James Kon
Some 100 saplings were planted at the Berakas Forest Recreational Park Reserve in conjunction with the ‘Celebrations on the auspicious occasion of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother’s 90th birthday anniversary’ as well as in support of Green Protocol initiatives under the Brunei Darussalam National Climate Change Policy (BNCCP) yesterday.
Organised by the Royal Thai Embassy in Brunei Darussalam, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism Hajah Tutiaty binti Haji Abdul Wahab and Director of the Forestry Department Noralinda binti Haji Ibrahim attended the event.
Ambassador-Designate of Thailand to Brunei Darussalam Boosara Kanchanalai in her welcoming remarks said, “We thought that it is fitting and meaningful to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother’s birthday with a tree planting activity because Her Majesty is a loyal supporter of the late king His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej.
“Our late king was a champion of reforestation projects due to his concern about massive deforestation in Thailand and emphasised the importance of developing sustainable water resources.
“Her Majesty saw to achieve development in His Late Majesty’s royal projects in sustainable water resources, the forest is needed to protect the water.”
Boosara Kanchanalai added, “Her Majesty once said, ‘If His Majesty is considered the water, I will be the forest and the forest will always be supportive and loyal to water.’
“Many royal initiative projects were created in support of His Late Majesty such as the Pa Rak Nam (Forests Love Water) with the objectives of restoring and preserving forests, and to encourage people to take care of their forest.”
The ambassador-designate added, “The embassy organised a tree planting event last year to support the Green Protocol initiatives under the BNCPP where we planted 144 saplings in conjunction with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam’s 75th birthday and His Majesty the King of Thailand’s 69th birthday.”
“Increasing forest cover is identified as one of the key strategies to transition Brunei Darussalam into a low carbon and climate-resilient nation.
“The Brunei Government aims to plant 500,000 new trees by 2035. It is an honour for the embassy to contribute to this cause and we look forward to continuing our support.”
