Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Bandar Seri Begawan - World leaders are taking numerous initiatives to tackle environmental pollution in the region and as part of its continuous efforts, Brunei Darussalam has hosted the Environmental Management Seminar to create awareness and share its latest knowledge with others involved in this matter.

The opening ceremony held at Seameo Voctech yesterday saw Minister of Development Pehin Orang Kaya Hamzah Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji B akar as the guest of honour.

The one-day seminar themed 'The Brunei Initiative' was also attended by Dato Paduka Dr Awg Haji Mat Suny bin Haji Mohd Hussien, Deputy Minister of Development, Japanese Ambassador to Brunei Hashimoto Itsuo, Permanent Secretaries at the Ministry of Development and Ministry of Education, Japan Environmental Management Association for Industry (JEMAI) Director Tadao Iguchi, JEMAI Deputy Director Kenzo Ooka, as well as director generals and directors of departments

under both ministries.

In his welcoming remarks, Seameo Voctech Acting Director Haji Awang Yussof Haji Awang Mohamad said, "In its goal towards supporting relevant programmes that are beneficial, Seameo Voctech abides by the United Nation's call on the 'Decade of Sustainable Development (2005-2014).

"Development can only be sustainable if it stands firmly on the pillars of technology, society and the environment.

"Based on the last environmental management system seminar in February 2008, it emphasised the need for roles to accomplish in regard to better environmental policies and programmes, and improved monitoring schemes on related-environmental tasks," Haji Yussof said.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Hashimoto Itsuo noted that this year marks the 25' anniversary since the establishment of the Japan-Brunei diplomatic relation and that part of the seminar is aimed at further promoting mutual relations between the two countries.

Hashimoto added that a number of companies in Japan are implementing the Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

"Promoting EMS in Brunei could play a significant part in advancing diversification in such a manner as being friendly to society and the environment," he added.

The seminar also heard a keynote speech on the `Current Environmental Problems' by JEMAI Centre for Environmental Education and Training Deputy Director Kenzo Ooka. He listed global warming and the earth summit, carbon offset, acid rain, ozone layer depletion and deforestation as the Top 10.

His speech also covered air pollution, Minamata disease, mercury converted by bacterial activity which can enter the brain cells and cause fetus abnormalities, toxicology, hydrologic cycles and the benefits of EMS/ ISO 14001.

Kenzo stated that private or public organisations globally which have implemented the EMS/ISO 14001 have experienced benefits such as pollution prevention, better environmental performances, cost savings in operations (e.g. paper, utility and waste), increased efficiency of operations and improved public relations.

"If EMS is well executed, the result will be stable. Even if an incident occurs, they can recover," he added.

One of Kenzo's slides showed how other countries viewed Brunei and Japan. It said information provided by the CIA showed that Brunei Darussalam benefits from extensive petroleum and natural gas fields, the source of one of the highest per capita GDPs in Asia with US$51,000, while Japan is the world's largest importer of coal and liquefied natural gas as well as the second largest importer of oil with US$33,500 per capita, with a population of over 127 million.

The seminar also saw a presentation on how EMS is effectively utilised by BLNG, which was delivered by BLNG Senior General Manager (Plant) Hj Matsatejo Sokiaw, and new trends in environmental management by Iguchi.

The seminar hopes to explore further insights on environmental issues and solutions that can help reduce it by understanding and applying the correct management methods.

JEMAI is a public corporation established in 1962 and has a membership of over 1,100 Japanese companies in various industries such as electric, steel and petrochemical. It has been a representative office of the ISO 14000 series since the late 90s.

Under the EPA Scheme, both countries are expecting various projects to further strengthen cooperative relations in numerous aspects including human resource development and energy saving. The seminar is one of the projects sponsored by the government of Japan and co-organised by the Japanese Environmental Association for Industry (JEMAI), the Embassy of Japan in Brunei Darussalam and Seameo Voctech. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin