Audrey Tan
18 Feb 2016
How much do we value our forests, and are they worth protecting?
"Not really, there is nothing to see in our forests... so I would say, build away," a banker friend told me. Another added that to get his nature fix, there are far better alternatives overseas.
These are typical answers I get when I ask laymen about the possibility of the Cross Island Line tunnelling under Singapore's largest nature reserve.
Yes, there has been strong debate over the issue. But it seems that the loudest voices belong to those involved in the green movement.
Chatting with friends and family, I found that many are indifferent to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve - home to at least 413 species of plants, 218 species of birds, 30 mammals and 24 freshwater fish species.
NATURE DEFICIT
Perhaps it all boils down to a nature deficit in Singapore.
The term is used by experts to describe how people are increasingly alienated from their natural world, and lack the chance to experience nature.
National Institute of Education's Associate Professor Vilma Ann D'Rozario, who is studying the well-being benefits that children obtain from learning outside the classroom, especially in wild habitats, said that while she has seen a growing number of people enjoying Singapore's nature areas over the last decade or so, "most Singaporeans are little aware that we have nature and wild habitats at our doorstep".
Going by my news feed on social media sites, it seems that for many Singaporeans, the nature experience is limited to lounging by the sea in a deck chair, or having a picnic or barbecue at a local park.
For the more adventurous, they turn to Mount Rinjani in Lombok, Indonesia, or the Taman Negara National Park in Malaysia.
But many are unaware of the wilderness that can be found in urban Singapore, whether in our nature reserves or our marine park.
Said Prof D'Rozario, who volunteers extensively in environmental and wildlife conservation projects in Singapore: "Singapore has lovely green spaces, such as neighbourhood parks and gardens, which are enjoyed and used. But not as many Singaporeans visit our forest reserves.
"If more people visit our local forests, they would learn to understand forest systems better, appreciate our dependence on and interconnectedness with wildlife and wild habitats, and better develop a passion to protect and conserve our wild places, such as the Central Catchment Nature Reserve - our natural treasure."
[Right. And if more people traipse through our nature reserves, the natural habitat of the inhabitants would be disrupted, changed, or even destroyed. Really. Do you want amateurs running around in your precious nature reserves? But not to worry. This isn't likely to change very soon. Or at all. Walking through our tropical JUNGLE is not the same as traipsing through a temperate forests. There are two simple reason why we don't appreciate nature in Singapore. Heat. And Humidity.]
Mr Eugene Tay, founder and director of environmental consultancy Green Future Solutions, also pointed out that this nature deficit could be shaped by Singapore's national narrative, which usually revolves around the Republic being a small country with no natural resources, a garden city with trees and parks that are manicured and recreational, and a pragmatic society driven by constant urban change.
He said: "This has shaped our mindsets such that some Singaporeans think that we do not have much biodiversity in our small country, and that our small hills and forests are less worthy compared to the majestic mountains and vast forests in other countries."
But, does size really matter?
OWNERSHIP
Our nature reserves may be far removed from the likes of Yosemite or Yellowstone national parks in the United States. There are no waterfalls, meadows and vast wilderness teeming with large animals.
But our forests are teeming with life, even if it is not immediately obvious.
As Professor Peter Ng, head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, puts it, "not seeing is not the same as not there".
[Correct! Lots of amateurs grow into the jungle. When they come out they say, "I was there. I didn't see anything."]
"The area is rich… not world-beating rich, but Singapore rich. It is not about how much, but what is ours 100 per cent," added Prof Ng, who in 1986 discovered the Johnson's freshwater crab, a species that can be found only in Singapore's Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature Reserves and nowhere else in the world.
[Question: If Professor PETER Ng discovered a new freshwater crab, why is it called JOHNSON's freshwater crab? More importantly, is there a recipe for cooking it? Would it be good in Chilli Crab? Or is it better steamed?]
Mr Sankar Ananthanarayanan co-founded nature group Herpetological Society of Singapore to raise awareness about reptiles and amphibians.
Not only are they often perceived of as being dangerous, herps (reptiles and amphibians) are also smaller, harder to spot, and less "cute" than charismatic tigers and elephants.
"People may not see them, even though they're right in front of them," said Mr Sankar.
In the MacRitchie area of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve alone, some 56 reptiles and 17 species of amphibians have been recorded.
National University of Singapore biologist David Tan, who volunteers with the Love Our MacRitchie Forest group, said it may be more difficult to spot organisms in a tropical rainforest than in a temperate forest, as the former has a greater variety of plant and animal species.
