Bandar Seri Begawan (The Brunei Times/ANN) – The Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR) will be updating the Wildlife Protection Act 1978 “very soon” following the recent transfer of responsibility of wildlife management to the ministry, its minister said yesterday. Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Hj Yahya Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar in an interview with The Brunei Times admitted that the three-decade old Act – which was last revised in 1984 – was outdated and would need to be revised. The minister, who was speaking on the sidelines of a ‘National Planning Workshop on Wildlife Management in Brunei Darussalam' held at The Rizqun International Hotel in Gadong, suggested that the new Wildlife Unit under the Forestry Department would be able to operate efficiently if the Act goes through an amendment. “We just need to get the law amended. The Wildlife Act amended … because previously it was under Museums, but with the consent by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei (Darussalam), we (can) move it,” he said. Asked if there was any specific area or part of the Act that the ministry was looking to amend, the minister answered “not necessary but can also include new powers” as he hinted stronger enforcement work to be implemented now that the ministry is in authority. Pehin Dato Hj Yahya also considered adding more animals to the existing 34 wildlife species currently protected by Brunei law. “The list of endangered species can be a part of a schedule,” the minister said. Last year, Museums Department officials stated that authorities were “in the process of updating Brunei's Wildlife Protection Act 1978″, a previous report stated. According to the report, the officials also conceded that the updating work could take up to “a few years”, given the legal processes involved and the need for scientific and population studies to prove that certain species of animals require the country's protection. The 34 species currently listed on the Wildlife Protection Act are based on the list of threatened species made known by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), to which Brunei is a member. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/8Zavp Tags: Animal Protection, Brunei, Wildlife Section: Animals, East Asia, Environment
