Beach Bunch resolute over Brunei Blue Flag initiative

THE non-government organisation (NGO) leading Brunei to have its own Blue Flag beach are adamant in their resolve, despite findings from a recent environmental study which suggest the proposed Meragang beach poses a total of 33 potential hazards, ranging from box jellyfish to rip tides, to beach users.

Beach Bunch held the workshop yesterday at The Empire Hotel and Country Club, where less than half of the invited 50 stakeholders showed up due to reasons which were not verified as of press time.

However, Beach Bunch President Rizan Latif did not view this detrimental to the initiative as he assured that the group have been periodically meeting up with the relevant stakeholders and will continue to do so throughout the implementation of the Blue Flag programme.

Bid for beach eco-label advances

A NATIONAL committee for the Blue Flag initiative is expected to be formed and will oversee the development of the Blue Flag programme in Brunei.

The establishment of the committee is one of the expected outcomes of the national workshop for the Blue Flag, which will take place this morning at The Empire Hotel & Country Club, the president of Beach Bunch told The Brunei Times on Thursday.

Rizan Latif said the formation of a national Blue Flag committee is the second of five steps that a country new to the Blue Flag programme is recommended by the Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) to follow.

Rallying call to support Blue Flag bid

THE Beach Bunch attempts to win over the support of stakeholders and potential sponsors for the Blue Flag campaign tomorrow.

The group of beach lovers and environmentalists have set out to develop Meragang beach, and eventually Brunei's other public beaches, to get these recreational areas to an environmental and public safety standard worthy of the internationally-recognised Blue Flag eco-label.

Beach Bunch have their work cut out for them as they intend to carry out a feasibility study and develop virtually-untouched Meragang beach to become Blue Flag worthy by the end of this year.

However, all this would require the backing (and approval) of the government, the private sector and the people, and about $2 million needed to fund the Meragang beach pilot project.

So far, only one government agency has lent their official support to the Blue Flag initiative, as a NGO-led project of this scale is unprecedented in Brunei.

The Brunei Tourism Development Department presented the Beach Bunch with a "Letter of Support" to help facilitate the group last October.

Blue Flag beach hoped to usher turtles' return

UNPREDICTABLE weather conditions and the presence of large amounts of driftwood on Meragang beach are believed to have thwarted endangered sea turtles from coming ashore to what was once the reptile's favoured nesting grounds in Brunei.

Authorities have, as of late, made fewer sightings of the majestic marine creatures, which have been subject to years of illegal poaching for their eggs and meat, both of which are considered a delicacy in Asia.

"Usually, the peak season (for turtle nesting) is from November up to July, but we have noticed a few years back that the weather is becoming really unpredictable. So we can't predict (at present) when the exact time for them to land at our beach," said the Fisheries Department's Head of Marine Fisheries Development and Management Division.

Environmental Education Centre in plan for proposed Blue Flag beach

PLANNERS behind the bid to develop one of Brunei's public beaches to be worthy of an internationally-recognised "eco-label" by the end of next year are considering the construction of an information centre that will derive some of its power from the sun, wind and biogas.

The incorporation of such renewable energy technology in Meragang beach's proposed Environmental Information Centre is hoped to complement one of the main components of the Blue Flag programme for beaches and marinas, said the president of Beach Bunch, the non-government environmental organisation leading the local initiative.

"The Blue Flag Environmental Information Centre (EIC) is hoped to promote environmental education to the beach users through passive/ active participation, training activities, publication and media," said Rizan Latif in an email to The Brunei Times yesterday.