Why (the heck) did I study giant clams?
Mei Lin NEO
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The long road to ensuring that Singapore's waste doesn't go to waste
Expensive tunnels and facilities are being built to tackle mounting waste and help carve out a greener future. But current habits on the ground could end up costing the nation dear.
Derrick A Paulo and Daniel Heng Channel NewsAsia 17 Feb 16;
SINGAPORE: Deep below the surface, deeper than any MRT line, work has begun on a mega project that – within a decade from now – will carry whatever you flush down the toilet if you are in the western half of the island.
The 100km of tunnels and link sewers being built will then take all their contents to Tuas – where every effort will be made to give sewage a new lease of life, including turning it into energy.
This S$6.5-billion second phase of the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS) is part of Singapore’s new, holistic approach to ensuring that waste does not go to waste. (It comes after a similar sewerage superhighway to serve the eastern half of Singapore was completed in 2008.)
And with the start of construction last November, the work to reach a turning point in Singapore’s waste management strategy is now in full swing.
The DTSS joins two other projects in the works: The Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) and the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant (TWRP), which for the first time, will see two such facilities co-located on the same site.
This trifecta of projects will be wholly completed in 2027.
But much has already gone on behind the scenes, especially to make the co-located Tuas facility the centrepiece of an innovative and greener waste disposal system.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
The S$3-billion IWMF, a solid-waste management facility, will sort household recyclables, treat food waste as well as incinerate trash and sludge – a by-product of treating used water – all on a single site.
This will get more bang for the buck and break new ground for Singapore, as the processing of these various waste streams has been done in separate locations until now.
Tests on the technology to be installed in the Tuas plant are now being conducted, such as the mixing of food waste with sludge from used water to increase energy production.
This requires machines called digesters, which process the organic matter in used water sludge and food waste, breaking it down into biogas and carbon dioxide.
The biogas is then used to generate electricity on site, with the excess power sent to the national energy grid.
Sludge collected from sewage treatment has long been processed in this way, for example at the Changi Water Reclamation Plant.
But it was only recently – after years of rising food wastage but a stagnant recycling rate – that food waste has been turned into fuel prior to incineration.
Singapore’s first co-digestion test facility, in Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant, was completed just over a year ago, and is processing a few tonnes of food waste a day.
“The fat, oil, grease, carbohydrates and proteins that are in the food waste, when combined with the used water sludge, will help to generate more biogas,” explained the PUB plant’s general manager Kelvin Koh.
“(Testing) such a full-scale application will help us to gain operational experience, identify potential gaps as well as ... build up to a full-fledged facility, in the future, at Tuas," he added.
He was speaking on Channel NewsAsia’s two-part special Looking Ahead, which examines how Singapore’s mega infrastructure projects are positioning the nation for the future. (Watch the episode here.)
ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY
With a solid-waste and a used-water facility on the same site, sludge and food waste will be easily available to make biogas. But that will not be the site’s only energy capability.
Like the four existing incineration plants, in the process of incinerating waste, the facility will produce electricity to run its operations, for long-term sustainability. Its incineration capacity will be sufficient to power 300,000 four-room Housing and Development Board flats.
In comparison with that, the 1,600 megawatt hour produced each day by the Tuas South Incineration Plant – which is Singapore’s largest waste-to-energy plant now – is enough to power 125,000 four-room HDB flats, about the area of Ang Mo Kio estate.
The co-location of facilities will ensure energy efficiency too.
“The processing of multiple waste streams at the IWMF and the co-location with the TWRP will enable the two facilities to maximise energy and resource recovery, and optimise land,” said IWMF project director Joseph Boey, from the National Environment Agency.
“The co-location has marked a new chapter. For future projects, we’ll continue to explore such set-ups, look into more synergies and attain even greater environment sustainability.”
SAVING LAND
Planning for the future is not only about energy, but also about land use.
For example, to keep water reclamation compact in Tuas, relevant technology is being monitored at another test facility in the Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant, while helping with Singapore’s long-term water demands.
In conventional water reclamation, dirty water passes through a settling tank followed by a microfiltration system. But that process can be combined using a membrane bioreactor.
“In that sense, we’re able to save space and have a more efficient footprint of our plant,” said PUB senior engineer Anne Marie Ang. She added that the membrane tank has been able to yield water of “clearer quality”.
This puts the Tuas Water Reclamation Plant, a key component of the DTSS, on course to have the largest membrane bioreactor facility in the world.
The space saved with such investments in waste management will also go beyond the walls of the Tuas compound.
