that economic development is more important than preservingnature,culture and the environment, Mr Nawaz said: `I think you cannot separate the issues.Look at Pakistan, which is an agricultural economy driven by the environment in parts, such as water. Unless you don`t preserve your environment, you will not be able to preserve the economy. You do not have water, or soil, or natural resources and you do not have an economy. The economy is failing. You have an increase in diseases and that becomes a vicious cycle. To me, there is a simple answer.

You need to have a good environment to have a good economy.