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Three-day Pesta Santai Muara kicks off

THE Muara Village Consultative Council once again organised a 'Santai Muara Festival' with the aim to promote MuaraBeach as one of the nation's tourist attractions.

The three-day event, is a collaborative effort between Muara Village Consultative with the Brunei Tourism Board andCityNeon Display & Construction Sdn Bhd.

According to the village head of Kg Masjid Lama, Kg Pekan Muara, Kg Sabun and Kg Pelumpong, Pg Hj Mohamed Pg Hj Othman @ Osman, this year's event was their biggest festival to date due to the overwhelming support from government agencies, associations, non-government organisations and private companies.

Provide more bins at popular beaches

Dear Editor,

WHILE most of our public beaches now have rubbish bins for the public to dispose of their trash, they are few and far between and I think the authorities need place more bins at the beaches.

Civil society organisations lack transparency: study

CIVIL society organisations (CSOs) in Brunei lack transparency because they do not have organised offices to collect the data they need for their reports. Rizan Latif, president of Beach Bunch

A paper by Dr Hjh Sainah Hj Saim, senior lecturer at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam's Faculty of Business, Economics and Public Policy, states that CSOs in the Sultanate are in danger of being de-registered because of their failure to meet reporting requirements.

Wanted: Apps on Brunei environment

THE local IT industry or even "everyday citizens" should develop digital applications that promote waste management and facilitate research on the marine environment, the chief executive officer of BAG Networks Sdn Bhd said yesterday.

The IT solutions provider developed Beach Bunch's new website, www.beachbunch.net, which was launched Monday, making available online statistics of rubbish collected from Brunei's beaches as well as other information that can be used to develop such apps.

The website includes "static pictures" of the various beaches in Brunei on a map.

More power to efforts of Beach Bunch

Dear Editor,

I WISH to congratulate the Beach Bunch for launching a new website that gives visitors access to information on the infrastructure and services available at 15 beaches found in Brunei.

I have been following the activities of the Beach Bunch for the past one year and I can say without any hesitation that these young people are rendering invaluable service to the Sultanate by keeping its beaches clean and free from pollution. Efforts of these young people should be supported by all as they're trying to get Blue Flag award for Bruneian beaches.

Beach Bunch seeks British NGO tie-up

NON-profit organisation Beach Bunch is looking to collaborate with British counterparts Keep Britain Tidy, to further promote its awareness campaigns and devise stronger beach cleaning strategies.

It is hoped that the collaboration would enable the Beach Bunch to organise its future developments with greater input from the experienced organisation that was founded in the 1960s.

British High Commissioner to Brunei Rob Fenn has expressed that he was keen to facilitate the tie-up between the two NGOs.

Rizan Latif, president of the Beach Bunch said, "What they are trying to do is to support us in collaborating and initiating with outside organisations to keep Brunei's beaches clean and enjoyable again, so they are trying to get contacts from the UK".

PTEM Organises Eco Awareness Project

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Meragang Sixth Form Centre (PTEM) Eco Awareness Project was recently conducted by PTEM Eco Club in collaboration with the Student Council.

The opening ceremony at the school's lobby area began with the recital of surah al-fatihah, followed by speeches by Md Taqy Syazwan Hj Hasnan (a representative from Student Council) and the Principal, Madam Chong Li Chen.

The event was officially launched when the invited guests planted some trees sponsored by the Forestry Department around the campus area.

The invited guests were YAM Pengiran Anak AbdulMuqtadir, as well as officials from Butra Heidelberg Sdn Bhd, Forestry Department, JASTRe and STEP.

In her speech, the principal said it is important that the school started playing a role in raising awareness on global warming. She said, "Congratulations to the Eco Club members and Student Council who came up with this brilliant idea."

Will we ever get Blue Flag?

Dear Editor,

YOUR article about the Beach Bunch is very interesting. However, I feel that they are wasting their time. Unless the authorities stop pumping sewerage into the sea and prevent littering all along the coastline, how will we ever get Blue Flag status? The seas and also rivers and lakes around Brunei are filthy and polluted. People do not care and nobody gets fined, so this will go on. The culture in Brunei is to burn rubbish, throw waste in the streets and ignore the environment. Good luck "Beach Bunch" and thanks for trying.

