Brunei committed to a ‘Greener’ future
The practice of environmental stewardship is now almost a way of life in Brunei Darussalam, where corporate entities have sponsored and funded useful work for the environment, winning awards for energy management and reducing their carbon footprint.
Furthermore, waste minimisation programmes have also been introduced, such as the ‘No Plastic Bag Weekend’ initiative and the beverage carton recycling programmes at businesses and schools.
This observation was made by Dr Awg Haji Junaidi bin Haji Abdul Rahman, the Permanent Secretary (Higher Education) at the Ministry of Education, during the opening of the 2011 Global Sustainability Summer School yesterday.
According to him, sustainability is also about making sure all businesses, public services, natural resources, economy and communities have the capacity to continue into the future.
One such challenge in environmental sustainability is when trees have to be felled for buildings, thus affecting the ecosystem. Fifty per cent of Brunei Darussalam’s land have been designated as reserved areas under the ‘Heart of Borneo’ (HoB) Scheme, whereby excluding those for agricultural and other uses, only five per cent is available for development, thus creating space constraints for the construction of residential properties, he said.
In light of this, a modelling research (ie climate change modelling or systems dynamic modelling) is crucial to find the most cost-effective solutions to scientific problems, providing research and innovative technology applications to tackle sustainable issues, he added.
Other problems affecting sustainability issues include the development of houses, whereby with any housing schemes, comes the problem of water, drainage and waste which can further compound the environmental degradation if left without proper management and control.
“As more and more people enter the job market, the need for transportation increases and without a good, reliable public transport system, it will end up by putting more cars on the roads. Car ownership, as it is, is already high in Brunei Darussalam. Apart from increasing the demand and consumption on petrol and gasoline, it also increases the carbon dioxide emission into the air,” he said. “Hence, good and well-tested models can be very effective scientific tools for tailor-made introduction of new environmental design.”
Moreover, as Brunei’s drive towards sustainable development has caught the attention of an international non-government organisation, this is indeed notable progress, he said, adding that with the opening of the largest project of its kind in Southeast Asia, the Tenaga Suria Brunei Photovoltaic Power Generation Demonstration Project, “we will be able to understand the practicalities of solar power, from identifying the most suitable photovoltaic technology for our meteorological conditions to developing technical expertise in the area”.
“If successful, the project (which is fully funded by the Mitsubishi Corporation), is expected to provide enough power to 200 homes, save some 340,000 litres of crude oil and reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 960 tonnes,” he added.
The Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam is also committing to supporting research on sustainability, he said, noting that B$50 million have been allocated in the current National Development Plan specifically to support research and development in science, where priority is given to energy, environment and sustainable development.
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