During Dr Susan Elizabeth Page's public lecture on "Tropical Peatlands and their Environmental Importance" at Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), she said that the "current tropical peat drainage emissions" were equivalent to 1.4 to 3.5 per cent of global emissions of fossil fuels into the atmosphere.

She explained that in places like Kalimantan and Sumatra where peatlands were disturbed, mostly due to logging, fires usually break out, contributing large emissions of invisible greenhouse gases. "Luckily, Brunei did not open up its peat swamps," she said. She said that illegal logging activities posed danger to peat swamps because they involve clearing the swamps for drainage purposes.

"Drainage (pathways) are made to get the logs out of the peat swamps. When this happens, there will be an increase in forest fires." Dr Page said that although Southeast Asia did not emit a lot of carbon from heavy industries, peatlands were still making a "huge contribution" to carbon emissions.

In addition, she advised that if countries did not manage their natural resources wisely, it would not only bring local and regional disruption to the environment, but to the globe as well. "In Southeast Asia, 260 million tonnes of carbon are released due to peatland decomposition, and 190 million tonnes are released into the atmosphere through peatland fires (per year)," she said.

Although small-scale hydrological restoration and reforestation projects are currently being done in places like parts of Indonesia, she advised that peat swamps be "left alone". "I think that it is clear that peat swamps should be left alone. So, do not tamper with it, because it will be a difficult process to rehabilitate the system," she said.

Dr Page said that any form of development would have to be done in a "very very small scale". She told The Brunei Times that one way to protect the peat swamps was to promote ecotourism, and perhaps Brunei as a centre for conducting joint research. "Joint research could be made into a priority, where there will be an evaluation of peat swamps into land development planning. I personally feel that Brunei can build a reputation for itself as a research (centre)," she added.

In terms of ecotourism, Dr Page said that it was "not the most exciting" environment to be in, but perhaps Brunei could educate people the role of the environment. "If Brunei's peatlands are untouched and not drained, then they will act as a carbon sink," she said. Present during the lecture was Deputy Minister of Industry and Primary Resources Dato Paduka Hj Hamdillah Hj Abdul Wahab and British High Commissioner to Brunei Rob Fenn.

Dr Page is an academic at the University of Leicester in UK and an ecologist by training with more than 20 years of experience in peatland ecosystems research. Her research findings have been presented at more than 30 international conferences and in high quality scientific publications.