Brunei Roundtable Environment 2007

Transcription

1 Brunei Environment Roundtable Hails Heart Of Borneo Initiative By Sonia K Bandar Seri Begawan - The environmental significance of the `Heart of Borneo' initiative was highlighted yesterday during the "Brunei Environment Roundtable 2007" talk at the Empire Hotel and Country Club. The roundtable talk, which was organised by the Asia Inc Forum, began with a keynote address on "Global Warming: Consequences and Opportunities" by General Manager of TOTAL, Mr Louis Heuze. He touched on factors that contribute to climate change, and how atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases was increasing rapidly. Mr Heuze said that the ultimate objective was to achieve the stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. This session was moderated by Allen Lai, CEO of Asia Inc Forum. Next on the agenda was a discussion on "The Green Heart of Borneo", where speakers stressed on the environmental significance of the project and its economic implications, as well as what to expect of the government and private sector. The open forum discussion was led by: W W F Special Advisor to the `Heart of Borneo' initiative, Dato Mikaail Kavanagh Abdullah; Deputy Director of Forestry Department Mahmud bin Mohd Yussof; Professor Wangari Maathai; Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd, Dr Grahaeme Henderson; and Director of Environmental, Health and Safety of Alcoa Inc, Global Primary Products Growth, Mr Patrick Grover. The forum was moderated by Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, Acting Chairman of Brunei Economic Development Board. During lunch at Spaghettini's restaurant, the world's leading scientist and environmentalist, Professor David Bellamy, talked about recycling and future sources of energy. This session was moderated by Mr John Saville, British High Commissioner to Brunei. Also attending the talk was special guest, Minister of Development Pehin Dato Awang Hj Abdullah bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar. The CEO of Asia Inc Forum told the Bulletin, "The presence of Pehin Dato Awang Hj Abdullah and senior government figures shows that the government sees this as an important topic as highlighted by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in Cebu during the 12" Asean Summit in January."

2 Asia Inc Forum hoped that similar events like the roundtable talk would continue to encourage the community to think about how they could conserve the environment. The Asia Inc Forum Roundtable was partnered by TOTAL, BLNG, ING Private Bank, Alcoa and BAG. It was also supported by the British High Commission, International School Brunei and the Empire Hotel and Country Club. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin Big Business Has Place In Heart Of Borneo By Sonia K and Aemy Azlena Bandar Seri Begawan - "Why do people do these things to destroy the environment?" This was the thought-provoking question posed by Professor Wangari Maathai yesterday morning at Indera Kayangan Ballroom, Empire Hotel and Country Club. A strong promoter of environmental conservation, she was one of several authorities invited to speak at the Asia Inc Forum Roundtable. A session on "The Green Heart of Borneo" sought answers to the following questions: What are the environmental significance and the economic implications of the Heart of Borneo project; and what can be expected of the government and the private sector? The forum was led by WWF Special Advisor to the `Heart of Borneo' initiative, Dato' Mikaail Kavanagh Abdullah, Deputy Director of the Forestry Department, Awang Mahmud bin Mohd Yussof, Professor Wangari Maathai, Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd, Dr Grahaeme Henderson, and Patrick Grover from Alcoa Inc, with Acting Chairman of Brunei Economic Development Board Dato Paduka Timothy Ong moderating. Several advantages of the Heart of Borneo project were highlighted by Dato' Mikaail KavanaghAbdullah during the discussions which included border security from illegal loggings, protection from fire-break and haze, technical cooperation between countries in forestry management and protection of conservation across borders. Brunei stands to benefit from the project by diversifying economically. Some proposed measures mentioned were the maintenance of affordable and manageable water supplies, eco-tourism development, international branding/ marketing support from romancing of culture and forest, community-based enterprises such as the cultivation of local plants (eg orchids), providing environmental-related services, acquiring global support and investments in sustainable ventures. Businesses stand to benefit from these sustainable ventures, among which are environmental sustainability, community and governmental support and global interest (ie free positive publicity). Dr Grahaeme Henderson, Managing Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum, proudly declared that of the company's 3,000 employees, nearly all of them are

