Following the opening ceremony of the 2nd Asia-Pacific Rainforest Summit yesterday at the International Convention Centre in Berakas, several parallel sessions took place in the afternoon with each session presenting on related topics.

Among the sessions was a topic on inclusive forest industries for a green economy, where a panel of speakers discussed the huge challenge of balancing the value of biodiversity with the needs of a developing economy.

With session moderator Dr. Herry Purnomo, a scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), speakers also discussed on green economies and how forests can retain its natural capital while supporting industries and livelihoods.

One of the panel speakers, Professor Andrew Lowe, Chair of Plant Conservation Biology at the University of Adelaide, noted that the session saw several people from various fields discuss different perspectives.

Professor Andrew Lowe said, "The work that we do is using new technology like DNA to help verify where timber products come from. It will help customers know if they are paying for premium products.

"It is an important step towards transparency for timber supply chains," he added.

"In terms of Brunei, I think there is a huge opportunity for sustainable forestry management of fitting into the green economy because Brunei has pledged to conserve a large proportion of existing rainforest area under the Heart of Borneo (H0B) commitments and potential opportunities for carbon credits and carbon market which is part of the green economy," he said.

He noted that there is a huge potential for Brunei in that area and sees the vision that Brunei has to be able to conserve rainforests.

He added that Brunei shouldn't be discouraged from that kind of stance.

"I also think additional opportunities for Brunei include eco-tourism and returning the benefits back to forest-dwelling people," he said.

Concerning research on plant ecological and evolutionary genetics, he pointed out that they have yet to do research in Brunei but do have a project in Borneo to develop a DNA timber-tracking method to identify where timber products come from on the island.

Currently, the project is in collaboration with Indonesian scientists. But since the meeting yesterday, he has now made contact with Ferry Slik, a researcher from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) who has agreed to a collaboration to include Brunei in the project.

"So I will return next year for fieldwork together with Brunei scientists and we will develop a DNA method for timber-tracking with Brunei scientists as part of this project. It was worth coming to the meeting here because of a very exciting development under this opportunity for this type of technology," said the professor.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]