This makes wildlife much more difficult to find because there are more places for it to hide and more predators driving it to stay out of sight.
But out of sight should not be out of mind. The biodiversity is there, it is just that spotting them requires some scientific knowledge - or lots of patience and luck.
[So basically, the argument is a) there are more plants and animals, but b) they are harder to see, and c) you got to be an expert to spot them anyway. So... save the Jungle for the experts!]
When I visited the reserve last Friday, for instance, I saw a chestnut-bellied malkoha in flight, its iridescent feathers spread out as it swooped from tree to tree.
It is a rare sighting - the last remaining malkoha species out of three that can still be found in Singapore - and one that happened entirely by chance.
Even then, there is so much else to see.
Advised Mr Tan: "Go on a hike and climb to the top of the Jelutong Tower for a bird's eye view of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve... you cannot seriously say that it can't compare to any other national monument - the tropical forest is a spectacle to behold.
[I've been high above the jungle canopy. It was hot and humid. I saw trees. It was... unexciting. So yes. I can seriously say, "what the hell are you going on about?"]
"And a tropical forest within an urban metropolis? Even more so."
NATURAL HERITAGE
Our nature areas may not be large, but as Prof Ng pointed out, they are ours, they are uniquely Singapore, and they should be protected and restored for our future generations.
The Central Catchment Nature Reserve is the Republic's largest nature reserve at 2,000ha - the size of almost 2,500 football fields.
[I'm not sure what is the point of this? Are you telling us that there is an opportunity costs of 2500 football fields? Are you saying that considering the state of football in SG, aren't you glad we have one big nature reserve instead of 2500 more under-utilised football fields?
Are you saying that the Cross Island line will DESTROY all 2000 ha of the nature reserve?
No you are not. So what is the point of mentioning the size?
Unless you also mention that the MRT line will affect say, 200 ha of nature reserves?
But it is not.]
It is also where Singapore's largest primary lowland rainforest patch can be found. Once abundant in Singapore, the trees were felled to make way for human settlements and less than 0.5 per cent of our original primary forest cover now remains.
Within the reserve is an even rarer forest type - the 750ha Nee Soon Swamp Forest, Singapore's last remaining primary freshwater swamp forest.
Before the early 1930s, such habitats could also be found in Upper and Lower Seletar and Jurong. These areas have been converted for other land uses.
[Again, relevance? Is the MRT line going to destroy this RARE jungle type (I am going to use "jungle" because that is what it is. "Forest" evoke Middle-Earth Shire-like magical beauty. "Jungle" is the harsh reality in the tropics.]
Said Prof Ng: "At the end of the day - what is nostalgia and heritage worth? Nothing really. In dollars and cents at least. But that same sense and feel of nostalgia, memories and remembering makes us human - makes us sentient. It connects us to the land and the community. Shared memories - good and bad.
[Right! We are all nostalgic for the good old days when we romp around in the JUNGLE, and enjoyed Malaria, and Dengue, and possible lots of other insect bites.
Again. What are you going on about? Singaporeans are NOT nostalgic about the jungle. You may as well make the argument that as we were descended from ape-like ancestors, we should be nostalgic for the Jungle.]
"Can it be measured in dollars and cents? No. Is it therefore a waste of effort and time? No."
Nature groups are uniting under one banner, the March for MacRitchie movement, to call for an alternative route to save the forests.
[JUNGLE! Instead of "March for MacRitchie", it should be "Jog for the Jungle".]
Volunteers are giving their time to conduct free walks through the reserve, to help people realise the nature in our own backyard and share its beauty.
Mr Tan said: "Just take two hours of your time, visit the forest, and come see what lives in there.
"You'll see that there's plenty worth protecting, and best of all, it's free."
[Don't forget to bring insect repellent.
And there is a reason it is free. you can't charge people for heat and humidity.
After all this, the conclusion I reach is that the nature reserves serve the interests of a small group of people. They need a vast swathe of land to be conserved and preserved in order for their interests - wildlife - to be preserved. And this land cannot be used for other human activities as this would disrupt nature and wildlife habitats.
While the article above suggests that if more people were interested in nature and visited the nature reserves, they would be more appreciative of nature and learn to value nature.
BUT, if Chek Jawa is any illustration, a mass invasion of amateur nature lovers into the reserves will have a devastating impact on nature and be counter-productive.
In other words, nature lovers are like country club members. They need huge tracts of land for their specific interests and no other human activity can share the land with them. If there are too many members using their clubhouse and golf courses, it ruins the experience for them.
Proposals like running an MRT tract through the land would be disruptive, so they are against it.]
No comments:
Post a Comment