Once the second phase of the DTSS is in place – with tunnels built to last 100 years – the water reclamation plants in Ulu Pandan and Jurong will be phased out progressively.
As the tunnel system is being constructed at a gradient, the used water will be carried to the Tuas plant by gravity – without the need for intermediate pumping stations. These, too, will be demolished.
The entire DTSS will halve the area taken up by used-water infrastructure, from 300 hectares in the 1990s to 150 ha in the long term. This land freed up for higher-value development is equivalent to about 214 football fields.
TRAFFIC CONTROL
The roads are another space where efforts in waste management will make more of a difference, with the pneumatic waste conveyance system.
This automated system uses vacuum suction in an underground pipe network to collect household waste from multiple apartment blocks and deposit the waste in a bin centre.
With a central collection site, waste disposal lorries will not have to go from block to block. This will help to reduce traffic in housing areas, among other improvements to liveability, while residents can dispose of their rubbish as usual.
More than 100 private residential developments have become early adopters. And from April, installation of the system will be mandatory for new non-landed private developments with at least 500 homes.
Meanwhile, the HDB is implementing it in new developments where possible, including Tampines North, Punggol, Bidadari and Sengkang. The authority is also studying the pilot test of the system in Yuhua, before deciding on its feasibility for other existing estates.
Ease of transport is already a consideration elsewhere in the waste management loop.
At the Changi Water Reclamation Plant, after energy is extracted from sludge, the remainder is dried to reduce its volume and weight before it is incinerated in the western part of Singapore, and the ash taken to the Pulau Semakau landfill.
“We have about 13 trucks a day come to Changi to remove dewatered and dried sludge to our incineration plants. Without (the sludge dryers), we’d need 30 trucks a day,” said the PUB plant’s general manager Low Pei Chin.'
A CALL FOR CHANGE
One problem that is getting bigger, however, is the amount of wastage in Singapore: In 2016 alone, enough rubbish to fill 15,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This includes everything from the junk tossed out of homes to construction debris.
“It’s an urgent issue,” said Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources director (Environmental Policy Division) Ng Chun Pin. “So it’s very important for us to push (for) a strong national consciousness among Singaporeans, towards zero waste.”
The overall recycling rate is 61 per cent. This includes industrial and commercial waste. But households are not doing enough.
“The domestic household recycling rate hasn’t improved for many years, hovering at about 21 per cent in the last decade. To put it simply, our recycling habits haven’t kept up with purchasing habits,” said Mr Ng.
“We change our clothes, laptops and mobile phones – and much more frequently, with little or no recycling. We don’t reuse, we don’t repair, and many of these items, unused (and) brand new, end up prematurely in our incinerators.”
Without a change in habits, there will be consequences. At the current rate, a new incineration plant would be needed every seven to 10 years to keep up with the increase in solid waste.
And that is not the investment Mr Ng hopes Singapore will have to make. He said: “We’d rather build HDB flats, hospitals and schools for Singaporeans, not expensive landfills and incinerators.”
Watch this episode of Looking Ahead here.
Source: CNA/dp
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Pair with sugar gliders busted at checkpoint
Straits Times 16 Feb 18;
Immigration officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint made a "sweet" find in the early hours of Valentine's Day - two sugar gliders hidden in a car coming into Singapore.
The two animals, which are small, omnivorous, nocturnal gliding marsupials that live in trees, were found inside a pouch.
Officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA) also found 44 cartons and 210 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, hidden inside the dashboard and centre console of the car.
ICA officers referred the driver, a 25-year-old man, and the passenger, a 20-year-old woman, both Singaporeans, to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore.
The duty-unpaid cigarettes and vehicle were handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigations.
In a Facebook post yesterday, the ICA reminded travellers not to import or keep wild animals as pets.
Under the Animals and Birds Act, it is an offence to bring into Singapore any animal without an import licence.
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Cleaning products a big source of urban air pollution, say scientists
Research shows paints, perfumes, sprays and other synthetic items contribute to high levels of ‘volatile organic compounds’ in air
Ian Sample The Guardian 15 Feb 18;
Household cleaners, paints and perfumes have become substantial sources of urban air pollution as strict controls on vehicles have reduced road traffic emissions, scientists say.
Researchers in the US looked at levels of synthetic “volatile organic compounds”, or VOCs, in roadside air in Los Angeles and found that as much came from industrial and household products refined from petroleum as from vehicle exhaust pipes.
