The government is
strengthening its wildlife enforcement measures to curb poaching and illegal
logging that take place in the deep Brunei forests, said the Deputy Director of
Forestry Department.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, Mahmud Hj Yussof said relevant laws will be established "under
one roof"' to strengthen monitoring and enforcement activities for
preserving the wildlife and rainforests in Brunei.
He said that previous measures to curb environmental threats involved
other departments such as the Agriculture and Agrifood department, among
others.
"Establishing reinforcement under one roof under Ministry of
Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), we are able to have more centralised
actions and focused attention on wildlife protection," he said, adding
that having just one team was more effective than having multiple agencies.
The concern over illegal poaching and logging was raised by the native
people living in the villages, he said. Animals such as deers and mousedeers
are poached illegally in large quantities to be sold for their meat.
Currently, there are only 20 forest rangers a "limited
capacity", to look over the wildlife and forests, Mahmud said, adding that
encroachment at the borders was a major concern with regard to illegal hunting
and logging.
To address the issue, a national committee made up of the Royal Brunei
Police Force (RBPF) and Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) in collaboration with
the Forestry Department has been set up to check illegal activities in the
forests.
The lead agency in the committee are the RBPF and RBAF, being "well-equipped"
to handle the problem and the Forestry Department are members of the committee.
"We are very active in doing patrolling...air patrol, land and water
patrols," he said.
This issue was also brought up at the recent Legislative Council
(LegCo) proceeding by Yang Berhormat Hj Ramli Hj Lahit, the penghulu of Mukim
Telisai in Tutong District.
Minister of Industry and Primary Resources Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang
Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar
acknowledged the seriousness of the issue and said the locals (usually) catch
one animal a month (for personal consumption), but...poachers hunt huge amount
and in truckloads.
"Wildlife is very important," Mahmud told The Brunei Times,
adding that Sg Ingei has been made a wildlife project site under the Heart of
Borneo (HoB) initiative.
"The information (gained from the project) has evident impact on
our economic growth...because (it) is good for eco-tourism activities to
provide revenue to the country."
The wildlife project is a collaboration between the Forestry Department
with Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
International, sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank.
"Potential of finding new species is very high because of the
preserved forests and ecosystem," Mahmud said, stressing the importance of
continued efforts to save the wildlife and forests.
"That's why Brunei HoB is very important we try to connect all
these fragmented forest, so that we can have a continuous ecological habitats."
Low Leng May
The Brunei Times
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