Bandar Seri Begawan - In a race that will help fund the `Heart of Borneo` initiative greatly, Brunei has beaten the other contestants and sped to win the Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) 2007/08 Environment Challenge.
In a close finish, Taiwan and Hong Kong battled it out for second and third place respectively, receiving prizes of USD 350,000 and USD 150,000.
The Greatest Race on Earth is the world`s only marathon team relay series, run across four of the most exotic cities on the planet, according to a press release by Standard Chartered Bank.
Created and sponsored by Standard Chartered, it has just finished its fourth successful series.
Some of the world`s quickest marathon athletes compete in teams of four, running one marathon each in Nairobi, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong, with the teams with the lowest cumulative time at the end of the series winning a share of the prize money.
Dato Paduka Haji Hamdillah bin Haji Abdul Wahab, Brunei`s Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources and Chairman of the National Steering Committee for the `Heart of Borneo`, said: "This is great news for Brunei and it is extraordinary how the `Heart of Borneo` vision has captured the imagination of people all over the country.
A roadmap has already been mapped out for the national contribution, and the plan commits Brunei to including at least 60 per cent of its territory for conservation and sustainable development.
"The `Heart of Borneo` will include examples of all of Brunei`s forest types, ranging from the mountains to the mangroves, and including some of the best peat swamp forests left anywhere in Asia.
"It will take a lot of effort and investment to ensure the success of this exciting initiative, and winning first prize is going to be a big help."
The Environment Challenge was introduced in the GROE 2007/08 series, and has encouraged people to select and undertake up to eight environmental pledges suggested on www.thegreatestrace.com, and then nominate the GROE nation they wished their pledge(s) to support.
The three nations with the most environmental pledges per capita on March 17 at 1800 GMT - Brunei, Taiwan and Hong Kong - were declared the winners. At this point, over 3.4 million pledges had been collected from around the world.
The Environment Challenge demands the same commitment from members of the public in making small changes to their everyday lives to benefit the environment, as the Nations Challenge demands of GROE runners in giving their all for their team-mates.
In Brunei, the money will go towards the `Heart of Borneo` programme. The `Heart of Borneo` is one of the oldest tropical rainforests on the planet.
In February 2007 the three Bornean governments (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) signed an historic Declaration to conserve this 240,000km2 area of rich rainforest. Harbouring a great number of the world`s plants and animals and the source of most of Borneo`s major rivers, the `Heart of Borneo` is also home to three million people and a vital source of drinking water, food and shelter to a wider population of 16 million. The vision of the `Heart of Borneo` programme is that through effective management of a network of protected and productive forest areas and by providing local people with sustainable and economically-viable alternatives to illegal poaching and logging, Borneo`s magnificent natural and cultural heritage will be preserved forever.
Commenting on the win, Tiew Siew Chuen, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Brunei, said, "We are delighted and very proud to have won this significant prize. It is truly rewarding to know how much our community in Brunei care for the environment as shown through their embrace of our pledge initiative. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all who pledged for Brunei for their support. The `Heart of Borneo` programme is vital, not just to the future of the island, but to the wider world as well."
Dato` Mikaail Kavanagh, WWF`s Brunei Advisor said, "A programme as important as the `Heart of Borneo` is one that will clearly benefit from this injection of funds. This unique area is one of the most outstanding centresof biological diversity in the world, and to maintain that requires us to act now - Standard Chartered`s donation will go a long way towards helping conserve this precious region."
Peter Sands, Standard Chartered Group Chief Executive, congratulated the winners, saying, "The response from Standard Chartered staff members and the wider public has been fantastic - over three million pledges speaks volumes. From pledging booths in India, to "Run For The Green" tshirts in Hong Kong, to W WF volunteers encouraging people to pledge in Thailand, this initiative has clearly touched a chord with many of our stakeholders worldwide.
"Brunei, Taiwan and Hong Kong are deserving winners of the Environment Challenge, and our valued partners WWF will undoubtedly put the money to good use on projects that will be of long-lasting benefit to the environment."
Mike- DeNoma, Standard Chartered Group Executive Director, said, "The Greatest Race on Earth is now an anticipated event in the marathon-running calendar, attracting high-calibre runners from around the world. The Environment Challenge has built on the success of GROE in a way that is complementary to the spirit of GROE - that, through teamwork and trust in our partners to perform and deliver, we can make a difference."
Source: www.brudirect.com (5 April 2008)