South-east Asia

The Brunei - Kew Collaborative Project

About the Project

Brunei Darussalam is situated on the north-western coast of the island of Borneo, between longitudes 114° 23' and 115° 23' East and latitudes 4° 00' and 5° 05' North. It is bordered by the South China Sea in the north, and on all other sides by the Malaysian state of Sarawak. In this small part of Borneo, most of the Bornean forest types are represented except for those associated with limestone formations and ultramafic rock.

In 1990 a major collaborative agreement was signed by Haji Mohd Yassin bin Ampuan Salleh, Director of Forestry, in the presence of Yamg Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Setia Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Dato Setia Haji Mohd Taib, the Minister for Industry and Primary Resources, and Professor G. Ll. Lucas, then Keeper of the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Since then several joint expeditions into the forests have led to a vast increase in the number of herbarium specimens at Kew and Brunei. From these, a database of 15,000 specimens representing almost 4,000 species has been compiled and this was used to produce the first published output from the project. This database has a pivotal role in the further development of the project.

Project Publications

A range of publications, including an interactive identification key on CD-ROM, have been produced from the database.

Enquiries and Comments

Enquiries regarding the Brunei Project, the database, the publications or the CD-ROM may be addressed to either of the following:

Brunei Project
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond
Surrey TW9 3AB
UK

or:

The Forestry Department
Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources
Bandar Seri Begawan 2067
Brunei Darussalam