Bandar Seri Begawan - The newly established Heart of Borneo (HOB) Council received encouraging support during its inaugural meeting yesterday from several of its stakeholders.

Several leading private sector organisations pledged their support in the presence of the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Dr Awg Hj Ahmad bin Hj Jumat, during the meeting of the Council held at the Orchid Garden Hotel.

Those who announced their pledges were:

- Brunei Sawmillers Association and Agritechno (B) Sdn Bhd has contributed B$15,000;

- Brunei LNG Sdn Bhd has contributed in kind towards the publication of the `Birds of Borneo';

- HSBC has agreed to finance 25 per cent of the cost of running the Heart of Borneo Centre providing that the government will sponsor 50 per cent of the fund;

- Standard Chartered Bank will be providing about US$500,000 (winning prize from the Greatest Race for The Living Planet which Brunei has won) to the Brunei HOB initiative through the WWF International;

- Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd, the British High Commission, the United States Embassy and the Panaga Nature Society have also pledged their support to the implementation of the Heart of Borneo programmes in the country.

The meeting was held yesterday after the approval from His Majesty's office for the establishment of the National HOB Council and HOB Centre on April 21, 2008.

Chairing the morning session of the meeting was Dato Paduka Awang Hj Hamdillah bin Hj Abd Wahab, Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources, who is also the Chairman of the National HOB Council.

The highlights of yesterday's meeting included the discussion of the operations and functions of the HOB Council and the National HOB Centre.

A 'Project Implementation Framework' (PIF) was also presented to provide the roadmap for the implementation of the HOB programmes and projects of the country and served as the reference document for the Council and the HOB Centre.

Dato Mikail Kavanagh, Head of the National HOB Task Force, presented the PIF. Dato Mikail is also the Team Leader of the consulting group appointed by the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources to take the lead in the formulation and development of a national HOB project document for Brunei Darussalam.

The Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd financially supported the preparation of the project document.

Among the topics discussed at the meeting were the recruitment and the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the HOB Centre, the finalisation and endorsement of the terms of the Reference of the National HOB Council and HOB Centre, HOB funds and financial structure, new project proposals, as well as upcoming meetings of the council.

As stated in a press release, the creation of the National HOB Council and the establishment of the HOB Centre vis-a-vis the creation of the new CEO post for the HOB by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has demonstrated to the global community the serious commitment of His Majesty's Government towards sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation.

The HOB initiative would not only ensure the provision of environmental and socio-economic benefits for the people of Brunei Darussalam, but of the future generations of the country as well.

The country's exemplary commitment in the area of forest management and biological diversity conservation has been a continuing effort.

Prior to the signing of the HOB Declaration in February 2007, Brunei Darussalam had ratified two other major multilateral agreements, namely the United Nations Framework Convention to Combat Diversification (UNFCCD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

This already commendable commitment was further augmented with the recent announcement of Brunei Darussalam's accession as the 19V Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the COP-9 in May 2008 in Bonn, Germany.

Also present at yesterday's meeting were several foreign diplomats, heads of department, non-government organisations, the HOB National Steering Committee members and other relevant stakeholders.