Abisja

Bandar Seri Begawan

Courtesy of Brunei Times

Earth Hour is just the first step

THIS year, Brunei's Kg Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery will turn off its lights to show the Sultanate's official inaugural participation in Earth Hour. But that's just the beginning.

Bruneians are urged to take small steps to prove their commitment to energy saving, said an Earth Hour representative yesterday.

Pg Sarimah Pg Hj Abd Latiff told The Brunei Times that Earth Hour was not just about people switching off their lights for that one hour. Observing energy saving habits should be a round-the-clock effort.

"Energy conservation is all about switching off non-essential lights. For example, if I want to watch a soccer match on TV, I can switch off all lights around except for the TV. Also, rather than having our air-conditioners switched on all the time in our house, we can spend an hour a day switching all of them off except one," she explained.

Bridging the energy and environment gap

THE normally well-lit area around the Watersports Stadium at Serasa Beach went dark as an unofficial Earth Hour landmark used by the Beach Bunch alongside Poni Divers last night.

The stadium and surrounding area, including the nearby road, went dark to the cheer of some 30 volunteers and staff from the pro-active environmental group, the Beach Bunch, and a local entrepreneur, Poni Divers who had set up shop at the Watersports Stadium.

Wong Thye Sing, general manager of Poni Divers, told The Brunei Times that their company was also committed to doing what they could to protect the environment.

"A lot more could be done in Brunei to increase awareness of the environment," he said.

"We do a lot of diving, and the coral reefs and the marine ecosystem is very sensitive to things like climate change," he said, noting the link between energy conservation and environmental conservation.

"In Brunei, there are not a lot of cities and urban areas, in terms of landscape, there are a lot of things to protect."

Brunei urged to go green on tourism

LOOKING back on a busy year of projects and proposals, Brunei Darussalam has worked hard to establish itself as a strong contender in the global and regional tourism industries in 2010, particularly with the Heart of Borneo's growing strength since its inauguration three years ago.

From toilet inspections to bids for international recognition of the nation's beaches via the Blue Flag Award, sustainability and the natural environment have been two of the most significant elements put on the table for discussion by numerous agencies, both local and international.

During the Asean Tourism Forum (ATF) in January last year, delegates attending the biggest tourism meet in Southeast Asia were reported as being "impressed" by the proximity of natural flora and fauna to its built environment.

Beach Bunch dilemma

Dear Editor,

THE nation must show its appreciation for the effort of The Beach Bunch for trying to get the much-esteemed Blue Flag status for the Meragang Beach.

They must also be given a pat on the back for their efforts to clean up the beaches in Brunei. However, there is something disturbing here.

They have been making new records in their collection of rubbish by putting in a greater effort each time they go out.

In the 13th clean-up 362 volunteers managed to collect 1,445.3kg of waste comprising 185kg of plastic, 13kg of aluminium cans and 1,246.3kg of general waste.

The previous record was 852kg of waste with the help of 187 volunteers.

'Voluntourism' the way to go for Brunei

DESPITE having been in existence for ages, the term "voluntourism" also known as volunteer tourism is one that is rather alien to most of our ears, especially those living in this part of the world.

I can say so for my self, personally, as I just recently learned about on this "new" tourism product. That was when I stumbled upon the article while leafing through an inflight magazine a couple of months back.

It immediately caught my interest and decided upon researching and reading more on the subject once back in Bandar Seri Begawan. Apparently, in the neighbouring country, Malaysia, such tourism is fast gaining popularity.

Before continuing any further, I believed the term "voluntourism" needs some explanation. According to the Sustainable Travel International organisation, United States, it implies the combination of vacation travel with volunteering at the destination visited.

Take Beach Bunch lesson to schools and govt depts

Dear Editor,

I REFER to your news item entitled "Beach bunch latest tally hits 2 tonnes" which was published in your esteemed newspaper on January 25.

I really appreciate the efforts to make Brunei's beaches safer, cIeaner and more respectable, but from the article I learned that our behaviour has not changed much in terms of protecting our environment, especially our beaches.

We are still littering in the beach despite ongoing campaigns to clean up our beaches, one of them by The Beach Bunch.

It seems that 444 volunteers attending the beach cleaning activities are not enough to draw public awareness.

However I have a suggestion to boost the awareness of the programme.

One is by taking the campaign to schools and government departments.

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