3 environmentalists, both at work and at home. They are also seeking to reduce their emissions further. Dato Paduka Timothy Ong concluded the forum with a brief summary of the talk - that the Heart of Borneo is significant not only to Brunei but also the rest of the world. He reminded the audience not to put profit first at the expense of the environment. Patrick Grover said that Alcoa, particularly in health and safety, can relate to the conference's topics. "It drives our performance and the way we operate, in which we challenge ourselves to do better tomorrow than we did today. So we have established challenging short-term and long-term goals from the environment perspective. We have goals, which enable us to move towards meeting the longer term," he told the Bulletin in an interview, when asked how Alcoa can contribute to the environmental preservation. Yet at the end of the forum, attendees were left with thoughts such as Professor Wangari Maathai's who stated, "we need to understand the situation so that we can continue to investigate and find ways to rectify the problems". She urged people to change their mindset, and to accountably and responsibly manage, our resources throughout the world. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin High Praises For Brunei's Support To Heart Of Borneo By Aemy Aziena & Sonia K Bandar Seri Begawan - Professor Wangari Maathai said that the "Heart of Borneo" is a fantastic programme that has seen an impressive demonstration of cooperation and commitment from Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. She expressed her gratitude for Brunei's willingness to commit 57 per cent of its land for the sake of the project. She said that she was impressed with the government's leadership, as well as their support, in working with other nations to make the project a success. "The leadership provided here is exemplary and I hope it will be emulated in other parts of the world," she said in an interview. The government and private sectors could play important roles, such as generating an awareness and understanding of the climate change. She said Borneo is the world's third largest eco-system after the Congo forest in Africa and the Amazon forest in South America. It is therefore important for the people in this region to really appreciate it. Due to the readily available source of water here and plenty of trees, it is usually taken for granted, but illegal logging, for example, should not be allowed to continue.

4 Brunei is a beautiful country and is extremely lucky to have such a bountiful land, said Wangari Maathai. She commended and congratulated His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, the government and people for recogni sing their country's natural heritage and their success in protecting it. She was also impressed with the potential shown by students of International School Brunei, who are enthusiastic and inspirational in their interest on global issues. "They will be the bedrock for environmentalists and conservationists," she said. She said that she was glad to see the youths taking part in projects like "One Million Trees" and encouraged them to visit Greenbelt-movement.org or link up with the UN campaign of planting one billion trees in the world. Meanwhile, in another interview with the Bulletin, Mr David Bellamy, the world's leading scientist and environmentalist, said, "When I first came here 35 years ago, most of Brunei and much of Borneo were still covered with forest and it did not need any fossil fuel to help with repairs or keep the balance of the earth's biosphere as well as carbon dioxide and oxygen in the atmosphere." He also said, "We are trying to get the world to come to its senses and see how important this is. Only eight months ago, the World Bank had said that it is so important that we do not destroy any more forests, so that we could use all the plants and the animals that live in them to rehabilitate larger areas of the earth. "They have even put a stock market value on it. If you chop the forest down, you will destroy all the good work of trees, as they are wonderful, they make changes, they make habitat and they make food for the people. "If we can get the `Heart of Borneo' project to work, then our grandchildren would have a chance to enjoy a beautiful, wonderful world. Brunei has been very lucky because it has oil. Otherwise, it would have to chop down a lot of trees. However, it is in Borneo that we have the occurrence of massive illegal logging," he said. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin Brunei Times 6 th March, 2007 Balance between growth and conservation stressed Shareen Han BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN IT IS not a matter of choosing between economic growth for the current generation or sustaining the environment for the benefit of future generations, but striking a balance between living a quality life and being responsible of the environment at the

