|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
This is a
very busy year for the Conservation Committee. Among other things, six
reports/feedbacks were formulated and submitted to the relevant authorities,
which as usual generates a flurry of meetings, surveys and
gathering of information with the assistance of the various special interest
groups and other interested and concerned members of the Society.
1) The
Gardens by the Marina Bay
NSS was invited to the Focus Study Group to examine the two winning
designs of the International Design Competition in September 2006. A feedback
was submitted in October 2006. The feedback emphasizes that considerations be
given to the natural elements that have colonised the reclaimed lands &
that the designs should incorporate them into the imposed scheme of things to
project a tropical appeal. A completely built and artificial setting with
razzle-dazzle ambience should be avoided. The points brought out is more to
been emphasized in the design for Marina East. 2)
Meeting with Agri-food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) on Poaching
A meeting was held with AVA in September 2006. The following proposals were
mooted & discussed: a) Reducing wildlife poaching via legal & other
means; b) re-instating Asian Glossy Starling, Purple-backed Starling
& Common Myna back into Wild Animals & Birds Act (WABA); and c)
legal measures to prevent use of & disposals of fishing nets in coastal
& inland bodies of water. The report for AVA is underway pertaining to
issues raised in points a) & b). As to point c) AVA has
expressed that the issues are beyond their jurisdiction. 3)
Seletar Regional Air-Hub Project
A biodiversity feedback was submitted to JTC & Nparks on December 2006.
The Air-hub requires 140 ha of land - most of them outside the military camp.
The Feedback proposes retaining isolated tall/mature trees & groves of
trees around the golf course and the housing estate. Also, that the streams
in the area should be left untouched. 89 bird species in the area with 4
species and 10 uncommon. The rare species are: Changeable Hawk Eagle,
Grey-headed Fish eagle, Spotted Wood Owl & Crested Serpent Eagle. A
couple of meetings was held with JTC. JTC has revealed that only a part
of the golf course with the trees and the stream will be retained. The haunt
of the Spotted Wood Owl will be developed. About 45 % of the old houses will
be retained --- mostly in the Oval area. The Grey Heronry will not be touched
although the project has acquired a big chunk of military land. 4)
Sg Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) Master Plan
A meeting was held with Nparks in November and a feedback report submitted in
December 2007. The objectives of the Master Plan among other things is
to make SBWR more relevant to Singaporean, a national & regional wetland
hub, a vehicle to showcase environmental sustainability & co-existence
with nature. The feedback emphasizes that the Master Plan should reflect the
priority of protecting wetland birdlife --- in particular migratory
shorebirds as the area was gazetted a Nature Reserve for such a purpose.
Features & programmes to be introduced should not undermine this
priority. The plan has not been finalised yet. 5)
Sentosa Coastal Forest
NSS participated in the meeting-cum- familiarising walk organised by
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) & Resorts World (RW) on 17 March 07
and pertaining to the integrated resort project. The integrated resort
project includes an area (2.9 ha.) of extremely rare coastal forest along the
island’s northern-eastern shore. During the session it was also
announced that there will be reclamation work along the coast east & west
of the cable-car tower. The Resort World’s plan for the coastal forest
is still open & they will be taking into account seriously feedbacks
given. NSS stand on the coastal forest here is that it should be preserved as
it is, i.e., as a natural eco-system and not be converted into a garden
or park. A copy each of NSS report/feedback on the coastal forest was
submitted to SDC & Resorts World & Nparks. 6) Sg
Ulu Pandan Woodland
A report on the woodland was submitted on 29 March 07 to HDB, URA &
Nparks. The eastern part of the 70ha mature woodland is earmarked for a HDB
housing scheme. 36 species of birds recorded in a rapid survey with many
forest species such as the Changeable Hawk Eagle (nesting) , Grey-rumped Tree
Swift, etc. The report proposes that the small housing scheme be
shifted to two school compounds north of Sg Ulu Pandan or alternatively
to the western part of the woodland which is less interesting in terms of
biodiversity. Also it proposes that the woodland should be made into a public
park with a nature core. A group of residents is also campaigning to
save the woodland. 7)
Marina South & Marina East
A report on the biodiversity highlights of these reclaimed areas was
submitted to URA & Nparks on 9 April 2007. No proposals for new Nature
Areas in the Singapore Green Plan (SGP) were put in this report. It is
intended as a eco-guide to development and where existing habitats are
important to persuade that these be integrated into the development plans as
much as possible. Of particular note are several patches of woodlands and
freshwater marshes, whose boundaries are marked out on Goggle maps for
reference. In Marina South, there are 67 species of birds, 20
species of dragonflies & 18 species of butterflies. There are
rare/endangered species in each of these taxa. In Marina East, there
