Kingfisher hide at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
So as promised another week and another round up of environmental/conservation-related news. And I am happy to say that we start with a positive story about the expansion of one of my favourite spots in Singapore, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR).
There really is nowhere else like SBWR in Singapore. Tucked away in the north-west corner of the island, within touching distance of Malaysia, it can feel wonderfully distant from the urban landscapes of the city centre. Winding boardwalks and wooden observation hides scattered among the reserve offer great opportunities to spot the wealth of wildlife found among the mangroves, mudflats, ponds and forests.
The good news is that this important pocket of biodiversity for the island got further protection last month, when the government announced plans to create the Sungei Buloh Nature Park Network. The development will see the existing wetland reserve linked with two new parks: Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat Nature Park and Lim Chu Kang Nature Park as well as the nearby Kranji Marshes. When it opens in 2022, the new network of reserves will cover 400ha area, that’s nearly three times the size of the existing reserve, and will incorporate 15km of trails, plus a new exhibition space and education centre.
Of course, it could all have been so different. Back in the mid-1980s the whole area was earmarked for development as a site for prawn farms. It was only thanks to a public campaign highlighting the area’s environmental importance, led by members of the Singapore branch of the Malayan Nature Society, that the wetlands were saved. In what proved to be a landmark case for conservation, the government acquiesced, setting aside an initial 85ha of wetland as a bird sanctuary in 1989. The park officially opened in 1993, expanded further in 2002 when it became a nature reserve and was then listed as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003.
As a taster of its appeal, my most recent visit, on a grey and drizzly Saturday morning, included a couple of grumpy great-billed herons booming at each other across a tidal estuary, a giant monitor lizard drinking from a puddle, paradise tree snakes wriggling along the roof of a lean-to, a stork-billed kingfisher on a successful fishing expedition, mudskippers fighting, an oriental whip snake contemplating what to do with the giant skink it had just caught and no less than three salt-water crocodiles – yes you did read that right – lazing on the river bank (a big thanks to radbentures and his talented son Zach for all the amazing photos below and the snake spotting tips).
On previous trips, I have been lucky enough to see white-bellied sea eagles, oriental pied hornbills, smooth-coated otters, spitting cobras and marvelled at the sight of a huge flock of storks as they glided away to their next destination. Indeed, the site is particularly alive with birdlife between September and March, when thousands of migrating wading birds, like greenshanks, whimbrels, plovers and sandpipers stop off here as part of their annual migration between Siberia and Australia as part of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway.
A huge flock of storks setting off on the next leg of the journey filmed at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore
It looked as if the migrating birds had already started to arrive on my last visit, so I do recommend making the journey up there if you live in Singapore. Just go early on weekend’s as it can currently get a little busy with everyone stuck at home during the current phase of Covid restrictions.
Humanity at a crossroads
While that development is great news for conservation efforts in Singapore, it clearly needs to be something that’s also happening elsewhere. Following on from my post about species extinction levels, there was more sobering news last week as a report by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) revealed the world had missed all 20 of the global biodiversity targets agreed upon by 200 countries back in 2010. The report is quite weighty, so rather than get into details here, I urge to you to read this great overview by the Guardian, part of their excellent, if slightly terrifying Age of Extinction series.
I did pull out some numbers though, showing some of the key takeaways from the report:
The Good
91: Number of countries applying global standards for integrating environment into national accounting – roughly double the number from 2006.
33%: Reduction in global deforestation rates comparing the last five years with rates in the decade to 2010.
43%: Area of key biodiversity areas covered by protected areas up from 29% in 2000.
The Bad
1.7: Number of “Earths” needed to regenerate the biological resources used by humanity from 2011 to 2016.
260,000 tonnes: Weight of the estimated 5.25 trillion plastic particles in the world’s oceans.
60%+: Proportion of coral reefs under threat, especially due to overfishing and destructive fishing.
The Ugly
$500 billion: Value of government subsidies that potentially cause environmental harm.
(All statistics taken from Global Biodiversity Outlook 5 (GBO-5))
While there is evidence of some progress on achieving some targets, from extinction preservation to greater land and sea protection, clearly more needs to be done on a global level. That stark reality was underlined by CBD Executive Secretary, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema:
“Humanity stands at a crossroads with regard to the legacy we wish to leave to future generations. The decisions and level of action we take now will have profound consequences – for good or ill – for all species, including ours.”
This is especially important right now as nations prepare for a UN biodiversity summit later this month where the targets for the next decade will be agreed upon. As the world suffers from a pandemic (potentially caused by biodiversity loss) surely now is the time to act. Calls by some of the world’s leading companies for governments to tackle climate change and recent commitments by China to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, are clearly important steps in the right direction. Maybe they are a sign that the tide is starting to turn, let’s hope it’s not too late.
Image courtesy of International Rhino Foundation
Rhino babies
In happier news, yesterday (September 22nd) was World Rhino Day, and what better way to celebrate than with news of a couple of baby Javanese rhinos. The pair, dubbed Luther and Helen, were caught on camera traps hanging out with their mothers in Ujung Kulon National Park on the very western tip of Java, Indonesia. The heavily protected park is the last remaining wild home for these critically endangered creatures, whose numbers were down to less than 50 left in the wild only a decade ago. These new arrivals see the population rise to 74 (40 males and 34 females), with at least one new calf born every year since 2012.
While this is positive news, conservationists are still concerned about the entire population being limited to one park. As well as the threat from disease there are also concerns over Ujung Kulon’s location close to the active volcano Krakatoa. There have been tentative plans to identify an alternative home but nothing concrete has been decided yet.
Family Outing
Finally, I’ll end with a quick story from closer to home. Like many, I’ve been feeling pretty down the last few days – lack of work, second waves, politics, I appreciate I am definitely not alone on this front – so I decided to take a morning walk to Singapore’s Botanic Gardens to clear my head. I do appreciate how lucky I am to live near such a beautiful green space at the best of times but I got an extra special treat today when I encountered a family of no less than six Oriental Pied Hornbills, hanging out close to the park’s Eco-Lake.
Twenty minutes spent watching them glide from tree to tree and gobble up berries left me feeling much more positive about the world. After all, these magnificent birds were locally extinct in Singapore for over a century until they were spotted on Palau Ubin back in the early 1990s. Now there are over 100 individuals on the island. If they can make such a strong comeback then surely there’s hope for us all.