With the country’s rich and unique biodiversity resources, the Universiti Brunei Darussalam Botanical Research Centre (UBD BRC) has the potential to contribute economically through enhancing tourism industry development.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism (MPRT) Hajah Tutiaty binti Haji Abdul Wahab highlighted this yesterday during the UBD BRC’s 6th anniversary at the Senate Room, Chancellor Hall, UBD.
She said the partnership between UBD BRC and local tour agencies aims to diversify tourism packages by focusing on ecotourism, which may include nature-based activities, regenerative tourism and educational or knowledge sharing.
Hajah Tutiaty also said the centre’s significant contributions in research, education and conservation of local unique flora, help Brunei Darussalam work towards the protection of its biodiversity. The first botanic garden in the Sultanate, the UBD BRC was inaugurated on February 3, 2018. The UBD BRC functions as a research centre of UBD’s Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (IBER) and is located within a six-hectare tropical heath forest area on campus.
In his welcoming remarks, Director of IBER Dr Hussein bin Haji Taha said that the UBD BRC is home to over 500 plant species, and has continued to play a key role in UBD’s biodiversity research thrust.
“The UBD BRC’s focus on scientific studies of Brunei’s plant diversity has led to the publication of books on Brunei’s flora and high-impact collaborative projects with top research and academic institutions such as the Botanic Garden Conservation International, SingHealth Duke-NUS Institute of Biodiversity Medicine (BD-MED), Nanyang Technological University, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Stanford University and University of the Sunshine Coast,” he said.
He added that the centre’s education activities are crucial in cultivating awareness on sustainable practices and the cultural and economic significance of plants.
Yesterday’s event also included the launch of the Walking through the UBD Botanical Research Centre book, posters on medicinal plants at the UBD BRC, a video tour and a new website for the UBD BRC.
The UBD BRC Audio Guided Tour app, developed in collaboration with Dynamik Technologies Sdn Bhd and with support from the MPRT was also launched.
The winners of the UBD BRC photo challenge also exhibited their winning photos.
UBD Vice-Chancellor Dr Hazri bin Haji Kifle was also in attendance. – Azlan Othman
