Brunei Forest - File Photo.

Forest Management

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Brunei Government is intent on keeping its position in the world's top five in terms of percentage of forest cover even as it mulls finding ways to accommodate the land needs of development and progress.

Mahmud Yussof, deputy director of the Forestry Department, Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, said the land-use situation in the Sultanate is "still manageable".

"We have our forest reserve to balance deforestation," he said even as he noted there is little to worry about deforestation in Brunei because of the strict adherence to the 1989 National Forestry Policy.

He said: "Brunei allocated 41 per cent of its forests as forest reserve. So we do not have to worry. The target is 55 per cent in order to achieve sustainable forest management."

At the moment, 76 per cent of Brunei's land area remains forested.

There is minimal deforestation resulting from agricultural projects and infrastructure development in Brunei, he said.

Taking care of the environment is not a new agenda in the country.

"Our 1989 National Forestry Policy is still valid, but we are prepared for anything," he said.

"We have planted 3.5 million trees so far to counter the deforestation issue in Brunei since 2005. The planting concentrated in forest reserve areas and stateland where the land ecological value is deteriorating. Our job is to rehabilitate the area and its ecology," he said.

A total of 60,000 trees will be planted next year in conjunction with World Forestry Day, and in accordance with the Convention of Biological Diversity's 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss, he said.

Brunei, he said, can be proud of complying with the standards and regulations in terms of forest management, as well as expectations to respond to the global agenda.

"In forest management we have to consider the environment, economic and social obligations because (what forests offer) us is not solely economic," said Mahmud.

"There are so many things that the forest can serve to the public," he said. However, he emphasised that Brunei's adherence to sustainable forest management and its Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative do not oppose development. "We do not oppose development as long as they consider the need for sustainable development, that is the main issue," he said.

He spoke of how limited land in the country necessitates efficient land-use management. "We have to utilise our land in accordance to the principles and directives under HoB. Otherwise, we will be fighting each other for land. That's why the HoB National Council tries to (study) all these interests so that we have proper, integrated long-term planning within designated HoB areas," he added.

Under the HoB initiative, we have to have integrated planning - how to develop the areas according to the interests of various government agencies' interest, supporting the national development and principles of sustainability, he added. "Balance development is needed in order to achieve sustainable development. How we achieve this is a matter of time. We have to discuss until we arrive at a consensus on how to manage it," he said. "We are promoting the issue of environmental sustainability. We want to introduce the importance of sustainable development and land use, and the importance of protecting forest resources to balance all this development (needs)," he added.

The challenges now are to promote international networking and supporting national economic diversification efforts, said Mahmud.

Brunei's involvement in the global environmental scene will be further strengthened with its participation in the UN climate summit in Copenhagen next month.

The Ministry of Development (MoD) will be sending representatives to the summit where world leaders and environment experts will meet in the Danish capital to hammer out a new treaty on reducing carbon emissions responsible for climate change.

"We (Forestry Department) support them (the MoD) as one of the resource agencies. When we talk about the environment, we have to talk about forest - its existence and natural processes," he said.

By legislation, the Forestry Department is the leading agency in managing forest resources.

Brunei has faced no external pressure in terms of its forestry policy, especially not from timber companies.

"We are pressuring the loggers. We are telling them what to do. That is why we introduce (the) quota (system). We control the loggers," he said.

Mahmud attributed the HoB achievement and success to His Majesty's leadership and support from various government and private agencies. These, he added, led to the Sultanate positioning itself on the global map in terms of climate change sustainability. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Email

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment