Sultanate's biodiversity has great economic potential

BRUNEI'S rich biodiversity holds vast economic potential in bio-medicine and agriculture but it can all be realised provided Brunei has the motivation and the investment in researching and developing these resources, said the permanent secretary of Industry and Primary Resources.

In his remarks at the opening of a workshop on wildlife trade yesterday, Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid Hj Mohd Jaafar highlighted the lucrative potential of the country's flora and fauna.

Among them are some animals' adaptive qualities, which may provide a cure for various health and pollution problems, and the medicinal properties of certain plants.

"(These properties) can contribute towards the development of new anti-bacterial, anti-cancer and anti-viral medicines, including for dengue and even HIV," he pointed out.

The country's forests may also yield bacterial or fungal microbes which can be used in multi-purpose enzymes and amino acids. Such microbes are worth millions, said the permanent secretary.

Recently, it was revealed that Japan, through its National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (Nite) has already expressed interest to work with Brunei on developing the pharmaceutical potential of Brunei's forest micro-organisms and microbes.

An agreement is currently being worked on to formalise Brunei and Nite's cooperation in research and development of these forest resources.

Dato Hj Mohd Hamid also pointed out that marine resources too can yield potentially lucrative products. As Brunei is looking to become a hub for halal food production, it can turn to the seas to find alternative cooking oil and halal gelatine.

The three-day workshop is held for the first time in a bid to better meet the objectives of curbing illegal wildlife trade which impedes efforts to conserve the resources which is needed if their full potential is to be realised. It is being organised jointly by the Agriculture Department, which is tasked with safeguarding the sultanate's flora and fauna under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), and the Southeast Asian branch of international wildlife trade network, TRAFFIC. Under the recently-enacted Wildlife Fauna and Flora Order 2007, trade of certain wildlife species without any permit or grant is prohibited.

The Brunei Times