Saturday 4th May 3013
Today is finally the day for the voluntary work in Badas. See below the need for volunteers to do this conservation. I volunteer in order for my children and their children to be able to see the green that I used to see, clean air, water etc. But to be able to have this, something needs to be done.
It is going to be a year long of collecting data etc. We will come out once or twice a month for a few hours to monitor water table depth and canal water flows at three transects in the Badas peat dome. Below is the email bulletin of the study.
"What if Brunei looked like Holland in 100 years? Sounds unlikely? Not necessarily.
Brunei sits to a large extent on peat soil (18%). Intact peatlands may be as much as 95% water, so when you start disrupting the peat through construction works (roads, houses, canals), the peat starts draining out, flooding occurs AND your land is sinking. In some areas in Brunei the peat is up to 7 meters thick (Badas peat dome).
This brings us back to Holland. Much of Holland used to be intact peat swamps as well but its disturbance has meant that much of the country is by now under sea level. Billions are spent every year to keep the country dry. We do not want this to happen in Brunei."
see pictures below during our first day at the site. The guy in the brown shirt (Wetlands) and his colleague were specially flown for this study.
It is going to be a year long of collecting data etc. We will come out once or twice a month for a few hours to monitor water table depth and canal water flows at three transects in the Badas peat dome. Below is the email bulletin of the study.
"What if Brunei looked like Holland in 100 years? Sounds unlikely? Not necessarily.
Brunei sits to a large extent on peat soil (18%). Intact peatlands may be as much as 95% water, so when you start disrupting the peat through construction works (roads, houses, canals), the peat starts draining out, flooding occurs AND your land is sinking. In some areas in Brunei the peat is up to 7 meters thick (Badas peat dome).
This brings us back to Holland. Much of Holland used to be intact peat swamps as well but its disturbance has meant that much of the country is by now under sea level. Billions are spent every year to keep the country dry. We do not want this to happen in Brunei."
see pictures below during our first day at the site. The guy in the brown shirt (Wetlands) and his colleague were specially flown for this study.
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| listen to the briefing before proceeding |
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