The Brunei River is a river which flows through Brunei and empties into Brunei Bay towards the North-east direction. The Istana Nurul Iman, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, stands on its banks. The Brunei River is the shortest major river in Brunei Darussalam. Brunei Darussalam's traditional residential areas, Kampong Ayer (Water Village), is situated on the river. Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei Darussalam, stands on its banks. The upper reaches of the river are an important source of freshwater for the western parts of the country.
Brunei has a long maritime history. The Sultans of Brunei once control all Borneo, plus parts the Philippines and Indonesia. The region thick jungle means the method of transport and communication was always via boats. This led to traditional settlements being established beside rivers and waterways. These waterways provided convenient transport through a jungle environment, and a supply of food.
In 2006 Brunei ministry's Department of Environment, Parks and Recreation (Jastre) initiated the clean-up campaign of the Brunei River. A total of $3.9 million has been allocated for the clean-up project, in addition to the $90,000 for the house-to-house waste collection.
Famous quotes containing the word river:
“Every incident connected with the breaking up of the rivers and ponds and the settling of the weather is particularly interesting to us who live in a climate of so great extremes. When the warmer days come, they who dwell near the river hear the ice crack at night with a startling whoop as loud as artillery, as if its icy fetters were rent from end to end, and within a few days see it rapidly going out. So the alligator comes out of the mud with quakings of the earth.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)