The compounds are an important contributor to air pollution because when they waft into the atmosphere, they react with other chemicals to produce harmful ozone or fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. Ground level ozone can trigger breathing problems by making the airways constrict, while fine airborne particles drive heart and lung disease.
In Britain and the rest of Europe, air pollution is more affected by emissions from diesel vehicles than in the US, but independent scientists said the latest work still highlighted an important and poorly understood source of pollution that is currently unregulated.
“This is about all those bottles and containers in your kitchen cabinet below the sink and in the bathroom. It’s things like cleaners, personal products, paints and glues,” said Joost de Gouw, an author on the study at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
“When you think about how much of those products you use in your daily life, it doesn’t compare to how much fuel you put in the car. But for every kilogram of fuel that is burned, only about one gram ends up in the air. For these household and personal products, some compounds evaporate almost completely.”
Globally, the greatest source of volatile organic compounds are plants and trees, but the natural background levels are bolstered by vapours released from hairsprays and perfumes; cleaning products and pesticides; paints and lacquers, and substances such as formaldehyde, which is used in glues, plywood and other building materials. Yet more synthetic VOCs come from burning fuels such as gas and wood.
“It’s hard to say how much pollution is down to VOCs, but a rough estimate is that between one quarter and a third of all particles are made up of organic compounds that originate as VOCs,” said Alastair Lewis, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of York. In Britain, one of the most harmful air pollutants is nitrogen dioxide, which is unrelated to VOCs.
Writing in the journal Science, De Gouw and others report that the amount of VOCs emitted from household and industrial products is two to three times higher than official US estimates suggest. The result is surprising since only about 5% of raw oil is turned into chemicals for consumer products, with 95% ending up as fuel.
“This paper is interesting because it shows that domestic use of VOCs is beginning to dominate, displacing the traditional sources from vehicles and industry,” Lewis told the Guardian. “It’s a challenge for regulators since many of these sources, including cleaning and personal care products, aren’t controlled.
“If the paper is right then many countries will need to rethink how they plan to meet their international obligations to reduce emissions. The UK is already thinking about how to tackle and reduce domestic emissions,” he said.
William Bloss, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Birmingham, said the work highlighted a continuing need to understand real world emissions. But he added: “We have a much higher proportion of diesel traffic in the UK and we know that diesel use is associated with a lot of different hydrocarbons and particulates. I suspect that in the UK, traffic in the form of diesel vehicles is still the most important.”
Even so, De Gouw believes VOCs from household products should still be factored into policies on emissions. “London is a little different to LA because of the higher diesel use, but I expect that even in London a significant fraction of VOCs will come from these kinds of emissions,” he said.
David Green, who studies air pollution at King’s College London, said: “Organic aerosols, which are produced when these volatile chemicals react in the atmosphere contribute significantly to UK PM2.5 concentrations as they do all over the world. In London, where we measure these routinely, approximately a third of PM2.5s can be attributed to organic aerosols which come from a range of sources including vehicle emissions, wood burning and even cooking. This paper highlights a previously poorly understood source which is currently unregulated.”
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5 things you need to know about how the carbon tax works
Aqil Haziq Mahmud Channel NewsAsia 16 Feb 18;
SINGAPORE: Starting next year, the Government will impose a carbon tax to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as part of its commitments under the Paris climate agreement,
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in his Budget speech last year that the tax will create a "price signal" to incentivise industries to reduce emissions.
It will also create "new opportunities" in green growth industries such as clean energy, he added, pointing out that revenue from the tax will help to fund measures by industries to reduce emissions.
The tax will affect 30 to 40 large emitters, defined as those that emit 25,000 or more tonnes of greenhouse gases annually. The Government is looking at charging between S$10 and S$20 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions.
The final price will be announced in the Carbon Pricing Bill, which will be introduced in the first quarter of this year.
While the tax will not apply directly to households, Mr Heng expects a "modest" trickle-down effect on consumers. The idea is for power generators to pass on the cost of the carbon tax, experts said.
The National Climate Change Secretariat has said that for the average household living in a four-room flat, the tax translates to an increase of S$1.70 to S$3.30 per month in electricity tariffs.
So, here's what you need to know about how the carbon tax works:
1) FACILITIES MUST SUBMIT EMISSIONS REPORTS
The bill states that facilities which emit more than 2,000 tonnes but less than 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases annually must continue to submit an emissions report, in line with the Energy Conservation Act.
"Taxable facilities" which emit more than 25,000 tonnes every year must submit an emissions report that is verified by an independent third party and based on a monitoring plan.
