Subaraj Rajathurai Straits Times Forum 16 Aug 15;
It was Mr Richard Hale, an avid birdwatcher, who in 1986 first came across the area of mangroves that the Nature Society successfully lobbied to conserve as the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve ("Saving Sungei Buloh"; last Sunday).
He was impressed with the thousands of migratory birds using the area, which had arrived to refuel before continuing their journey back to their breeding grounds in the north.
He knew of no other birdwatchers there at the time, until he met Dr Christopher Hails, who was then with the Ministry of National Development's Parks and Recreation Department, working to bring birdlife back to the urban environment.
No one else knew of the area until Mr Hale got together a small group of Nature Society members that included Dr Clive Briffett, Dr Hails, Dr Ho Hua Chew, Dr Rexon Ngim and myself, to spend eight months preparing an illustrated booklet highlighting the richness of Sungei Buloh's birdlife.
The document detailed the potential of the area as "a veritable microcosm of culture and natural history interest" and pointed out its educational value.
Included were suggestions on how the area could be managed, including a visitors' centre and a programme of guided walks.
Copies of the proposal were sent to permanent secretaries, ministers, MPs, as well as the prime minister and president, and anyone who could be of help.
Mr Hale worked tirelessly behind the scenes. With his network of contacts, he persuaded key decision-makers, including then President Wee Kim Wee, to visit the area . Perhaps as a result of the behind-the-scenes lobbying and Mr Hale's personal touch, the Government responded positively.
By 1989, Sungei Buloh Nature Park (now Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve) became a reality, and it was officially announced by then National Development Minister S. Dhanabalan.
At the closing ceremony of the 1991 Clean and Green Week, the Nature Society was presented with the Green Leaf Award.
This complemented the previous year's award when Mr Hale won under the individual category. This was an award given to organisations and individuals who had made outstanding contributions to environmental protection and preservation.
Volunteers' efforts helped save Sungei Buloh
Straits Times Forum 23 Aug 15;
We agree wholeheartedly that Mr Richard Hale played a very important role in the conservation efforts of Sungei Buloh, under the Nature Society team comprising the Bird Group Conservation Committee ("The man behind Sungei Buloh" by Mr Subaraj Rajathurai; last Sunday).
The conservation project was the initiative of the Bird Group, whose chairman at that time was Dr Clive Briffett, after calls were made by some of its members to formulate a conservation proposal for its future survival, in view of what had happened at the Serangoon estuary wetland, which had to make way for urban development.
The Bird Group was not aware of the Sungei Buloh nature area at the time, and it was most fortunate that members were kindly shown the whereabouts of the new bird sanctuary, in the nick of time, by Mr Hale, who was not a member of the group at the time. He had discovered the area around 1986.
The area had been slated for development into an agro-technology park, so bold and decisive action was crucial to save it.
The formulation of the proposal to save Sungei Buloh, which took almost a year, was anchored by the many active birdwatchers of the Bird Group, doing the indispensable ground work of collecting bird information, with the voluntary assistance of ornithologist Chris Hails.
This is indeed remarkable, given that the project was based on the efforts of volunteers, both locals and foreigners, in an area that was new to the birding community and during a period when up-to-date field knowledge of Singapore's birdlife, in terms of its distribution within the national territory, was more or less at a pioneering stage.
The proposal was submitted to the Nature Reserves Board under the umbrella of the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch) in October 1987 and accepted by the Ministry of National Development on April 19, 1988.
Wing Chong
Chairman
Bird Group
Nature Society Singapore
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