Environment: Let our story live on

IT'S not by chance that our country remains ranked among the top ten forested nations according to figures from the Food and Agriculture Organisation. We continue to be blessed with biodiversity wealth because we were good at protecting this natural resource. Each morning we can see the postcard-perfect outlines of canopies from afar because we respected the old wisdom of living in harmony with our natural environment.

For us to keep the wealth stacked deep in our jungles, we need to be constantly aware of forces that threaten it. It thus comes as a welcome development to learn of the Ministry of Development's Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (DEPR) warning the public of stern measures to be taken against people engaged in open burning.

The unfortunate state of the environment in other countries started from little steps that ignored the importance of protecting forests from harmful activities. These are countries where policy execution failed miserably in stewarding their natural resources. As a result, they have been subjected to the harsh realities of natural calamities burying villages partly as a result of environmental neglect.

There's no room for complacency even in a place like ours where the jungles remain rich grounds for scientific expeditions into flora and fauna. Simply because our nation brims with biodiversity wealth does not mean we have an excuse to let our guard down when anyone does something harmful to our resources, small or big.

Every instance that we let any open-burning activity go unchecked is one step away from a culture that made us succeed in protecting our environment. A great part of the responsibility lies in every Bruneian who cares about our collective future.

The DEPR is doing its share in stepping up their patrols to counter open burning. But the authorities cannot do the job without the cooperation of the public. The department has called on the public to report violations of rules against open burning through their hotlines (8999900, 8837751 and 8837741).

Perhaps it is difficult for us to appreciate the importance of public assistance in this matter. Some of us may have simply brushed aside the threat of open burning or perhaps we do not feel that it is a real threat to our environment. After all, we know for a fact that visitors rave about tropical riches. They commend us for having kept our hands off our virgin forests. They even wonder how we were able to keep swathes of mangroves in Kampong Ayer, saying that many countries have found it difficult to keep forests and mangroves off limits when people begin to put shelters close to them.

Our environment story has been a happy one. It is a happy story because the generations that came before us shielded our forests from forces that threatened their existence. We can do the same and keep the story happy for the next generation. It is our responsibility.

We need to remind ourselves that countries which are now facing the sad realities of environmental degradation also failed to weigh the consequences of harmful practices in decades past.

We are at a phase in our economic development when we still have ample time to think of ways to remain true to the traditions that allowed us to be good stewards of our environment. This is a time when we look at development plans and see how it impacts the environment. Many have said economic progress often comes with neglect of the environment as its downside. But vigilance to this tendency will help us guard against moves that we will later regret. But it requires our alertness even to small things that point to destruction.