Once the carbon tax kicks in next year, facilities will have to monitor their emissions for a year before submitting their emissions report by Jun 30, 2020. Emissions reports must be submitted by Jun 30 each year.
2) 'TAXABLE FACILITIES' MUST DEVELOP MONITORING PLAN
The monitoring plan must state how a facility ensures the quality of data required for computations in the emissions report. If required, the plan must also be independently verified.
The monitoring plan must be submitted by Dec 31 each year.
3) FACILITIES MUST CORRECT INACCURACIES IN REPORTS, PLANS
If the authorities find that an emissions report or monitoring plan is inaccurate or incomplete, they can direct the facility to rectify the document and resubmit it.
If the facility discovers an inaccuracy, it must notify the authorities as soon as possible. It should also describe the circumstances that led to the error and how it will be corrected. Where applicable, it should give an estimate of the greenhouse gases represented by the error.
Those who intentionally provide inaccurate information to dodge taxes can be fined triple the evaded amount, on top of a fine capped at S$10,000, and/or jailed up to three years.
4) 'TAXABLE FACILITIES' WILL PAY CARBON TAX IN CREDITS
"Taxable facilities" can buy carbon credits from the National Environment Agency (NEA) at a fixed price throughout the year. At the end of an assessment year, the credits are used to pay tax levied on their total greenhouse emissions.
The price of the credits will be determined closer to the date of implementation.
This system gives the authorities the flexibility to adopt other methods if and when needed, such as linking Singapore’s carbon pricing framework to that of a bigger jurisdiction.
Taxes must be paid by Sep 30 each year. Those who fail to pay the carbon tax can be fined triple the amount of outstanding tax. The first carbon tax is expected to be paid in 2020.
5) FACILITIES CAN APPLY FOR DEREGISTRATION
All facilities can apply to be deregistered if their greenhouse gas emissions fall below certain thresholds for three consecutive years.
But if they can prove that they have made “significant and substantial changes” to processes that will lower emissions "considerably" below these thresholds, they can apply for deregistration the following year.
NEA will approve such applications on a case-by-case basis.
Source: CNA/hz
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Indonesia: Fire ravages tens of hectares of peatland in West Kalimantan
Antara 15 Feb 18;
Pontianak, W Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - A fire has razed tens of hectares of peatland areas in Pasir Village, Mempawah District, West Kalimantan Province, since Tuesday night (Feb 13).
Commander of the Mempawah District Military Command 1201/Mph Lieutenant Colonel Anom Wirasunu noted on Thursday that military personnel had attempted to put out the fire to prevent it from spreading shortly after it broke out.
"We had been at the scene on Wednesday for around four hours, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time. The smoke there was thick due to the land fire," he noted.
He said peatland areas in several parts of Mempawah District are prone to fire, particularly when the temperature is high.
The fire was spotted in three different places in Mempawah Hilir, according to the survey conducted by a joint team of personnel assigned to put out the fire.
"In just one of the three places, some 30 hectares of land have caught fire," he noted.
Several plots of land of dragon fruit and pineapple plantations belonging to local residents had caught fire in Sebukit Rama Hamlet in Mempawah District.
Although efforts to extinguish the blaze were undertaken since Tuesday evening, the fire has spread to other peatland areas at Sebukit Rama.
"Yesterday, we tried to put out the blaze using a fire truck and a robin portable fire extinguisher. (However, today), we have three robin portable fire extinguishers and a fire truck," he added.
Reported by Teguh IW and Aries Zaldi
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/O001)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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Indonesia: Dramatic decline in Borneo's orangutan population as 150,000 lost in 16 years
Fresh efforts needed to protect critically endangered animals from hunters and habitat loss as population more than halves
Ian Sample The Guardian 15 Feb 18;
Hunting and killing have driven a dramatic decline in the orangutan population on Borneo where nearly 150,000 animals have been lost from the island’s forests in 16 years, conservationists warn.
While the steepest percentage losses occurred in regions where the forest has been cut down to make way for palm oil and acacia plantations, more animals were killed by hunters who ventured into the forest, or by farm workers when the apes encroached on agricultural land, a study found.
Researchers estimate that the number of orangutans left on Borneo now stands at between 70,000 and 100,000, meaning the population more than halved over the study period which ran from 1999 to 2015. Without fresh efforts to protect the animals, the numbers could fall at least another 45,000 in the next 35 years, the conservationists predict. The real decline could be worse, because the prediction is based only on habitat loss, and does not include killings.
