The prolonged extremely dry season in Brunei has exacerbated resurgence of peat fires in Belait District, especially at the Badas area.

This year saw the biggest fire and it is expected to be bigger next year unless effective measures are taken to control its occurrence.

This was highlighted at a meeting on Peat Land and Peat Fire Awareness Roadshow 2016, held yesterday at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.

Attended by officers from Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd (BSP) and government agencies such as Fire and Rescue Department, Land Department, and Wildlife Division.

The meeting was chaired by Mahmud bin Haji Yussof, Chief Executive Officer of Heart of Borneo (HoB) Research and Biodiversity Innovation Centre, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.

"We are here today to discuss a holistic approach to control the swamp forest (peat land) fires because it is an alarming issue and we need to protect the peat land for the future generations of Brunei. The meeting is an initial step to discuss the awareness programme to highlight the importance of protecting peat land in the country. Peat swamp is a threatened ecosystem and if not protected it will disappear," he said.

Appreciating the BSP initiative in protecting the peat lands, he said the awareness programme is not only relevant to the Heart of Borneo, but also to the country.

He said, preservation of the Belait peat swamp forest is of global importance as it is a carbon sink, important in the mitigation of climate change and could possibly be the best preserved forest of its kind in the world.

He also highlighted that peat fires are caused by human activities such as illegal logging and illegal agriculture in peat soil. Peat fires cause significant damage to property, wildlife, environment and public health.

During the meeting, Zuraidah binti Abdul Kamis, an officer from BSP, presented a brief introduction on the road show initiative.

She said the objectives of the awareness programme are to introduce the initiative to external stakeholders, provide opportunity for collaboration, obtain support and feedback as well as to identify focal points for collaboration.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]