Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at The IUCN International Horseshoe Crab Workshop
Jun 19, 2024
Introduction
Good morning. I’m glad to join you at this year’s International Horseshoe Crab Workshop, organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
This is the first to be held since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and is a wonderful opportunity for participants to exchange ideas, share research findings, and build partnerships across borders and disciplines.
Protecting mangrove habitats in Singapore
The past runs of the workshops were held in locations within the spawning range of the world’s four existing horseshoe crab species, such as Hong Kong and Long Island in New York.
This year’s workshop in Singapore is no exception. We are home to two horseshoe crab species – namely, the Mangrove Horseshoe Crab and the Coastal Horseshoe Crab.
As a small island city-state, we are fortunate to have a rich trove of biodiversity.
At the same time, we face intense land-use pressures from a range of needs, such as housing, defence, transportation and industry – needs of a fully functioning city that is also a country. This means we have to plan very carefully and intensify our land-use, in order to strike a balance between conservation and development.
To this end, we take a science-based approach towards biodiversity conservation.
This is guided by our National Parks Board’s Nature Conservation Masterplan (NCMP), which sets out strategies to safeguard key native plant and animal species, as well as terrestrial and marine habitats in Singapore. This includes mangrove and coastal habitats, where horseshoe crabs reside.
The Conservation Masterplan also safeguards networks of Nature Parks islandwide. These parks are established at the edges of nature reserves, to serve as green buffers that protect the flora and fauna within nature reserves from the impact of development.
Singapore’s conservation efforts
Horseshoe crabs are remarkably resilient “living fossils” that serve important ecological functions in their habitats. For example, their foraging releases trapped nutrients in their local environments, and their eggs are a food source for certain bird species, such as migratory birds. A decline in the horseshoe crab population would negatively impact the ecosystems they live in, which speaks to the importance of protecting them amid pressures like habitat loss and overharvesting.
It is therefore the focus this year’s workshop, which seeks to develop a Conservation Action Plan for Asian Horseshoe Crabs. Let me briefly share about the conservation of horseshoe crabs in Singapore.
Horseshoe crabs are frequently encountered at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat.
These mudflats along the northwestern shores of Singapore are possibly the last known local breeding sites of the Mangrove Horseshoe Crab. Hence, the conservation of these mangrove and mudflat sites is vital to ensure the survival of this vulnerable species.
We gazetted Sungei Buloh as a Nature Reserve in 2002, the same year it was recognised as a site of international importance for migratory waterbirds. It was also designated as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003.
NParks has sensitively conserved several ecologically important sites around the Wetland Reserve over the years, including the 31 ha Wetland Reserve extension and Kranji Marshes, which opened in 2014 and 2018 respectively.
In 2018, we also announced plans to protect Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat as a Nature Park, which had originally been zoned for industrial use.
In 2020, we announced the Sungei Buloh Nature Park Network, which safeguards a variety of ecologically complementary habitats buffering the Wetland Reserve, such as Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat, and is part of a holistic conservation approach to protect and extend our natural capital.
I hear that some of you will be visiting Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve this Sunday. I hope you have a fruitful visit!
Other conservation efforts include the Nature Society Singapore’s Horseshoe Crab Rescue and Research Programme, which rescues horseshoe crabs trapped in fishing nets at the Mandai Mudflat.
Such efforts are important to ensure that our horseshoe crab populations are protected and can continue to grow. The conservation status of the coastal horseshoe crab has progressed from “Endangered” to “Vulnerable” currently, the same as that of the mangrove horseshoe crab. There are estimated to be between 250 and 1,000 mature individuals of each species locally. This progress was only possible because of dedicated conservation efforts, in collaboration with our community partners.
Singapore’s contributions to horseshoe crab research
Research and conservation go hand-in-hand. We must continue to grow a deeper understanding of the horseshoe crabs, to guide our conservation work.
