Bandar Seri Begawan - The International School Brunei (ISB) is just one step away from accomplishing the target of planting 50,000 trees in Badas as part of its major forest conservation efforts under the Million Trees Project and Heart of Borneo (HOB).

At the Badas forest reserve area in the Belait District yesterday morning, ISB Executive Principal David Taylor planted the 49,999' indigenous tree in a final tree planting effort over the weekend, participated by several private companies and local students in the country.

According to David Taylor, they are expecting a member of the Brunei royal family to plant the 50,000th tree scheduled to take place early next year to mark the successful completion of the project which began in the middle of last year in an attempt to restore and rehabilitate 10 hectares of the Kerangas Forest at the Badas forest reserve area.

Over the weekend, participants from several major private companies and students from various local schools got their hands dirty to help support the project towards mitigating climate change and global warming.

Participants at yesterday's tree planting also include the British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam, Mr Rob Fenn, and staff of the British High Commission who planted 286 saplings, in an extension to a plot of 1,200 trees planted last year by. His Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince.

"This is indeed a rewarding experience, particularly for my children. We will never get the same experience in London. And these forest reserve area serves as a ground zero towards climate change," said the British High Commissioner. He added that the objective of yesterday's planting was to offset the 'carbon footprint' at the Queen's Birthday Party (QBP) in Bandar Seri Begawan last June and that of QBP celebration by other British posts in the region.

The High Commission calculated that their 2009 QBP generated about 1,365 kg of CO2 and it could be offset at a rate of 20kg of CO2 per-tree-per year. The British High Commission in BSB sponsored 70 trees, while the posts in Kuala Lumpur bought 121 trees; Singapore purchased 60 trees while the British Embassy in Phnom Penh bought 35 trees.

ISB Director David Taylor noted that the project raised $5 for every sapling sponsored and the generated fund is used to pay the contractors hired to maintain the forest reserve area and ensure the survival of the saplings until May 2011.

The enthusiasm by every level of society in this project demonstrates that even small gestures like giving a contribution to the planting of trees can achieve important results for the well-being of the planet, he added.

He stated that trees have the benefit to capture carbon dioxide and rainforest trees can capture more than 20 kg per annum for as long as 40 years.

Apart from the tree planting experience as their tribute to Mother Nature, the participants also viewed this as an opportunity to walk through the forest trails and enjoy nature at its best.

At least 300 people endured a 30-minute drive along the designated route into the forest reserve area and walked few hundred metres on a track which leads them to several allocated plots designed for the tree replanting project within the dense forest place.

The ISB Million Tree project is a joint effort between Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and ISB and it is also part of the HOB project to support tree planting and forest conservation projects across Borneo and beyond. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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