Joanne Chan Channel NewsAsia 1 Nov 10;
SINGAPORE : National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has said the Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity aims to be the definitive tool to measure conservation efforts.
The index is the first of its kind for cities to benchmark their efforts and identify areas for improvement.
It uses indicators such as the percentage of protected areas and the strength of governance to determine the city's biodiversity score.
The index was formally endorsed last Saturday at the 10th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Nagoya, Japan.
Mr Mah was speaking on Monday at a ground-breaking ceremony of the Gardens by the Bay.
Marina South is now a giant construction site, but that is all set to change by the end of next year.
The first phase of the Gardens by the Bay is scheduled to open in November 2011, including the "Supertrees" or vertical gardens that will be up to 16 storeys tall and Kingfisher Lake.
The Gardens project has faced delays, but is mostly on-track for completion.
Mr Mah said: "The second conservatory ("Cloud Forest") is going to be ready six months later; it will be ready by the middle of 2012.
"The first conservatory ("Flower Dome") will be ready by November/December 2011. So we are doing it in phases because of the delays and some problems in construction."
A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Monday for the Kingfisher Lake - named after the bird species spotted in the area.
Mr Mah said there are hopes that the population of kingfishers will grow once the lake is completed.
Aside from its aesthetic appeal, the lake will also act as a natural filter. Water from the Gardens will run-off into the lake and be cleansed by the aquatic plants before being discharged into the Marina Reservoir.
Japanese company Kikkoman contributed S$1 million towards the development of the lake.
CEO of Kikkoman, Yuzaburo Mogi, said Singapore and the company both recognise the importance of water and it is this shared awareness that led to the donation.
Mr Mogi said: "Kikkoman is very aware of the importance of water. We need water of the highest quality to make soy sauce."
Another conservation effort being pushed forward by Singapore is for more cities to adopt the Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity. It has already been test-bedded by over 30 cities.
Mr Mah said: "Seventy European cities are also adopting the concept of the index as part of their own programmes. We have also offered the World Cities Summit as a platform for cities to get together to report on their progress and to prepare for the next COP meeting."
The next World Cities Summit will take place in 2012.
- CNA/al
Related link
Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity adopted in Nagoya on the Celebrating Singapore's Biodiversity blog.
