Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP) donated tree saplings and a nursery to the Universiti Brunei Darussalam Botanical Research Centre (UBD BRC) on October 10 at the centre.
The donation of 192 saplings comprised six native tree species collected by BSP from peat swamp, riverine and heath forests in Brunei, which included high conservation value and endangered species such as dryobalanops rappa (kapur paya) and heritiera globosa (dungun).
Also donated was a nursery and materials for the care of the donated saplings.
The donated nursery has been named as the UBD Ex-Situ Conservation Nursery and will function as a research and conservation facility of the UBD BRC in support of the centre’s conservation and rehabilitation projects.
BSP Head of Environmental Affairs Michael Lampp handed over the donation to UBD BRC Curator Associate Professor Dr Rahayu Sukmaria binti Haji Sukri.
The initiative aligns with BSP’s commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainability, aiming to restore and enhance local biodiversity. Collaborations between UBD BRC and BSP’s Environmental Affairs Team on ex-situ conservation efforts began in 2019 with a series of joint seed collection activities in beach, mangrove, peat swamp and heath forest locations in the Belait District. Over 27 species of native trees have been collected and are currently included in the living plant collections of the UBD BRC.
BSP’s donation will help further the UBD BRC’s vision towards becoming a centre of excellence for botanical research, education and conservation, and marks a significant step in supporting UBD’s research on the Sultanate’s biodiversity. – James Kon
