Brunei Bay - Disturbances and Threats

Disturbances and Threats

The Sungai Brunei receives the untreated domestic sewage from a 'water village' of 36,000 inhabitants near Bandar Seri Begawan, as well as the sewage effluent and urban runoff from the city itself. As a result, there is now a significant amount of pollution in the inner bay, and this is increasing. The most immediate threat to Brunei Bay as a whole, however, is destruction of mangrove forest. In Brunei, the cutting of wood for poles and for making charcoal has been carried out at such a low intensity that there appears to have been no serious damage to the mangrove's role in fishery maintenance. However, in recent years the mangroves within Malaysian territory have been seriously over-exploited, and this may now be affecting the fishery resources throughout the bay. Extensive logging activities and clear-felling in the water catchment areas of the rivers also pose a threat to the bay by affecting the water regime. Some mangrove is being cleared for urban and industrial development along the Sungai Brunei, and this could increase in the future.