on of their food resources as a result of the timber industry. Some research tends to support this contention. In Sarawak, one group of studies which specifically focused on the impact of logging on wildlife found a significant reduction in the number and diversity of resident species and a decline in meat harvest from logged areas (Bennett, 1982; Caldecott, 1986; Caldecott and Nyaoi, 1985). But the Penan do not hunt all types of wildlife for food, and the studies did not examine the impact on those types of wildlife important to them as food resources.
The timber industry was also blamed for the depletion of the most important food resource-upland sago palm, the Penan's traditional staple. Here again, much of the argument was based on assumptions. Does logging destroy the traditional food resources of the Penan? While logging is a factor, the impact is largely indirect. The damage to the sago clumps resulted mainly from the exploitation of the sago shoots by local timber workers for whom they are a delicacy. Ongoing research by the author suggests that the damage caused by the felling of trees is minimal, for the main reason that most of the sago clumps are found in terrain which is difficult to log.
The depletion of sago and other jungle resources is not confined to areas affected by the logging industry. It also occurs in areas inhabited by semi-settled and settled Penan and which are not affected by logging. In fact, the situation is very serious in areas where the Penan have changed to a settled life. The communities in the Tinjar region, for instance, have experienced a shortage of wild sago since the mid-1960s, long before the emergence of the timber industry. Indeed, this scarcity was a main factor behind their decision to settle and cultivate, a factor which is also observed among Penan groups elsewhere.
The depletion of this traditional natural source of food supply is to a large extent caused by changes taking place within the society rather than being the direct consequence of external interference. These changes include a rapid rate of population growth among the Penan since the 1960s. as their region has become more accessible to medical facilities and there arose competition for food resources with other tribal groups who also began to expand into the interior as their population increased.
Moreover, the Penan themselves moved downriver and, as they settled and adopted farming, the unit of production changed from being largely communal to one now based on the household. An important consequence of this settlement is the competition for food resources even among the members of each community. This is because many modern-day Penan males are actively engaged in cashearning activities; thus, limiting the period in a year allocated for food production. This has caused considerable pressure on the limited stock of sago palm as each farmer tries to produce as much as possible during the short period set aside. As with other, and earlier, blockades of timber roads, the Penan defence of their actions is as much related to a desire to obtain a larger share in the benefits, as it is to preservation of the forest.
The case of the Penan is not an isolated example. Fujisaka (1986: 4) identified similar trends among some tribal communities in the Philippines; for example, among his main findings, he notes that 'increasing competition for resources within and among groups and greater pressures on resources and ecosystems sustainability accompany the population increases'.
There are many other internal changes which have significant impact on the traditional food resources of the Penan. The gradual depletion of traditional food sources is, to some extent, the result of transformations within the society- the result of changing needs and aspirations. The above findings directly question the model which calls for the deployment of the traditional social and economic systems as the means to safeguard the society and to provide it with a sustainable form of livelihood. If the proposal is interpreted largely within the narrow p