Straits Times Forum 9 Apr 09;
LAST Saturday's articles about the 150th anniversary of the Singapore Botanic Gardens are both timely and evocative of the great historical significance of the site, which bore witness to scientific experimentation and commercialisation of numerous tropical plants and crops found across the British Empire.
Most notable were the efforts of the gardens' first director, Henry Ridley, who successfully planted rubber, which then transformed the economic and natural landscape of Malaysia and Indonesia.
It is worth noting that Ridley's experiments were conducted in conjunction with Kew Gardens of London, which is now a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) World Heritage Site.
The Botanic Gardens is not just a historical site, but today is a showcase of Singapore's efforts to conserve our rich natural and historical heritage, despite our densely populated urban reality. It is hence a site of 'outstanding universal value', the key listing requirement of localities as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
With Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, which contains more species of flora than the entire North American continent, the gardens belong not only to all Singaporeans, but also to the entire world. The National Parks Board and other government agencies should consider whether serious efforts should be made to have these sites declared World Heritage Sites.
Tan Wee Cheng
