I spent most of my past two days in the Songket Ballroom listening and trying to understand the issues at hand and the possible solutions involved in the Heart of Borneo. There were many speakers; national and international. There were key people involved; the Minister and Deputy Minister of Primary Industry and Resources have spent most of their time with us in the conference. The people attended came from many sectors – different but interconnected sectors. Being in that hall made me realise how serious our problems have become – the rate at which our (global) rich flora and faunal diversity is diminishing, it’s daunting! The understanding that human consumption has far exceed the limit of sustainability – we have been consuming in an unhealthy manner; we dispose non-biodegradable products without recycling them, we over-fish without allowing the fish to reproduce, we fish with methods that torture the marine life – it’s heart breaking!
This HoB 4th trilateral meeting focused on both the forests and the marine life. Above all, it emphasized the importance of SUSTAINABILITY. The methods to produce economical goods, the attitude in consuming these goods, the mind-set of protecting and conserving what can be conserved, the realisation of the responsibility every individual has by default in protecting this earth as our home – all must be done with a purpose of sustainability. It is true that the economical aspect usually does not go hand in hand with conservationist – Professor Novotny once said “Sadly, to get rich is to produce more carbon”. But from this conference, we not only know that business can work together with the environmentalist, naturalist, conservationist but also the AIM to make business to co-exist with being Green ~ The Green Business.
“Green is not a colour, it’s a mind-set.” ~ Body Shop.
Green is usually perceived to be protecting Brunei’s forests – the flora and fauna. Of course, forests are not the only priceless treasure that needed protection. Apparently, Brunei’s coastline of about 130km contains one of the most diverse coral reefs found in the world. It is, literally, scary and sad to realise that out of the total coral reefs found on earth, only 8% of the coral reefs in S.E.Asia is protected and sadly, only 1% is managed properly.
Indeed, emphasis has now also shifted of being green in the blue!
There were discussions after the presentations – questions raised and discussed. It was all very inspirational but all of us know that words are only words- words require action to only be truly fruitful and meaningful.
There are always leaders. But changes can only be made if there are followers to follow the leaders in making the change. We need to start supporting our leaders.
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