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View all search resultsResearch center eyes paving way for Brunei biological industry
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A man and two children fishing by the river bank in the forest of Temburong, Brunei. (The Brunei Times/ANN/Rabiatul Kamit)
T
he Heart of Borneo (HoB) center in Brunei is working with foreign research institutions to study Brunei’s natural resources and establish a biological industry in the country, its chief executive officer said.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, Mahmud Hj Yussof said several foreign research institutions have expressed willingness to conduct joint research projects with Brunei’s HoB center.
“Brunei is very rich in biodiversity [and] what we want to do with these joint research projects is to explore the economic side of biodiversity by looking into the commercial utilization of biological resources,” he said.
He added that the HoB center, through its research and development projects, aims to discover novel or unique species of biodiversity that can be used to contribute to the biological industry in Brunei.
“It is necessary for us to work with foreign research institutions because we are currently lacking expertise in certain areas of biodiversity,” he added.
Mahmud said the biological industry can be one of the major contributors to the country’s gross domestic product, which was necessary in view of the country facing an economic downturn on the back of falling oil prices.
“There are so many products that we don’t realize that contain biological resources like detergent and even yoghurt has microbes in them.
“Oil and gas are non-renewable resources while the country’s biological resources are renewable, so by focusing on this area, we can create an industry that is sustainable that will also have no significant impact on the environment,” he said.
The CEO went on to say that the HoB center will strictly be in charge of research and development of biological resources that can be used to make products such as pharmaceuticals or cosmetics.
He added that once research and development is completed, the HoB center will call on the private sector to use their findings and begin its industrial application.
“Our ultimate goal is to support Vision 2035 whereby the country will no longer be dependent on the oil and gas industry,” he added.