The bleak assessment of the state of the Bornean apes comes from an international team of conservationists who compiled one of the most comprehensive reports yet on the animals, which in 2016 were declared “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“I expected to see a fairly steep decline, but I did not anticipate it would be this large,” said Serge Wich, a co-author on the report at Liverpool John Moores University. “When we did the analyses, we ran them again and again to figure out if we had made a mistake somewhere. You think the numbers can’t be that high, but unfortunately they are.”
The researchers studied 16 years of ground and helicopter surveys that recorded the numbers and locations of nests that orangutans built in the trees from branches and leaves. The nests have long been used to infer the sizes of orangutan populations because the animals themselves are so elusive.
Writing in the journal Current Biology, the team describe how the decline in nests from 1999 to 2015 points to the staggering loss of 148,500 orangutans in Borneo. The conservationists identified 64 separate groups of orangutans on the island, but only 38 are thought to comprise more than 100 individuals, the minimum that is considered viable for a group.
The forests of Borneo are being fragmented by new plantations and building projects and the associated loss of trees led to falls in local orangutan populations of up to 75%, the study found. In the dense forests, orangutan numbers fell by 50%. While that is a lower rate, it amounts to more animals because most of the apes live in these areas. “This is the biggest chunk of the loss,” said Maria Voigt at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. “More than 70% of the orangutans lost are in the forest.”
Hunters in Borneo tend to enter the forest to find pigs and deer, but if they encounter a large orangutan, they can take the animals for food. Female orangutans are occasionally killed for their young, which are sold on as pets. Far more of the apes die when they venture on to plantations, and into people’s gardens, where they are shot or killed with machetes. Last week, authorities on Borneo found the body of a male orangutan bearing machete scars and wounds from 130 airgun pellets.
“We need to work with people to help them understand that orangutans are not dangerous and that it’s illegal to kill them,” Wich said. One approach that might work, he said, is to have Indonesian and Malaysian role models raise awareness of orangutans through social media.
“We know this decline has been largely due to hunting, and if we can turn that around, these orangutans could, over a long period, bounce back. When you lost the habitat, it’s gone forever, but the forests are still there. If we can stop the hunting and killing, we can reverse the trend.”
Emma Keller at WWF said: “Orangutans are disappearing at an alarming rate. Their forests homes have been lost and degraded, and hunting threatens the existence of this magnificent great ape. Immediate action is needed to reform industries that have pushed orangutans to the brink of extinction. Consumers can make a difference through only supporting brands and retailers that buy sustainable palm oil.”
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China confirms first human case of H7N4 bird flu
AFP Yahoo News 15 Feb 18;
Hong Kong (AFP) - China has confirmed the first human case of H7N4 bird flu, prompting Hong Kong to issue a health warning for those travelling to the mainland during the busy Lunar New Year holiday.
The strain was identified in a 68-year-old woman from the eastern province of Jiangsu who was admitted to hospital after falling ill on December 25 but had since recovered, according to China's National Health and Family Planning Commission.
"She had contact with live poultry before the onset of symptoms," Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection said late Wednesday after being informed of the case by Chinese authorities, who said the virus genes were of avian origin.
The world's first human cases of bird flu were reported in Hong Kong in 1997, when six people were killed by the H5N1 strain of the virus. Hundreds more have died worldwide in subsequent outbreaks, especially of highly-virulent strains like H7N9.
The semi-autonomous southern Chinese city is a high-risk area for the spread of communicable diseases because of its high population density and busy regional and international transport links.
"Travellers to the mainland or other affected areas must avoid visiting wet markets, live poultry markets or farms," the Centre for Health Protection warned after the H7N4 strain was reported by China.
Authorities in China and Hong Kong did not provide further details on the H7N4 strain found in the woman, such as its virulence. An outbreak of this type of bird flu hit chickens in New South Wales, Australia, in 1997, according to World Health Organization records.
Hong Kong authorities are already battling a deadly flu outbreak, and were forced to shut down kindergartens and primary schools early for the Chinese New Year break.
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Pangolin trade still flourishing despite ban
UNEP 15 Feb 18;
Pangolins are small mammals that only move around at night. Hardly a zoo has been able to keep one alive. And yet, they sit above the elephant and rhino as the most illegally trafficked animal in the world.
Pangolins are amazing: With shiny scales and pointy heads, they look like miniature dinosaurs; baby pangolins ride around on their mothers’ tails; they slurp ants with 25cm-long tongues; and they can curl up into an armoured ball that foxes any predator – except humans. Being so elusive, not much more is known about them.
