BSP digs deep to preserve HoB

A TOTAL of 10,000 trees were donated yesterday to the Badas Forest Reserve, which was recently devastated by forest fires.

The forest reserve forms part of the Heart of Borneo protected area and is currently the focus of a tree-planting project that aims to have 50,000 trees planted by the end of this month.

The donation, made by Brunei Shell Petroleum (BSP), marks the largest contribution of seedlings made to the Badas forest reserve.

On hand to plant the first tree was BSP Managing Director Dr Grahaeme Henderson, joined by BSP senior management and staff as well as representatives from the Ministry of Education, International School of Brunei and members of the Panaga Natural History Society.

During his dedication speech, Dr Henderson also announced the launch of the Seashore Life of the Brunei Heart of Borneo series of educational children's books.

Written by members of the Panaga Natural History Society and supported by BSP, the set of books is designed to promote the country's rich, hugely diverse and largely pristine environment.

The books are to be distributed to schools throughout the country, with the support from Ministry of Education.

After the ceremony, attendees planted the initial 250 indigenous trees in a plot allocated for the occasion.

The species of trees planted yesterday mainly comprised Agathis borneensis (the existing dominant tree species in the forest reserve) and Dryobalanops rappa (similar to trees in Anduki forest reserve) and also included some gaharu (sandalwood) seedlings.

BSP has pledged a total of $50,000 to help re-vegetate the Badas forest reserve as part of its long-running campaign to help contribute to the preservation of Brunei's natural environment.

BSP has teamed up with the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) since 2007 to work closely on the Heart of Borneo biodiversity protection initiative.

The company has an established environmental policy driven by a three-pronged strategy centering on integrating environmental considerations into its operations, advocating and supporting pro-environment initiatives in the community, and partnering with the government on strategic, national-level environmental initiatives.

The Brunei Times