Kuala Lumpur - The Heart of Borneo - three countries - with one conservation vision initiative was officially launched on Feb 12, 2007 in Bali, Indonesia where its declaration was signed by the responsible Honourable Ministers from the three countries, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Since then, such a sub-regional collaborative initiative has been gaining ground and spurring each country involved to kick-start its implementation and reassess its forest practices and development as to ensure all development projects and national forest programmes well fit into the HoB‘s aspirations.
In ensuring Brunei Darussalam active participation in HoB initiative, the HoB project implementation framework study has been prepared to outline the Brunei HoB national guiding principles and prepare a roadmap on how to move forward as well as formulating project recommendations based on the current multi-sectoral issue on forest conservation (including nature and wildlife) and land use management as to bridge the multi-sectoral gap.
Maximisation of the country‘s involvement in order to ensure the people and the country will gain full benefits of the initiative within the framework of the roadmap.
Fifty-eight per cent of the total land area has been unanimously agreed to be managed under the HoB framework. This total area of greenmark is equivalent to about two per cent of the total area of the HoB in Borneo Island (240,000 sq km). Despite the small area, the national forest estate has contributed significantly to the central part of the Bornean upland forest that could provide ecological corridor into the South China Sea through unique Peat Swamp Forest of Brunei Darussalam - the world‘s remaining peat swamp forest which serves as the great barrier separating the fresh water and marine ecology.
Does the HoB really oppose development projects while emphasising on the need to conserve the forest resources and nature? Certainly not because the HoB is not just forest conservation per se, in actual fact it promotes sustainable development through sustainable land use management and more importantly, HoB further promotes the importance of sustainable forest management as a role model of sustainable development. Thus, it provides better foundation for the country‘s international green image - adapting to the climate change as a carbon sink while being as one of the major hydrocarbon producing countries in this region.
On the other hand, the Island of Borneo is known as one of the mega biodiversity hot spots in the region that can provide a green fuel for the economic growth. There had been more scientific discoveries for the past 10 years which contributed significantly to the development of non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as medicinal and herbal or bioceutical and promising ecotourism industry in which do not give a negative impact to the forest environment.
In view of Brunei ‘s iconic tropical rainforest being still intact, such considerable knowledge-based economic opportunity is yet to be explored with the assistance from the local knowledge inherited from the traditional culture and way of living of some natives in Brunei Darussalam in the past.
COP13, UNFCCC held in Bali, Indonesia on from Dec 3 to Dec 14, 2007, reiterated that the world has been facing the incremental increase in global temperature associated with forest depletion at an alarming rate and accumulative increase in carbon emissions from fossil burning and industrialization. Thus, continuous change in ecological micro-climate is inevitable and irreversible due to this incremental increase in global temperature.
On the other hand, as quoted from a keynote speech by Professor Wangari Maathai, Noble Prize laureate, ISB, BGIC V in March 2007, "The Heart of Borneo is also the Heart of the World". In light of this, HoB initiative is very globally relevant and compelling sub-regional initiative to combat global warming.
According to the most recent article published by FAO, forests and human health are intertwined - there is a link between deforestation and forest fragmentation, and emergence of new infectious diseases which often originate in mammals. Evidently, the spread of the diseases is due to the expansion of human settlement into forest areas which increases the level of exposure of human to the wildlife; modified dispersal of pathogen hosts and vectors because of forest alteration; and more importantly, altered hydrological functions that favours water-borne pathogens such as malaria.
Forests have dual roles in protecting and improving the air quality for better health by absorbing airborne pollutants and hence, the forests can reduce the acid rain effect that pollutes the water catchment area (FAO, 2007). The scientists believe that the highly acidic water itself will destroy the forest mainly by removing the available essential nutrients from the soils and as a result, making the forests more susceptible to pest attack.
Based on global tragic experiences, the HoB initiative is timely as a compelling catalyst of change in the midst of catastrophic phenomena due to global warming - providing a green channel for an integral approach to the country‘s natural resources towards a balanced socio-economic growth and enabling stakeholders to grab the opportunities while effectively managing issues and challenges on natural resources conservation. Since COP8, Convention on Biological Diversity held in Brazil on March 29, 2006 and in the United Nation Conference on Climate Change held in Bali, Indonesia from Dec 3 to Dec 14, the fledging HoB continues to expand its international outreach and play a role model in all global initiatives or conventions related to biodiversity and environmental protection issues including United Nation Convention to Combat Desertification, UNCCD.
Furthermore together with the upcoming accession of Brunei Darussalam to CBD as 191st member to CBD, Brunei HoB initiative will be expected to give a firm step towards the achievement of 2010 biodiversity target of Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD by implementing the CBD programmes of work on protected areas and forest biological diversity according to the Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf CBD Executive Secretariat. CBD welcomes the initiative to be tabled in the upcoming COP9 to be held in Bonn, German in May 2008.
For Brunei Darussalam, HoB initiative is the trilateral initiative that can provide a better collaborative environment for the local stakeholders including our neighbouring countries to share experiences, knowledge, information, expertise and views on sustainable development practices, better land use management and environmental sustainability. Most importantly, it inculcates a spirit of sub-regional unity and integrity under a common conservation vision.
Source : www.brunei-online.com (1 Februari 2008)
