Hope For Cancer Cure In Borneo’s Rainforest
By Azlan Othman
Bandar Seri Begawan - Cancer cure from Borneo’s microbes and microorganisms might possibly be found in the pristine rainforest. That’s the observation made by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Dato Paduka Awg Hj Hamdillah in delivering the Heart of Borneo project at the recently concluded Brunei Forum in Singapore.
He said a Japanese Institute (NITE) is proposing to undertake a research and development programme with Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) under his Ministry’s sponsorship on biotechnology to establish the medicinal value of forest microbes.
He described Brunei’s role in one of the biggest and perhaps most ambitious sustainable development programmes in the world today, the Heart of Borneo project. “It’s a �global heritage� and the world should respond to its needs”, quoting Sir David Attenborough.
Borneo is home to over 13 primates, 350 birds, 150 reptile species and more than 15,000 species. “New species are being discovered in Borneo at in average rate of three per month. There have been 361 recent discoveries over the period of the last 10 years”, he said, highlighting it as one of the most bio diverse places on the planet.
He also touched on the explosion of economic development. The trend is so strong that it has focused our minds on the need to manage more sustainably its environmental impact on a global scale.
“But Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia plus the NGO’s, diplomats, academics and corporate figures have found a common ground. We agreed on a vision for the HoB based on working together in partnership to ensure effective management and conservation to protect the Borneo’s heritage forever”.
“This vision is not about ‘locking away’ the whole area from development; it’s about protecting nature in a largely forested landscape that benefits the local communities of the three Bornean nations. We are looking for sustainable development that is compatible with maintaining our forests.”
“Although we have capped production, we shall continue to produce timber sustainably; and we have also identified biotechnology and tourism as major income earners and future job creators”.
Dato Elj Hamdillah said in February last year, the three governments formally stated their intentions to implement this in the Bali Declaration on the HoB initiative. Brunei commits itself to the Bali declaration to including at least 60 per cent of the entire country to be managed under HoB territory. The area will include totally protected and sustainably managed forests stretching from the interior highlands to the coasts, and joined across the Sarawak border to Gunung Mulu and beyond.
Source: Borneo Bulletin
