Speech by 2M Desmond Lee at the Launch of the Singapore Blue Plan 2018

Oct 13, 2018

I am so happy to join you this morning for the launch of our Singapore Blue Plan 2018.

Located at the southern end of the Straits of Melaka which is where Singapore is, our waterways are some of the busiest in the world. Each year, more than 80,000 ships pass through the Straits of Melaka and Singapore’s waters, carrying 1/3 of the world’s traded goods, and 1/6 of the world’s total oil supply – comes through these waters. We are a hub for maritime activities and businesses. We also have more than 100 fish farms dotted around Singapore’s waters, producing about 10% of our own total consumption of fish. Our shores and waters provide recreation too – many Singaporeans enjoy the beach, watersports, they take their yachts or boats out, paddle out into the water or they go fishing. Unfortunately, a lot of trash and debris also wash up on our coastline. For example, on just a single day in September last month, during an International Coastal Cleanup around the shores of Pulau Ubin, more than 1.6 tonnes of marine litter was bagged by a group of volunteers.

In spite of all of this, the amazing marine biodiversity that thrives along our shores and in our waters is something we should treasure and be proud of, and even more so, in light of what I’ve articulated just before that. Our waters are home to 1/3 of the world’s hard coral species, over 100 species of reef fish, around 200 sponge species and 12 seagrass species.

Protecting this natural heritage requires strong and active partnership between government agencies, our nature community, the academic and research fraternity, and the wider community. Collectively – there needs to be imbued a strong, innate sense of custodianship and stewardship. In 2015, we launched the Marine Conservation Action Plan as a part of the Nature Conservation Masterplan, taking its guidance from the four key pillars of the overall Masterplan. And three years later, today, we are happy to be able to receive the Third Blue Plan, which contains many detailed proposals that we will carefully study. Drafted by the Editors after consulting scientists, students and other marine stakeholders, this Plan is a very good launching point to engage an even wider group of people, such as government agencies, the maritime industry or other interest groups – in the sustainable management of our waters and the protection of our marine biodiversity. 

A collaborative approach has been key to our marine conservation efforts since the launch of the last Blue Plan in 2009. By working with the marine community on feedback and suggestions, we have made some progress. For instance, we collectively agreed that there was a need to document the extensive biodiversity within our waters. The work is just scratching the surface, but a lot more needs to be done. NParks and NUS therefore conducted the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey over a period of 5 years, from 2010 to 2015. When I visited TMSI, I was struck by how much work was going on, and how much work was yet to be done. The survey covered many new areas that had not previously been studied in detail, and over 60,000 specimens were collected during the work – that may be an understatement. 

We also recognised that protecting marine areas play an important role in conserving our natural heritage. We designated Sisters’ Islands as a Marine Park four years ago in 2014, because modelling studies indicated that it is a strong source reef. Coral larvae originating from the Sisters' Islands are widely dispersed to enrich other areas in the Southern Islands. This was done after extensive consultations with agencies, marine groups, as well as the wider nature community.  

The Sisters’ Islands Marine Park now plays a crucial role in our marine conservation and outreach efforts, and it is a very good start. For example, Small Sister’s Island is now home to Singapore’s first Turtle Hatchery. Many of you were there to join me and my colleagues at its opening two weeks ago, and the stars were indeed the hatchlings, who from birth had the longing for the sea, headed straight for the waters. Besides providing a safe haven for our marine turtles, it also provides researchers with the opportunity to study their nesting patterns. The wider research community can also look forward to additional research opportunities, including social research, that will be available once the enhancements at the Sisters’ Islands are completed in two years’ time, in 2020.

Our Friends of the Marine Park – it is a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder, multi-agency – a tripartite community, brings people of all interest and background together, all centred around our seas and coastline. It is working with the marine community as well as other stakeholders, such as boaters, divers, fishermen, kayakers, educators and more, to establish rules and guidelines, collectively, for the sustainable use and enjoyment of the Marine Park.

We will approach the proposals in this Blue Plan with the same spirit of collaboration and openness. The agencies will study the recommendations in detail and see how we can work with the marine community to realise some of the common goals.

For example, we agree that our conservation efforts must continue to be guided by, and grounded in science. Only by understanding the marine ecosystems and their complexities better, can we develop sustainable solutions to manage and maintain them. In the last decade, more funds have been allocated to marine research. For example, the National Research Foundation has allocated $25 million to the Marine Science Research and Development Programme. Separately, NParks has also funded over $10 million in marine research projects, and will continue to work with research institutions to support future projects. To further help research efforts, NParks will also continue to tap on the use of BIOME, which is the Biodiversity and Environmental Database System. Based on the community’s suggestions, the BIOME platform now has the capability not only for researchers, but all users to submit biodiversity and environmental information. NParks will continue to review and improve the BIOME platform so that everyone can benefit from it.

We will also work with our community to expand outreach and education efforts. This is something which we occasionally forget is important to do, and affects front and centre a lot of work that we must do as a community, to grow the community in the first place. It is only when the broader community of Singaporeans learn more and marvel at about our biodiversity – both on land and in the water, that we can better appreciate it and actively help to protect it. You cannot protect what you don’t love, and you can’t love what you don’t know. We already have some programmes at present. For example, NParks’ Biodiversity Friends Forum – which is a mentorship programme now a year in progress, provides a platform for young Singaporeans to interact with more experienced conservationists. We hope to collaborate with the marine community to introduce more of such programmes. 

In sum, today’s launch of the Blue Plan 2018 is just the beginning of the work of the Editors and the community who have contributed to this volume. We certainly look forward to further discussions on how and what and why each of these recommendations need to be looked at in detail, and how we can take forward the Blue Plan 2018 together. With that, congratulations to the Editors, all contributors and all partners, and I look forward to this exciting process.