A Treat For Nature Lovers
By Shareen Han

Bandar Seri Begawan - Nature lovers will get a chance to experience and tour Brunei's luscious tropical forests during a biodiversity conference, which will take place from June 11-13 this year.

Participants will be taken on field visits to Andulau forest and Merimbun Lake in the Tutong district during the conference tour to be organised by Universiti Brunei Darussalam's (UBD) department of biology to mark the 20th anniversary of the university. The majority of Andulau forests have never been logged and rich species, up to 256 per hectare, could be found in the forests.

One hectare of permanent plot within Andulau forests was set up by UBD in 1992 for the long term monitoring of tree population dynamics of growth and mortality.

On the other hand, Merimbun Lake is a wildlife sanctuary, a recreational centre and a venue for research purposes. It was proclaimed as an Asean heritage park in 1984.

With the themes of Deforestation - forest conversion & biodiversity loss, invasives, endemism and extinction and conservation of island diversity-the conference also promises an excursion to offshore and near shore coral reefs in Brunei.

Brunei lies within a species rich hotspot region for marine diversity where local reefs are largely protected and are considered biodiversity resources.

In addition, Pulau Selirong, boasts one of the best untouched mangrove forests in the world, and is 2,566 hectares in size.

The venue for the post conference tour will be the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre in Temburong. It is aimed at bringing together experts, researchers and conservation workers in tackling biodiversity and conservation issues.

The conference will bring in speakers from Australia, Singapore and the World Wildlife Fund.

One of the presentation topics would cover the Heart of Borneo conservation project, which was recently signed in Bali between Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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