Pangolin researchers meeting in January 2017 in Singapore concluded that increased demand from China for pangolins has led to "great declines" in populations across Cambodia, Viet Nam, and Laos.
“Pangolins have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, but growing human populations and greater wealth across China have increased demand,” says the Worldwatch Institute. “Pangolin fetuses, scales, and blood are used in medicine, the meat is considered a delicacy, and stuffed pangolins are sold as souvenirs.”
All eight (four Asian and four African) species of pangolins are now prohibited from international trade thanks to greater protections they won at the 2017 conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which UN Environment hosts.
However, new research based on cross-border pangolin seizures shows that a combined minimum of 120 tons of whole pangolins, parts and scales were confiscated by law enforcement agencies from 2010 to 2015. On average pangolins weigh about 5 kilograms, so that’s a lot of pangolins.
The research was published in December 2017 by TRAFFIC and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and titled The Global Trafficking Of Pangolins: A comprehensive summary of seizures and trafficking routes from 2010–2015. It highlighted the truly global nature of the trade: 67 countries/territories were implicated, including those not home to pangolins.
Smugglers were said to be using 27 new global trade routes, and Europe (especially Germany and Belgium) was identified as a major transit hub, mostly for African pangolins being transported to Asia. However, the Netherlands was reported as a destination for large-quantity shipments of body parts and scales from China and Uganda, respectively.
The report’s findings underscore the highly mobile nature of smuggling networks, with traffickers quickly shifting from commonly used routes after a short period and creating many new routes each year to evade enforcement efforts.
17 February is World Pangolin Day. Find out how the UN’s Wild for Life campaign is working to protect pangolins and other species threatened by the illegal wildlife trade.
The Environmental Investigation Agency says there has been a significant growth in the trade of African pangolin species, especially for scales, in the last few years.
In November 2017, China announced the seizure of 11.9 tons of scales from a ship in Shenzen, the world’s largest ever pangolin seizure.
“This report shows that while enforcement efforts are absolutely critical, we must give as much priority to tackling the demand that drives illegal trade,” says UN Environment wildlife communication expert Lisa Rolls.
“World Pangolin Day on 18 February is an important awareness-raising moment. We need to get the word out there to educate consumers who may not be informed about the impacts of their purchases and to try and prevent new users. We are asking people to join the Wild for Life campaign for Pangolin Day and spread the word!”
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Best of our wild blogs: 15 Feb 18
Marine conservation in Singapore: a look at general legislation protecting the Sisters’ Island Marine Park
ELSA@NUS Law
Heart our mangroves!
Celebrating Singapore Shores!
A month of Pesta Ubin in 2018!
Pesta Ubin 2018
23 Jun (Sat): Basic Mountain Biking Skills Session by Mountain Bike Association (Singapore)
Pesta Ubin 2018
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Walk on the wild side in Sentosa
Hidden amid the bustling hotels and modern attractions is a quiet world of century-old trees and creatures that delight nature lovers
Audrey Tan Straits Times 14 Feb 18;
Snazzy bars dot its beaches. Luxurious hotels fan out across the island. An integrated resort boasting a casino and theme park sits at the entrance of Sentosa, welcoming people to the State of Fun.
This is how the resort island located south of mainland Singapore describes itself.
But Sentosa has a different kind of luxe as well - the kind that speaks of the richness of the natural world, which is more in line with its name. Sentosa, after all, means tranquillity in Malay.
Earlier this month, to mark World Wetlands Day on Feb 2, photojournalist Kua Chee Siong and this reporter visited Sentosa to experience the natural wonders thriving on the island - including its only mangrove patch, located in the middle of Serapong golf course.
The mangrove patch is just one of eight different types of habitats on the 500ha island.
Sentosa is also home to rarer habitat types, such as rocky seashores and coastal forests which are fast disappearing on the mainland.
Hidden within their folds are rare specimens of flora and fauna, including a tree that is the last of its kind in Singapore.
While preening peacocks and cheeky macaques are commonly sighted on Sentosa, the island has a lot more to offer visitors.
MANGROVES
During our visit, Sentosa Development Corporation's (SDC's) senior executive for environmental management Tammy Lim, 32, told us a rare great billed heron native to Singapore, for one, had been spotted at the 1.5ha mangrove patch.
To get there, we rode in a buggy across the golf course and tried not to disturb the golfers.
But wildlife is unpredictable.
