Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, Sept. 8, 2013 (ANTARA) -- The Minister of Forestry, Dr.(HC) Zulkifli Hasan, SE, MM, accompanied by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Forestry, Dr. Ir. Daryanto, DEA, led the Indonesian delegation at The Special Ministerial Meeting on the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Initiative held at the Empire Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on September 7, 2013. The Event involving three countries: Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia, highlighted the conservation and sustainable development programs in the border areas between Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam. As the host country, Brunei Darussalam delegation was led by the Minister of Industry and Natural Resources of Brunei Darussalam, Pehin Dato Yahya, while the Malaysian delegation was led by the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Malaysia, Dr. James Dawos Mamit. Additionally, International organizations Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the NGO World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) also participated in the event.




The Heart of Borneo (HoB), which is used as the name of the initiative intertwined by Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam, was initially declared on February 12, 2007. Through the HoB initiative, the three countries collaborate in the 23 million-hectare HoB equatorial rain forest management and conservation through the regional networking protection, the forest production and the sustainable land utilization, which benefit the three countries' people and nature.




In the event, the ministers noted the importance of encouraging the development of green economy and were committed to better supporting the program and policy development as well as the financial aid to meet the conservation objectives and the sustainable economic development demands based on five HoB's pillars, namely: the cross-border cooperation, the protected area management, the sustainable natural resource management, the capacity improvement and the utilization development of the environmental service and natural attractions.




Editor: PR Wire
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