Sultanate set to ratify treaty on bio-diversity

BRUNEI Darussalam is poised to sign the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to become the 191st party member, in line with its conservation strategy and towards becoming a more environmentally-friendly and -conscious nation.

An overview of the CBD was held yesterday at the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, organised by the Forestry Department as an introduction to the CBD for Brunei and attended by, among others, Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah Hj Abd Wahab, the deputy minister.

The convention is an international treaty to sustain the rich diversity of life on earth.

The issue at hand is the dramatic rate of decline in species diversity, as documented by the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), caused by habitat destruction, climate change, alien invasive species and pollution generated by human activities.

The consequences of these losses are the irreversible impoverishment and decline of genetic diversity and the decrease in ecosystem services. As such, the CBD has the objective of putting an end to species extinction.

This overview was delivered by the Executive Secretary of CBD, Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf, who also informed the audience of his role as secretariat and feasible areas for collaboration between the CBD and Brunei.

Here on a one-day visit, the executive secretary's presentation yesterday marked a formal introduction to CBD for Brunei, and highlighted the convention's significance in world conservation and how Brunei can benefit from its association with CBD.

According to a press statement from the Forestry Department, Brunei sees its collaboration with CBD as a beneficial, timely and compelling one, in line with current Heart of Borneo initiative.

With the CBD, Brunei's efforts to protect its biological resources should be further strengthened and its sustainability in providing green fuel for the country's economic growth through high potential 'Biotechnology' industry will be ensured. Brunei's accession to CBD is scheduled to be in May 2008 in Bonn, Germany, during the ninth meeting of the Conference of Parties of the Biological Diversity Convention.The Brunei Times