Joining forces to relocate protected pitcher plants

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The Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) Botanical Research Centre (BRC) and Brunei Energy Services and Trading Sdn Bhd (BEST) collaborated to relocate pitcher plants, classified and protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to UBD BRC garden on April 23 and 24.

BEST is in its development phase to explore business opportunities in Pulau Muara Besar area and discovered the pitcher plants at the project site. The relocation was supervised by UBD BRC experts and supported by BEST, following a scientific protocol to ensure the pitcher plants are relocated safely to the garden located in a rare forest type called Kerangas forest.

It is a natural habitat with nutrient-poor soils suitable for pitcher plants to continue thriving.

UBD BRC is Brunei’s first botanical garden and functions as a research centre focusing on the conservation and scientific studies of tropical flora, particularly Brunei’s native plants.

With the recent discovery of pitcher plants in the vicinity of a project location site at Pulau Muara Besar, a collaborative effort got underway to relocate the plants in ensuring the careful management and protection of its biodiversity, which is in line with Brunei Darussalam’s sustainable development goals. PHOTO: WARDI WASIL
ABOVE & BELOW: Representatives from Brunei Energy Services and Trading Sdn Bhd and Universiti Brunei Darussalam Botanical Research Centre relocating pitcher plants. PHOTO: UBD
PHOTO: UBD