Banyan Tree Celebrates Official Opening of Bintan Conservation Laboratory
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Banyan Tree Celebrates Official Opening of Bintan Conservation Laboratory
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Category: Asia Pacific
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2007-09-26
Banyan Tree Bintan, together with Angsana Resort & Spa Bintan, marks the official opening of the Bintan Conservation Laboratory with a visually moving photo exhibition that draws attention to the richly diverse marine and terrestrial life in this part of the Southeast Asian region.
The Bintan Conservation Lab is the Group’s first such research and development facility in Asia, and will be responsible for driving Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in Banyan Tree's Bintan properties among the local communities, contributing to raising international awareness and increased preservation of our shared natural environment. The Group also operates two Marine Laboratories in the Maldives.
Its main focus is on research, education and outreach. This is achieved through joint collaborations with valued partners such as key scientists and researchers from various tertiary institutions and zoological parks.
Creating Value Partnerships
The team at Bintan Conservation Lab is currently working with Dr. Graeme Gillespie, Director of Conservation of Victoria Zoo in Australia, who has served a period of residency surveying Bintan’s flora and fauna. Amongst other collaborations, Professor Chou Loke Ming from the Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore (NUS), has conducted coral surveys around Bintan island. Also from NUS, Professor Annelies Wilder-Smith from the Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine brought a team to conduct health awareness and education briefings for local school children and communities.
More future collaborations include the Asian Box Turtle survey with Asian Turtle Conservation Network, a conservation organisation based in Vietnam.The Indonesian archipelago is known to be one of the most biologically diverse and intriguing areas in the world and Pulau Bintan is part of this unexplored ecosystem. The island is home to mangrove swamps and lush tropical rainforests where one can observe simmering underwater coral reef life alongside a vast menagerie of terrestrial wildlife.
However, according to Environment Naturalist Mr. Mirza Pedju: “We continue to find examples where the richness of Bintan’s biodiversity has been significantly underappreciated. Banyan Tree Bintan Conservation Lab aims to protect this ecological enclave by raising awareness of how to protect such biodiversity while also raising the collective level of communal benefit in Bintan.”
Bintan Nature Walk
Laguna Bintan Golf Course, which borders Banyan Tree Bintan, is a lush tropical reservoir of indigenous flora and fauna that now hosts a number of signs installed to guide golfers and visitors on the identification of interesting native inhabitants such as monitor lizards and eagles. In the coming months, more such signs will be installed at every tee box of this 18-hole championship golf course designed by Greg Norman.
Greening Communities Programme
Over the next 10 years, the Group is targeting to plant 2,000 trees per year within each of the local communities of Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts located in Phuket, Bangkok, Lijiang, Ringha, Bintan, Seychelles and Maldives. This programme strives to offset part of the carbon emissions created by resort operations, thereby helping to sustain the long-term future of the industry as well as the planet in general.
Banyan Tree Bintan inaugurated its Greening Communities Programme with a tree planting activity at local high school, SMA Teluk Sebung in Bintan on 21 April 2007. Banyan Tree Bangkok and Banyan Tree Lijiang have already begun their 10-year Greening Communities responsibilities in their respective communities.
Eco Champions
The Bintan Wildlife Conservation Lab will be directed by Mr. Mirza Pedju, the dedicated Environment Naturalist based at Banyan Tree Bintan. Along with two local wildlife rangers, Mr. Pedju facilitates the development of conservation programmes as well as enhances community development and public health surrounding Banyan Tree Bintan’s property. Prior to joining Banyan Tree, Indonesian-born Mr. Pedju worked for US-based global organisation The Nature Conservancy’s Marine Conservation Programme in Jakarta.
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