Fatal attraction to win–win-win? Debates and contestations in the media on Nature Conservation Agreement in Sabah, Malaysia

Contestations around forests and lands have a long history in Sabah, Malaysia and the divergent interests of the ruling State, private business and indigenous and local peoples have played out in narratives shaping policies and debated in media since colonial times. Coalition building among actors is one avenue of influencing policy and securing benefits from policy outcomes. Here, we examine print media related to the Nature Conservation Agreement (NCA), a controversial carbon trading proposal, to identify policy coalitions based on actors' narratives about development and forests. Relevant articles from October 2021 to January 2023 were coded to identify the media frames, actors, and their arguments. Using discourse network analyser (DNA), three coalitions were identified: 1) Local rights defenders; 2) NCA promoters; 3) Process sceptics. Actors for or against the NCA both emphasise the importance of managing forests and local development within Sabah, but closer examination of arguments reveal that coalitions have different visions of who is to be included in decision-making and who will benefit from it. NCA promoters use the same narratives that have been historically used to legitimise state control over forests and land, and frame the NCA as an effective “win–win” solution for climate change and local economic development. The coalitions of dissenters highlight lack of transparency and free, prior, informed consent, and inequities for local and indigenous people. Discourses on development and resource management in Sabah are not without contestation, even though alternative options for more just development are still absent.