The bird, which can grow up to 1.2m tall, did not show up that day.
We did see a flock of more than 10 grey herons which are commonly found in wetland habitats.
Even though the mangrove patch is in the middle of a golf course, one of the herons appeared to be building a nest there. It was holding a twig as it flew overhead.
Mangroves once used to cover Singapore's coasts. But today, they are among the rarest habitats here, covering less than 1 per cent of the country's total land area.
While muddy mangroves may not be as attractive as colourful coral reefs, they are as important.
They support a large diversity of life, serve as fish nurseries and help with coastal protection, as they reduce erosion from wave action.
In 1819, the total area of mangrove forests in Singapore was estimated to be 75 sq km. But a 2010 scientific study by Singapore researchers showed that this had been whittled down to 6.59 sq km - just 0.95 per cent of Singapore's total land area - due to various factors, including urban development and land reclamation.
Most of the mangrove forests that remain are found along the northern coast, in places such as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and offshore Pulau Ubin.
Naturalist Ria Tan, who runs the wildsingapore.com blog, said the "mangrove haven" on Sentosa is likely to be Singapore's largest patch of the rare, native bakau pasir mangrove trees.
The bakau pasir (Rhizophora stylosa) is native to Singapore, and is considered one of the most hardy mangrove tree species.
Singaporean mangrove expert Jean Yong, who is an eco-physiologist at the Australian Research Centre for Mine Site Restoration, said the Singapore Strait - the body of water south of Singapore - is characterised by sea and rocky substrate.
These are harsher conditions compared with the mud and stiller waters of the Strait of Johor up north, said Dr Yong.
"This is why only the resilient Rhizophora stylosa can establish and thrive in the south," he told The Straits Times.
A few other bakau pasir trees can be found in places such as Pulau Ubin, the Western Catchment, Pulau Pawai and Berlayer Creek.
There are also some growing on Pulau Semakau.
But Dr Yong said these had been replanted using propagules from Indonesia, adding: "The patch growing in Sentosa's golf course represents the last bastion of a sustainable and healthy population of the original bakau pasir for Singapore."
SENTOSA'S SENTINELS
Before it was developed into a resort island in the 1970s, Sentosa was known as Pulau Blakang Mati - which means "the island behind death" in Malay. It was a fishing village, a military base and even a prisoner-of-war camp during the Japanese Occupation.
Throughout its history, nature has had to battle with the forces of development.
The island was once covered with rainforests. Today, the protected nature areas make up about 40ha in total - less than 10 per cent of Sentosa's total land bank.
Still, living relics of the past thrive.
Trees, some of them more than a century old, lie within the two designated nature areas on the island - Imbiah and Serapong.
These witnesses of the island's evolution have guardians.
As director for environment management, Ms Grace Lee, 49, leads SDC's conservation team of three.
She is fiercely passionate about nature, reeling off facts about the trees, shrubs and flowers we encountered during our visit.
Pointing to a heritage tree at the foot of Mount Serapong, she said the Bhesa robusta -usually found in primary rainforests - dates back more than a century. There are 26 heritage trees on Sentosa.
Said Ms Lee, whose background is in horticulture: "Heritage trees on Sentosa can be found not just in nature areas. They are also scattered in the open areas on Sentosa. Our job is to protect them, so future generations get the chance to see them."
Plants are also a passion for another member of Sentosa's conservation team, senior arborist Daniel Seah, 63. He has been inspecting the trees on the island for the past 40 years. He even did his National Service on Sentosa, serving as a combat engineer in the barracks on Mount Serapong in 1971.
He explained how he came to make the study of trees his life.
He said: "During my army days, the only comfortable place to lie down was under a tree.
"When the sun was hot, when I was building bridges, the only place to lie down was under the tree."
We spotted other unique plants in Sentosa, like the dragon blood tree (Dracaena maingayi) which bleeds a crimson red sap used in traditional Chinese medicine for pain relief and to heal wounds.
A number of these trees can be found in Sentosa, including at the bustling Imbiah Walk.
There was also the Fagraea ridleyi. The tree on on the island is the last of its kind in Singapore, and is one of the plants that the SDC is targeting to restore through its species recovery programme.
The Straits Times is not revealing the exact location of the tree to help protect it.
WEIRD, WONDERFUL WILDLIFE
Sentosa has plenty of accommodation options for humans, but it is also home to many animals.
At low tide, sea creatures such as hairy crabs and snails can be seen emerging from their hideouts at their rocky shore habitat, next to the luxury Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort and Spa.