For example, the National University of Singapore’s Avian Evolution Lab focuses on the study of the genetics of horseshoe crabs, as well as other avian fauna species. The Lab is led by Dr Frank Rheindt, who will be sharing about his work later today.
NUS has also collaborated with Republic Polytechnic to study the genetics of horseshoe crabs. This effort is led by Dr Laura Yap, who is also a member of the workshop’s scientific committee.
Professor Ding Jeak Ling from NUS had also developed a synthetic alternative to horseshoe crabs’ blood in the 2000s.
Horseshoe crabs are highly sought after, as their blood clots when it comes into contact with bacterial toxins. This has resulted in the capture and bleeding of horseshoe crabs, for use in sterility testing for bacterial endotoxins to ensure the safety of drugs and medical devices. This substitute, known as recombinant Factor C (rFC), is recognised in many countries, which helps to relieve the commercial pressure on horseshoe crab populations. Professor Ding will be sharing more about her research later today.
Recent Oil Spill at Pasir Panjang Terminal
I would also like to take this opportunity to give a brief update on the oil spill incident that happened last Friday afternoon at Pasir Panjang Terminal, as I’m sure many of you here are particularly concerned about its impacts to our coastal and marine habitats.
Agencies responded quickly and have been working together closely to coordinate efforts to clean-up and mitigate the immediate impact of the spill to our coastal and marine environment.
Upon being notified of the incident, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) deployed patrol craft to manage the leakage, alerted agencies and waterfront facilities, and has been coordinating the multi-agency response since.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) has been supporting the beach cleanups and conducting daily air quality tests at affected areas to ensure public safety.
Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) stopped all water activities at the beaches and commenced clean-up operations to remove oil from the cove waterways.
At sea, agencies have deployed oil recovery systems to trap the oil and facilitate the clean-up of oil. Agencies have deployed 1.5km of booms so far, and will add a further 1.6km of booms over the next few days in designated areas.
As some oil has been seen off Changi, we have also pre-emptively deployed booms around biodiversity-sensitive areas at Chek Jawa Wetlands at Pulau Ubin, Coney Island Park and Pasir Ris Park as preventive measures.
On our shores, our frontline responders are carrying out professional clean-up operations at impacted beaches. NParks is also monitoring the post-impact recovery of coastal and marine habitats, and will assess if habitat restoration efforts are required.
Singapore’s waterways are some of the busiest in the world, used for industry, shipping, sport and recreation, defence, aquaculture, and more. Close to a third of the world’s hard coral species have been documented in our waters. Our waters are also home to over 100 species of reef fish and about 200 species of sponges.
This oil spill has had a wide-reaching impact, as the incident is still unfolding. It will take us some time to carry out the clean-up operations and fully assess the full extent of the environmental impact. We will then have to embark on recovery and restoration work.
We have received strong support from the public – over 1,500 people have reached out to us to sign-up as volunteers. Organisations including the Singapore Veterinary Association, World Wide Fund for Nature (Singapore), Singapore Canoe Federation, Friends of the Marine Park and many more, have also offered to help.
I am grateful for the strong support from our volunteers. For safety, volunteers will not be deployed for beach clean-up. We understand that many want to pitch in and help: we have activated around 160 volunteers to help with patrols and monitoring efforts at East Coast Park and West Coast Park. This includes volunteers from the Public Hygiene Council who helped with park maintenance, and volunteers from the Friends of the Marine Park and from public sign-ups.
Friends of Marine Park volunteers had also helped conduct biodiversity surveys at the Southern Islands over the weekend.
Subsequently, we may seek volunteers’ help to join my colleagues to carry out post-impact habitat and biodiversity surveys, as well as habitat restoration efforts.
Closing Remarks
In closing, I would like to officially declare the International Horseshoe Crab Workshop open, I wish everyone a rewarding time at the International Horseshoe Crab Workshop. For our international guests, I hope you have an enjoyable visit to Singapore, and experience Singapore’s rich biodiversity and nature during your stay.
Thank you.