Government Okays Establishment Of HoB National Council
By Khairunnisa Ibrahim

Bandar Seri Begawan - The government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has given the official go-ahead for the establishment of the Brunei Heart of Borneo (HoB) National Council and a centre for its operations.

This was announced last night by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah Hj Abd Wahab, during a dinner organised by Jerudong International School (JIS) to commemorate Earth Day.

According to Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah, the green light from His Majesty's Government to proceed with the next crucial step of the Brunei Heart of Borneo was received on Monday (April 21). In addition, the government has allowed for the recruitment of the council's CEO, said the deputy minister, who also disclosed that he will be the chairman of the council.

He also expressed the hope that Dr Mikaail Kavanagh, a former CEO of WWF Malaysia, who has played a central part in moving Brunei's part in the HoB forward, will also take up a senior position within the council.

Several of the country's big companies - Brunei Shell Petroleum, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank - have pledged financial contributions to the conservation project, including the funding for the initial operations of the National HoB council and setting up of the centre.

At a workshop to discuss the final HoB draft report late last year, Dato Hj Hamdillah said that the centre will be the hub for environmental awareness and reforestation programmes, as well as the training site for HoB-related works.

With the council and centre now confirmed, the newlyinstalled chairman called on all stakeholders to actively seek solutions to environmental issues rather than contributing to the problems.

"We cannot rest on our laurels and use up what we have," he said, adding that the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources has the responsibility of seeing that Brunei's natural resources are managed sustainably.

The Heart of Borneo project was spurred by the prospect of losing such resources.

"We realised that Borneo is in many ways a single natural entity," he said.

"We need to think in terms of conserving and sustainably managing the island as a whole. This thinking led' to the Heart of Borneo vision."

Attended by about 100 guests, the dinner took place at the Li Gong restaurant at the Empire Hotel and Country Club. JIS also held its annual Earth Day assembly yesterday at the school's gymnasium. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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