There is also a "condominium" of swiftlet nests on Sentosa.
In other parts of the world, these nests are harvested for the birds' nest delicacy, which command extremely high prices.
But in Sentosa, the more than 200 birds are safe, as their nests are located in a part of the island inaccessible to the public.
Mr Alan Owyong of the Nature Society (Singapore) Bird Group said the flock on Sentosa is the largest nesting flock of swiftlets in Singapore.
Over the years, at least 110 species of birds have been recorded on the island, he said.
In comparison, there are 392 species of birds listed in last year's bird checklist of Singapore.
Mr Owyong said: "This is quite a good number, although development has reduced the number of species we see in recent years."
Geographically, Sentosa's position south of the mainland has made it a good stopover point for migratory birds making their way down south to Indonesia to escape the winter chill in the north, said Mr Owyong.
Last December, a few species of migratory cuckoos, such as the chestnut-winged and Indian cuckoos, were spotted around a particular tree at Sentosa's Fort Siloso.
Sentosa is a microcosm of Singapore, and faces the same challenge of balancing conservation and development.
And just like how nature areas on the mainland are nestled within the nooks and crannies of urban areas, the habitats on Sentosa are just a stone's throw from the bustling attractions.
Many of them can be explored for free.
Yet, many people may not know they exist.
The next time you visit Sentosa, take the opportunity to soak up the essence of a natural world sitting right in the midst of modernity.
With the large variety of walking and cycling trails on the island, you could find yourself taking a closer look at all the nature areas the island has to offer.
26: Number of heritage trees that can be found on Sentosa island.
110: Number of bird species recorded on the island.
40: ha Size of the protected nature areas on the island, which is less than 10 per cent of Sentosa's total land bank.
FREE NATURE ACTIVITIES ON SENTOSA
HERITAGE TREE TOUR
Learn about some of the 26 carefully conserved heritage trees on the island from Sentosa Development Corporation's officers.
WHEN: The last Saturday of every month, 10am to 11am.
WHERE: Sentosa Nature Discovery, Imbiah Lookout.
HOW TO SIGN UP: Register and find out more at nature@sentosa.com.sg
BIRD WALK
What types of birds can be found on Sentosa? Learn more from the avian experts at the Nature Society (Singapore).
WHEN: Twice a year, 8am to 10am.
WHERE: Sentosa Nature Discovery, Imbiah Lookout; Imbiah Nature Area; Siloso Skywalk.
HOW TO SIGN UP: Get updates on the walks at www.sentosa.com.sg/ State-Specials/Events/ Sentosa-Nature-and-Bird-Walk
BIODIVERSITY WATCH CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMME ON SENTOSA
Do your part for science by helping to spot and take notes on four types of animals - herons, garden birds, butterflies and dragonflies.
This is a programme organised by the National Parks Board (NParks).
Sentosa has collaborated with them to include nature spots on the island.
WHEN: Twice a year for each animal group.
WHERE:
•Serapong mangrove (Heron watch )
•Imbiah Nature Area or Skywalk (Garden bird watch)
•Siloso Eco Pond (Butterfly watch)
•Serapong/Ficus/Siloso/ Palawan Eco Ponds
•Siloso Spring (Dragonfly Watch)
HOW TO SIGN UP: Find out more on NParks' website at www.nparks.gov.sg/ biodiversity/community-in-nature-initiative
SILOSO HEADLAND INTERTIDAL PROGRAMME
This year is being celebrated around the world as the International Year of the Reef.
Sentosa will be conducting free guided walks along the Tanjong Rimau rocky shores in the later half of the year.
Learn more about the critters that can be found in this habitat on these tours.
WHEN: May to August.
WHERE: Siloso headland.
HOW TO SIGN UP: Details will be announced later.
Check Sentosa's website for more information.
WALKING, CYCLING TRAILS
Those who prefer to explore the island in their free time can do so along its multiple walking and cycling trails.
There are six walking trails in Sentosa that add up to a total of about 7.5km.
They are the Sentosa Boardwalk Trail, Resorts World Sentosa Trail, Merlion Trail, Imbiah Trail, Coastal Trail and Palawan Trail.
The Marang Trail and the Southern Ridges are now connected to the Sentosa Walking Trail via VivoCity and HarbourFront.
There are signboards to guide guests along the trails.
There are also three cycling routes stretching 12km.
For more information on Sentosa's cycling tracks, visit www.sentosa.com.sg/ Plan-Your-Visit/ getting-around
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