| Azaraimy HH |
THE Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin, has called on the private sector to invest in ecotourism and biodiversity through the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Initiative, during the opening ceremony of the 10th HoB Trilateral Meeting in Brunei.
The meeting, which began yesterday and ends on September 7, addresses various issues, one of which is the concept of achieving sustainable development within HoB member countries.
Attending the 10th Heart of Borneo Trilateral Meeting were special guests and invited dialogue partners from the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, WWF, non-government organisations and funding agencies. Also present at the opening ceremony were senior officials from the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism. During his welcoming speech, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism said, “We should pursue the call from the ministers responsible for the HoB Initiative to encourage green economy applications and its related scientific and technological development thro-ugh various endeavours such as Public Private Partnership (PPP) and cooperation on a multi-sectoral basis.”
“Ecotourism and bio-industry have high economic potentials. In this context, the private sector is very much welcome to invest in these ventures. The restructuring and renaming of the ministry to become the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, reflects our current focus on the tourism sector.
“Therefore the development of ecotourism in the HoB Initiative is very relevant. Our recent launch of the Temburong holiday destination packages which includes the element of ecotourism is proof of our commitment.
Joint ecotourism packages within the designated HoB areas especially in the HoB Corridor Initiative can be further explored at this meeting,” he added.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin touring the exhibition in conjunction to the 10th HoB Trilateral Meeting.
Dr Haji Abdul Manaf speaking during the meeting. – PHOTOS: AZARAIMY HH
In his speech, Dr Haji Abd Manaf also highlighted the encouraging outcome of the recently held 2nd Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit, where participating countries expressed their strong support to regional forest conservation and protection initiatives.
The 2nd Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit, held in Brunei was jointly organised with the Australian Government and Center for International Forestry Research.
He added that it is time to be reminded that the obligation to manage our natural resources in a more sustainable manner is no longer the sole responsibility of the government. All stakeholders should play their part and share the responsibility, since the issue is a global agenda.
“Over the last 10 years, we have shown to the world a very consistent and coherent policy approach to our common conservation vision. Since then, we have achieved success in various areas of concern and shared our progress at the national level during our meetings,” he said.
Dr Haji Abdul Manaf said that for Brunei, the HoB Initiative is part of the country’s contribution to the global community and the on-going issues of global concern.
It reflects Brunei’s full support and commitment to the existing national, sub-regional and global initiatives and agreements such as the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), the Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other related international multi-environmental agreements.
“As the geographical size of Brunei is relatively small, a more effective Borneo forest protection initiative requires joint and collective efforts. On this note, we welcome the idea of the HoB Corridor Initiative, to bridge the ecological functions of the present protected areas within HoB member countries.
“We are very thankful to the WWF Global Initiative for its concerted efforts so far in the Hob’s outreach programme where HoB member countries have participated in IUCN, World Park Congress 2014 in Sydney, Australia and the Paris Climate Conference in Paris, France, in December 2015,” he added.
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