are 92 species of birds, 18 species of dragonflies & 11 species of
butterflies . There are also rare/endangered species in each of these taxa,
some of which overlapped those in Marina South. 8)
PUB’s ABC Waters Programme
A feedback report was submitted to PUB in May after a visit to the PUB Exhibition
and discussion, as well as a field trip with a group of Conservation
Volunteers to the ecologically important sites covered in the
Programme. The feedback was formulated because insufficient attention was
accorded to the biodiversity dimension in the plans & designs shown in
the Exhibition. Three waterbodies were covered in the feedback: a) the Kranji
Reservoir, b)the Lg Halus Ponds & Serangoon River, & c) the
Kallang River. The feedback emphasizes the conservation of the existing
freshwater marshes and their biodiversity in these waterbodies and
proposes ways whereby they could be adequately protected and enhanced. 9) The
Horseshoe Crab Project
Acknowledgements: The
Conservation Committee would like to thank the following members for their
valuable hands-on participation, supportive comments, information
supplies and/or conceptual feedback to the various activities &
reports: Ali
Jaafar, Alfred Chia, Alan Owyong, Angie Ng, Ben Lee, Cheong Loong Fah, Ching
Chabo, Cyril Ng, Geh Min, Goh Si Gium, Gloria Seow, Hsu Chia Chi, Jimmy Chew,
Joseph Lai, Joseph Lim, Julia McLachlan, Kelvin Chen, Khoo Meng Kuan, Lam Hon
Pui, Leong Kwok Peng, Leow Yoon Li, Lim Kim Seng, Lioe Kim Swee, Lye Lin
Heng, Margie Hall, Richard Hale, R. Subaraj, Serene Tang, Shawn Lum,
Simon Chan, Sutari Supari, Stephen Lau, Tan Beng Chiak, Tan Choon
Ming, Tan Hang Chong, Tan Peck Chan, Tan Siew Kwang, Tang Hung Bun,
Vilma D’Rozario, Vina Dharmarajah, Willie Foo, Yap Chung Kui, Yap Von Bing. Report
by: Ho Hua
Chew Chairman,
Conservation Committee Nature
Society (Singapore) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
1) Kranji Marshland Management Proposal
This proposal was discussed and approved by the EXCO & Council last
year. The objective is to manage a
nature area so as to generate more hands-on nature management activities
& programmes for members, students, environmental professionals,
etc. The area is about 39 ha in extent
and is designated as a Kranji Marshes Park in the URA Master Plan 2003. Feedback meeting had been carried out with
some relevant organizations. 2) Rescue of Trapped Horseshoe Crabs
Several trips were conducted in July 2006 to rescue Horseshoe Crabs trapped in
discarded nets at the Mandai Mudflat, followed by a couple of monitoring
trips (13 Nov 2005 & 30 April 2006).
Altogether, 291 Horseshoes were found trapped in 11 nets, out of which
164 were found alive and rescued. The
rest were kaput. It appears that dysfunctional nets discarded by
fishermen along the intertidal shore were acting as inadvertent traps,
attracting and entangling the Horseshoes Crabs that crawled into them for
some reason or other. The monitoring by
volunteers is ongoing. A meeting will
be called to work out a course for preventive action. 3) Conservation Chat
4 sessions of Conservation Chat were mounted since the last AGM to provide a
forum for conservation issues to be brought up for discussion and
feedback. The turnout varied from 10 -
20 people per session. Some of the
topics discussed are: the Kranji Marshland management proposal, Bird Flu, the
trapped Horseshoe Crabs, SGP 3-Yearly Review, Project Noah & Southern
Island Reclamation. 4) Meeting on Project Noah
A Conservation Committee meeting was held on 27 April 2006 to discuss Project
Noah with its key initiators --- Mr Howard Shaw (ED of SEC) & Mr Sydney
Chew (member fo SUF) --- as guests. Howard
& Sydney assured the Committee that the Project will start with a new
slate and a meeting of all relevant stakeholders will be called to formulate
a road-map for marine conservation.
MCG will be prepared to reconsider its support of the Project after
the forthcoming meeting. 5) Red Data Book (2nd/Revised Edition) The
revised text for the various taxa have been completed. Lists of species, with the endangered
category for each one, have been prepared for most groups (one or two lists
are still awaited). A call is going
out now for photographs for all species described in the test. Expected date of publication is in
September 2006. 6) The Three-Yearly Review of the Singapore Green
Plan 2012
The Committee Chairman participated in this Review as member of the Clean
land, Nature & Public Health Focus Group, Chaired by Mr Heng Chiang Meng
& Ms Loh Wai Kiew. The Chairman
brought up and/or support the following issues in the meetings he attended: 1)
Need
for biodiversity surveys for all nature areas to demarcate boundaries; 2)
Need
to implement green corridors (not just park connectors) for wildlife, (esp.
betw, Bt. Timah & the Central Catchment); 3)
Need
for more publicity to the nature areas; 4)
Need
for a Marine Nature Park to re-instate the 4 Marine Sites into the Green
Plan. Acknowledgment
Thanks to the following for feedback & support: Angie Ng, Ben Lee, Ching
Chabo, Cyril Ng, Ed Lim, Geh Min, Goh Si Gium, Hsu Chia Chi, Lioe Kim Swee,
Leong Kwok Peng, Linda Oei, Margie Hall, Lim Kim Keang, Lim Kim Seng, Nick
Baker, Shawn Lum, Stephen Lau, Wing Cheong, Simon Chan, Sunny Yeo, Tang Peck
Chan, Sutari Supari, Tan Choon Ming, Vilma d’Rozario, Willie Foo, Yap Chung
Kui. Report by: Ho Hua Chew Chairman, Conservation Committee Nature Society (Singapore) |
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
