Brunei Darussalam has a high potential to fully develop its own carbon inventory, thanks to its continuous efforts to preserve its pristine forests.
Director of Research Strategy and Innovations at Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) Venkatachalam Anbumozhi highlighted this during an interview following the recent Brunei Darussalam Conference on Biodiversity.
The Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) is partnering with ERIA to conduct a gap analysis and verification of the national forest resources inventory to obtain accurate baseline data on the Sultanate’s existing carbon stocks.
Anbumozhi said, “We are currently assisting Brunei to develop its own carbon inventory and look at its monetary value by identifying what type of forests exist and what their carbon reduction potentials are.
“Brunei Darussalam currently do not have a carbon inventory and we are looking at above-ground and below-ground biomass. We are estimating the potential of mangroves and peat forests.”
According to preliminary estimation, from 1990 to 2020, Brunei had 116.09 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) carbon in above ground biomass and 27.86 t/ha carbon in below-ground biomass.
“This is because of Brunei government’s continuous efforts to preserve its pristine forests,” he said.
“When you are going for the carbon market there are several standards that need to be met such as governance, emissions impact and sustainable development. After developing an inventory, there is also the need of looking into its potential to be transformed into carbon credit. There will be another simulation, then price discovery which depends on the market. When all the criteria are met, Brunei can sell its carbon inventory to the world. Companies can then buy carbon credit to meet net zero targets,” he said. – James Kon
