Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at the Opening of Enhanced Sisters' Islands Marine Park
Oct 28, 2024
Introduction
Good morning. Thank you for joining us for the opening of the enhanced Sisters’ Islands Marine Park.
Singapore’s Marine Biodiversity and Natural Heritage
Singapore may be a small island with limited sea space, yet we are home to a rich array of marine biodiversity. But our marine life is increasingly threatened by climate change.
The world is currently experiencing the fourth global coral bleaching event on record, due to ocean warming. Locally, we have observed varying levels of coral bleaching across locations, which we are carefully monitoring.
NParks, in collaboration with research partners, is studying coral bleaching responses and resilience at the species and community scales. We will incorporate various research outcomes into its management and conservation plans, such as the Species Recovery Programme.
Aside from climate change, environmental pollution presents a threat to marine life.
Singapore’s waterways are one of the busiest in the world, serving one of the busiest ports internationally. There are many demands on our waters – for commerce, shipping, industry, food and aquaculture, as well as recreation, to name a few.
This can put significant pressure on our marine ecosystems.
Just two weekends ago, there was an oil leakage from a Shell land-based pipeline between Bukom Island and Bukom Kecil.
While no oil was observed at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, Labrador Nature Reserve and West Coast Park, we deployed oil absorbent booms pre-emptively to protect these areas.
We should not take our rich marine biodiversity for granted, but make sure that there is strong partnership between government, corporate partners, as well as the community, to look after these busy waterways and protect the rich biodiversity within these very busy shipping lanes. Because events such as oil spills and coral bleaching are a sobering reminder of just how vulnerable our marine ecosystems are.
Although we are a cosmopolitan city-state, we are very proud that we have, terrestrially, as well as in our waters, very rich biodiversity – and it is for us to take on the responsibility, generation after generation of being stewards.
A Milestone for Marine Conservation
The Southern Islands are home to some of Singapore’s coral reefs, rocky shores and coastal forests.
They include one of the potential key source reefs for coral larvae and other biodiversity in the Southern Islands. To protect all of these, we designated Sisters’ Islands Marine Park as our first national marine park 10 years ago in 2014. This was a watershed moment for marine conservation in Singapore. And I want to thank our marine community for advocating very strongly for this.
We closed the marine park to the public in 2021 to undertake major enhancement works. And I am happy that the marine park is now ready to be reopened, with many enhanced features that enable us to better conduct outreach, education, conservation and research, and improve the experience for visitors.
You would have seen the Floating Boardwalk, where you can observe marine biodiversity up close regardless of tide level.
This is Singapore’s first floating boardwalk that also serves as a coral habitat and research site.
Running through Big Sister’s Island is the new Ocean Network Express Coastal Forest Trail, which leads visitors to a two-storey-high Hilltop View Deck with stunning coastal views.
At the southwestern part of Big Sister’s Island, we have enhanced an existing lagoon into a tidal pool to retain seawater during low tides.
This protects the lagoon beach from erosion and creates a sheltered water body to encourage mangrove propagules and seagrass to establish.
Over time, the lagoon will mature into an ecosystem with multiple habitats that can be observed via an underwater camera. The lagoon will be an outdoor classroom to bring the public closer to nature. The ‘Singtel Marine Explorer Programme’ will provide marine education and outreach initiatives to share this knowledge with schools and the wider community.
Greening Our Blue Sanctuary
Do look out for the ecological enhancements that have been made to the marine park as well.
These include kingfisher burrows and bat boxes that provide shelter and nesting sites for wildlife. We have also installed reef enhancement units at the seawalls’ intertidal zone, to create additional habitats for corals and other marine life.
We are also working with our partners to strengthen our marine conservation efforts.
One such effort is the CoralAID Mineral Accretion project. This project trials the use of mineral accretion technology to increase the growth rate of corals and enhance their resilience to environmental stressors. It has been rolled out at Bendera Bay and here at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park.
I thank our strong partners, Ocean Network Express, Singtel and Aramco Asia Singapore for their generous support of these enhancements through the Garden City Fund, and for making all of these enhancements possible for our very first marine park in Singapore.
In support of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, we have also enhanced the marine park with sustainable infrastructure and technology, so that it is net-zero in energy consumption.
This includes a new solar farm and desalination plant on Big Sister’s Island.
I would also like to thank our Friends of Marine Park, led by Chairperson Mr Stephen Beng, for your invaluable feedback on the enhancement of the marine park, and for working closely with us over the years. You have helped shape our initiatives and raise public awareness of marine matters.
Protecting Our Marine Parks
To better protect our marine parks, we will be strengthening the Parks and Trees Regulations.
This allows us to more effectively regulate activity in the waters of our marine parks, and protect the reef habitats and marine biodiversity found in Sisters’ Islands Marine Park. It will also protect our second national marine park that we plan to designate at Lazarus South and Kusu Reef – and we hope to able to finalise the details and designate it by next year.
Forging Ahead with the Community
Our efforts to meaningfully conserve and steward our marine biodiversity depend on having a good understanding of the environment, and good data.
I am delighted to announce that NParks, in collaboration with NUS’ Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) of the Faculty of Science, and the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI), are embarking on the next phase of the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey (CMBS).
Under the first phase of CMBS, which completed in 2015, we discovered many species new to science, and new to Singapore.
The second phase of CMBS (CMBS II) will build on these efforts. For example, we will survey new areas and biomes not covered in CMBS I, to obtain a fuller picture of our marine ecosystems. This will help us make more well-informed decisions regarding marine conservation, including how to better plan the use of our very limited sea space.
CMBS II will also allow researchers to test novel techniques, such as the use of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures, and build local capacity for future research and development needs.
We will partner stakeholders across academic institutions, corporate partners and non-government organisations, and interested individuals on CMBS II.
Thank you to our donors, whose generous contributions will help to kick-start this major endeavour. These include Dalio Philanthropies, GSK-EDB Trust Fund, HSBC and ExxonMobil Asia Pacific.
Conclusion
In closing, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of my NParks colleagues, as well as partners and stakeholders involved in enhancing Sisters’ Islands Marine Park.
I hope that visitors to the marine park gain a deeper appreciation for Singapore’s rich marine biodiversity, and the importance of us in Singapore, being stewards to conserve it for generations to come.
Thank you, and enjoy the enhanced Marine Park.