Heart of Borneo contributes to the world

THE people of Brunei must be thankful not only for their gas and oil but also their forests. For one, while over the past half century the earth's vast green mantle of forests has been reduced to tattered remnants, Brunei's forests are still standing.

Of the three billion hectares of the world's original forest cover — nearly half — has been lost. The destruction continues: in each of the last dozen years, about 14.6 million hectares of forest — an area the size of Nepal — has been cut, bulldozed, or burned.

According to the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005, the net loss in forest area at the global level during the 1990s was an estimated 94 million hectares. This was a combination of an annual loss of 12.5 million ha of natural forests and an annual gain of 3.1 million ha in the form of forest plantations

A United Nations (UN) FAO Assessment said that between 2000-2005, the world suffered a net loss of a further 37 million hectares of forest.

But for Brunei, despite its size, it is combining witty stiff environmental laws and futuristic policies to conserve whatever it can in its forests which house the best preserved mangroves in Southeast Asia.

Brunei forests are largely intact, almost 100 per cent are virgin but slowly is being penetrated by loggers as some 11 per cent of its forests have been whittled down in the last 15 years.

Bruneian environmentalists worry that logging may increase in this country's primary rainforests, especially once its offshore oil and gas reserves begin to wane.

Because of its oil and gas, Brunei enjoys a high standard of living and is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia that does not export timber. Recently, however, the dry El Nino conditions contributed to the spread of fires sparked by slash-and-burn agriculture that burned more than 10,000 hectares of forest.

Though forest burning has been banned since 1951, slash-and-burn agriculture is the primary means of clearing land for agriculture in Brunei. Breaking this forestry law is punishable by a maximum fine of $300. The government reacted to the fires by initiating a public-awareness campaign on fire safety and protecting forest biodiversity.

But Bruneians are not giving up. Close to 8,000 hectares of Brunei's tropical forests have been recovered, since the introduction of the "One Tree Felled, Plant Four" policy in 1993. The youth of Brunei have contributed much to this and in one occasion, the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources highlighted the significance young Bruneian's role in conserving and protecting forests, which is an important asset for the country.

The ministry stressed that if Brunei's forests are not protected, it will lead to catastrophic events such as landslides, flash floods, mudflows, depletion of the ozone layer and global warming, among others.

The destruction of forests is closely related to population growth which leads to increasing demand to extend farming areas and rising pressure to allocate land for infrastructure. It is important that forest resources are utilised wisely to prevent overexploitation which can affect ecological stability and damage the environment, he said.

The Ministry equally gave relevance to the conservation of the Bruneian part of the the Heart of Borneo (HoB) project, in which Brunei has allocated 58 per cent of its forest area to be included in the collaborative initiative with Malaysia and Indonesia to ensure that forest resources are protected.

The mangrove forests and mudflats of the country are of great importance to the economy of communities located around the Brunei Bay since they support abundant populations of finfish, prawns and other aquatic animals which are routinely harvested for subsistence consumption or sale.

It has been estimated that the mangrove swamps initiate a food chain by depositing sufficient plant material to allow each hectare to support up to 90kg of prawns each year. Fishermen in the bay landed an average of 2,330 metric tons of finfish and prawns yearly.

The mangrove forests support significant populations of the Proboscis Monkey and leaf monkeys as well as large colonies of flying foxes. Eleven species of prawns have been recorded in the bay. Three of these are of high commercial importance, and two others are of minor commercial importance. The waterways are very important for transportation, and the area has considerable potential for outdoor recreation, conservation education and scientific research.

Brunei Bay contains one of the largest tracts of relatively undisturbed mangrove forest in eastern Asia.

The waters under these mangroves support some 79 species of fishes. About half of these species are of importance in the Brunei markets.

Ecotourism is one growing importance of Brunei's forests. Yearly thousands of visitors flock to watch the unspoiled beauty of the forests. At Berakas Forest Recreation Park alone, some 1,000 visitors visit every day such that plans are underway to increase the park's carrying capacity to 6,000 visitors at a time.

Forest recreational parks in the country are expected to accommodate more than 10,000 visitors and would be able to accommodate recreation for Brunei's communities over the next 10 years.

In a study, the World Resources Institute coined the term "frontier forests" to describe forested areas that are relatively undisturbed by human activity and are large enough to maintain their original biodiversity, including viable populations of wide-ranging species. Part of these frontier forests are in Brunei.

According to UNEP's Global Biodiversity Outlook One Report about 60 per cent, and possibly closer to 90 per cent, of all species are found in tropical moist forests, much of which are in the Heart of Borneo.

These forests absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, anchor soils and prevent erosion, regulate water flow and protect watersheds, modify climate and cool the air, and provide a habitat for millions of species of plants and animals.

By providing water cycle regulation, soil conservation, and biodiversity, forests are vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems — on which humanity depends.

Aware of the above-mentioned, the Bruneian Forestry Department is focusing on efforts such as that this conservation picture will be a reality in Brunei even in the far future.

The government has made a strong commitment to conservation: more than 50 per cent of the country is officially under some form of protection and the government has taken an active role in reducing logging activities. It intends to preserve some 6,000 species of plants, 455 birds, 157 mammals, and 73 reptiles to preserve. The rest is up for the Bruneians to rise to the challenge if they want a safer and greener tomorrow.

The Brunei Times