5 same time, participants at the Asia Inc Forum roundtable discussion on environment heard yesterday. Environmental degradation takes place over a period of time, and businesses must take into the consideration that the environment is not just a category on its own, but has an impact on business practices. Environmental protection is everyone s responsibility, without a healthy environment, there is no business, said Habiba Al Marashi, founding member and chairperson of Emirates Environment Group in the United Arab Emirates. A participant at the roundtable discussion agreed and quoted former secretary general of United Nations, Kofi Annan, saying that the world remains captive to the old idea that we face a choice between economic growth and conservation, in fact, growth cannot be sustained without conservation. Dato Paduka Timothy Ong, acting chairman of the Brunei Economic Development Board and moderator of the forum discussion, concluded that the Heart of Borneo project is not only significant for Brunei, but for the world. Everything that we do is integrated and not separate from everything else, the environment is also about life, future, peace and good business practices, he said. Meanwhile, Dr Grahaeme Henderson, managing Director of Brunei Shell (BSP), said that his company s work is undertaken with due regard to the environment. we were proudly awarded the ISO for environmental management system and closely working with governments, legislation is important to know precisely where one can and cannot operate, he told participants. He noted that BSP has reduced 50 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions for the past few years and waste water is continuously monitored to reduce the impact on the environment. Patrick Grover, director of environmental, health and safety of Alcoa Inc, shared the values of the world s leading producer and manager of primary aluminum, which was not compromising environmental health and safety for profits. Alcoa, named one of the most sustainable corporations in the World Economic Forum in 2005 and 2006, formed a sustainability team in 2004 that sought external viewpoints from other companies and non-governmental organisations to critique the company s performances. Alcoa sets challenging internal performance targets and helps communities to realize that there s no need to throw away things that can be used again, he said.

6 Environmental refugees spectre raised Shareen Han BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN EVERYBODY needs to ask themselves why are they doing things that are harmful to the environment and what can they do to change this, said Nobel Peace Prize winner, Professor Wangari Maathai. Removing vegetation, illegal logging and massive soil erosion that reflects the problem of the unavailability of clean drinking water is still prevalent in many parts of the world, she said during Asia Inc Forum s roundtable discussion on the environment. Are we doing these things out of ignorance, out of greed, out of need or out of poverty? asked Kenyan Professor Maathai yesterday. She said that if we are doing this out of poverty, then one has to ask how are we managing ourselves that we are so poor, from every level, because the environment is important to all of us. Without good, responsible, accountable management of our limited natural resources, it will result in massive migration and a lot of people will end up as environmental refugees, she told about 80 invited participants of the roundtable forum. She stressed that a change of mindset is needed with the way we are managing our resources because future generations depend on how responsible we deal with the resources. Professor Maathai, who won the Nobel Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace, said we need to keep informed of the problems so as to work on the alternatives that can rectify the situation. She said that the attendance of Brunei s business community in the forum showed that they are concerned with the environment and are not just interested in making profits. Professor Maathai is also the first women in east and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, and was elected to parliament with an overwhelming 98 per cent of the vote. She is also currently serving as Kenya s assistant minister for environment, natural resources. Mahmud Hj Yussof, deputy director of Forestry Department at Brunei s Ministry of Industry and Primary resources, assured the participants that the protection of rainforests is Brunei s national agenda, with government agencies and the private sector supporting the initiative.

7 He said that Brunei has a conservation policy of forests, which manages and maintains Brunei Darussalam s rich biological diversity. Meanwhile, Dato Dr Mikaail Kayanagh Abdullah, special adviser to the Heart of Borneo(HOB) project, said that Borneo is the only place where the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia can still be conserved. He said the HOB project is vital because it is not only economically and socially important, but it also determines the long-term well-being of the people living in Borneo. The project came about with the ecological services that the area provides to the people of Borneo, he said. He said some of the areas where HOB will help Brunei were fire and haze protection, border security, transboundary protected areas, water catchment management and technical cooperation in forestry management. He added that it will also improve the tourism especially its niche markets. The one-day Asia Inc Forum roundtable on environment took place at The Empire Hotel and Country Club.

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