Borneo Island has extensive areas of peatland forests, the vast majority of which have been severely degraded through drainage. Intact peatlands are becoming rare and are considered an endangered habitat throughout tropical Asia.

In Brunei Darussalam, peatlands cover 19% of the country's total (approximately 100,000 ha), with most located in the Belait district. The natural vegetation of the peatland forests in Brunei is still very much intact, unlike in most parts of Borneo.

Why are we talking about peatland forests? Peatland forests are very important in mitigating climate change. They are huge carbon stores and in their natural state accumulate carbon from the atmosphere, like a sponge absorbing water.

As part of the Heart of Borneo project, an action plan has been identified with the main objective of encouraging policy changes to stimulate rehabilitation and conservation of peatlands in Brunei as well as identifying pilot sites for trying out innovative methods of rehabilitating peatlands. The rehabilitation of peatlands is a two-stage process, first, the water table is restored to its former level before drainage and secondly, reforestation is carried out where new trees are planted to replace those lost before. The aim is in some cases to restore the biodiversity value and in other cases, to encourage sustainable forestry and agriculture.

The benefits of conservation and rehabilitation of peatlands are plenty. They help in the prevention of fires and haze arising from fires, in the restoration of flood control functions and to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and store them. In addition they have very high biodiversity values upon which unique vegetation can be found. Brunei is the last stronghold for some of these very unique vegetation communities that are only found on peatlands.

The danger of losing peatlands is that once the swamps are drained for the purposes of logging or agriculture, the peat will decompose and release the stored CO2 into the air. The carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere from peatland drainage and fires in South East Asia is a major global contributor to climate change that we are experiencing now. Drained peatland swamps are also very susceptible to fire and are major contributors to the haze that envelopes parts of Borneo Island during dry periods.

In a press conference held this afternoon in the capital, the British High Commission and Standard Chartered Bank, working in partnership, announced their agreement to co-fund the rehabilitation and conservation plan under Heart of Borneo. Attending the event were Yang Mulia Dato Paduka Haji Hamdillah bin Haji Abdul Wahab, Chairman of Heart of Borneo National Council and Deputy Minister of Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources; His Excellency Mr. John Saville, British High Commissioner; Ms. Siew Chuen, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank; Dato' Mikaail Kavanagh of WWF and Dr. Jonathan Davies, an expert ecologist who is leading the project.

Standard Chartered Bank's funding for the Heart of Borneo Project is part of the US$500,000 prize donation from the Race for a Living Planet Environment Challenge which Brunei won earlier this year. The prize donation has been agreed by Standard Chartered Bank to be donated to environmental projects endorsed by WWF in the country. Working in partnership with WWF, it was decided that the funds should be allotted to the Heart of Borneo Project initiative.

"The British High Commission is delighted to support this project which builds well on the earlier support we have provided for the Heart of Borneo initiative. The objectives of this project address one of the major global issues we are facing today, namely climate change, and supports an integrated regional response to biodiversity and haze issues," said His Excellency Mr. John Saville, British High Commissioner.

"I am also happy to be working together with Standard Chartered Brunei, a bank which has, like a number of other British corporate partners, shown tremendous support in the Heart of Borneo. Just a few days ago, the bank announced the donation of B$700,000 for the project; generated by the Greatest Race on Earth: Race for a Living Planet environmental challenge this year," His Excellency added.

Britian's Prince of Wales, who will be arriving in Brunei on Friday, and visiting the Badas Peatswamp Forest is a longstanding supporter of rainforest preservation efforts in Borneo and around the world.

"We are very excited that this is the first Heart of Borneo project that we will be embarking on from our total funding of B$700,000. We are very pleased to work hand-in-hand with the British High Commission and the Heart of Borneo council on this project. Sustainability is high on our agenda and this project will indeed benefit our environment and contribute to fighting climate change," said Ms. Siew Chuen, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank.

Yang Mulia Dato Hamdillah Wahab, Chairman of Heart of Borneo National Council and Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, pointed out that few people realise the value of peatswamps. "I am sure that not many people realise that water from the Belait River would be unmanageable and too expensive to clean up without the filtration and slow-release that the peat gives us for free. We could not invent a better system and yet we tend to take it for granted. To give just one example, without that water, Brunei LNG would have to shut down. Add that to the carbon stored in the peat and the unique plant communities that grow there, and you begin to appreciate that we had better look after this gift from Allah."

Dr Jonathan Davies pointed out that converting peatlands to other uses is seldom a good investment, aside from the loss of the ecological services that they provide. He added: "There is a lot of experience in the region to show that what seems easy with modern technology ends up being hugely expensive and technically difficult, when done on a large scale, because of the nature of the peat itself and the water management that has to be done. It is a lot more beneficial to manage peatlands in harmony with nature".

The rehabilitation of the degraded peatlands project cost Br$177,800 and runs for two years. The Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (JASTRe) at the Ministry of Development is the Brunei Government's leading agency for this project.