Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewsAsia 21 Apr 10;
SINGAPORE : Singapore is "hugely rich" in biodiversity, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, citing preliminary investigations of the City Biodiversity Index.
Speaking at the launch of the Forest of Giants on Wednesday, Mr Mah said Singapore has been relatively successful in balancing development and conservation.
Singapore is currently working on the index to measure how cities around the world are conserving their plant and animal species.
The Koompassia excelsa tree, commonly known as the Tualang, can grow up to more than 80 metres high.
That is close to the height of a 30-storey HDB block.
Usually found in Singapore's nature reserve, this giant tree is now being grown in the urban part of the country.
Mr Mah said: "...we are a very small city state, land locked; development is important for us, but at the same time, we have to make every effort to conserve what we have. So, this balance, this tussle between development and conservation is even more acute in a city state like ours."
Over 600 giant trees native to the Southeast Asian region are being planted at the Southern Ridges.
The Forest of Giants tree project was made possible by Sembcorp Industries which has committed S$1 million over five years.
Tang Kin Fei, group president and CEO, Sembcorp Industries, said: "Sembcorp has always been in the environmental business, especially this project gives us a lot of carbon credit for Singapore..."
The giant trees will take about 50 years to reach their full height.
To stress the importance of biodiversity conservation, the government is also expected to announce the Sungei Buloh Masterplan in June. - CNA/ms
Planting a Forest of Giants
Southern Ridges to serve as a reserve for many species
Grace Chua Straits Times 22 Apr 10;
IN FIFTY years, Singapore's Southern Ridges landscape will look much as it might have in past centuries.
The National Parks Board (NParks) has planted more than 400 slow-growing, giant trees across a swathe of land from Telok Blangah Hill Park to Mount Faber.
Yesterday, the Sembcorp Forest of Giants was launched at Telok Blangah Hill Park, with National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan as guest of honour.
The minister planted a Tualang (Koompassia excelsa) sapling, a South-east Asia native which can grow to the height of a 30-storey HDB block. 'This will be a living legacy that can benefit our population for many generations to come,' said Mr Mah.
The arboretum or collection of trees is sponsored by utilities and services company Sembcorp Industries, which gave $1 million to the NParks' Garden City Fund.
The sum will also support conservation and education projects.
The Sembcorp Forest of Giants spans 73ha and features more than 600 trees of 55 species. Two-thirds are of species which will grow up to 40m to 80m, or about 30 storeys high.
The trees, such as Tualang and Jelutong (Dyera costulata), are native to the region's lowland forests, and some are still found in Singapore's nature reserves.
But many such species are threatened around Asia, as they are cleared for development or harvested for their durable wood.
The Southern Ridges forest will serve as a reserve for these species, noted Mr S.K. Ganesan, deputy director of NParks' Streetscape division.
The forest giants are interspersed with shorter trees such as the Kepayang (Pangium edule), picked for their large, visually striking leaves.
The Kepayang grows to about 20m, and while its seeds are toxic in their raw form, the fermented nuts (buah keluak) are used in Peranakan cuisine.
Planting of the saplings, more than twice the height of a grown man, began last September, in the Southern Ridges forest and along two loops at Telok Blangah Hill Park. They will take half a century to reach their full height.
Mr Mah said that striking a balance between development and conserving biodiversity is very important.
He said: 'We want to develop; we are a very small city-state... development is important for us. But at the same time, we have to make every effort to conserve what we have.
'So this balance, this tussle between development and conservation, is even more acute in a city-state like ours.'
Over the shoulders of giants
Today Online 22 Apr 10;
More than 600 giant trees native to South-east Asia are being planted at the Southern Ridges as part of the Forest of Giants project. They include the Koompassia excelsa tree, or the Tualang, which can grow more than 80m high. 'Development is important for us but at the same time we have to make every effort to conserve what we have,' said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan at the launch yesterday. The project was made possible by SembCorp Industries which has committed $1 million over five years. Saifulbahri Ismail
Exceprts from full speech by Minister Mah on the URA website.
Urbanisation and Sustainable Development
2 Biodiversity conservation is an important part of the Government’s plan to develop Singapore in a sustainable manner. Through sustainable development, we can achieve economic growth with minimal impact on the quality of our environment, for the sake of both our current and future generations.
3 Why is biodiversity conservation important for Singapore? Our acute land scarcity compels us to balance our pursuit of economic growth with the need to ensure a sustainable living environment. In addition, urbanisation is taking place at a tremendous rate. 2008 was a landmark year when, for the first time, more than 50% of the global population was living in urban rather than rural areas. Together with global warming and other climate change effects, this will add more stress to the world's natural resources and environment. Hence, if we do not make an effort to conserve what we have today, we will lose our rich natural heritage over time.
Sembcorp Forest of Giants
4 Today, we are enriching our biodiversity and boosting our conservation efforts by launching the Sembcorp Forest of Giants. Spread across a land area of about 76 hectares, it is a very special collection of over 600 trees which are native to the Southeast Asian region. The species in this collection are threatened due to urbanisation. Some may only be found deep within the primary forests of Southeast Asia.
5 One of the species that has caught my attention is the Koompassia excelsa (Koom-pass-sia ex-sell-sa), commonly known as the Tualang. Indeed, the tallest recorded specimen has reached a towering height of 88 metres, which is close to the height of a 30-storey HDB block. If you need an idea of how tall this is, just look around for the tallest tree you can see in this park, and imagine it about three times its height.
6 These giant trees, which are now only a few months old, will take about 50 years to reach their full height, compared to a typical tree which takes about 20 years to reach maturity. We are making history today, so that our future generations will be able to experience the majesty of these giant trees up close as they grow over time.
Community Involvement in Greenery and Conservation
7 Community involvement is one of NParks’ key pillars in our greenery and biodiversity conservation efforts. Through NParks’ Garden City Fund, which is a registered charity and Institution of Public Character, we have been actively engaging the community, and getting corporations and individuals to play a bigger role in sustaining our lush greenery and conserving our rich natural heritage.
8 We are very pleased that Sembcorp Industries has committed a sum of $1 million over 5 years for this forest project. I hope other companies will follow Sembcorp's example by working with us to invest in our natural heritage. There are many other conservation projects that are worthy of support.
9 Besides corporations, individuals can also play a part in enriching Singapore’s biodiversity. One simple way to do so is to plant a tree. This will be a living legacy that can benefit our population for many generations to come. I am heartened to learn that over 8,000 trees have been pledged and planted since the start of the Garden City Fund's Plant-A-Tree programme in 2007.
Conclusion
10 This year, 2010, has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Biodiversity. This gives us further impetus to join the world in raising public awareness about the value and importance of biodiversity conservation. Cities around the world will be celebrating the vital role that biodiversity plays in sustaining life on Earth. Likewise, NParks has lined up a series of exciting activities1, including today’s launch of the SembCorp Forest of Giants, the BiodiverCity Photograph exhibition next month, and the public exhibition of the Sungei Buloh Masterplan in June. I encourage all of you to take part in these activities, and to discover and be enthralled by our rich natural heritage.
