Ubaidillah Masli
Source: BruDirect.com
November 5, 2009

Bandar Seri Begawan - A Study on marine biodiversity has found that only 50 sq km of Brunei's waters, which span about 40,000 sq km, are covered by coral reefs.

However, despite a coral cover of about 0.12 per cent, the "Kingdom of Unexpected Treasures" boasts more than 400 species of coral and over 670 species of reef fishes in the areas surveyed by a team of scientists in October 2008 and May this year.

This bountiful marine life has prompted the invitation of Brunei into the thriving Coral Triangle, which the Sultanate readily accepted last month during the recent BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia and the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area) summit in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand.

The invitation to join the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) was made by the three EAGA partner countries, which are already included in the six million square kilometre area known also as the "epicentre of coral reefs."

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