SINGAPORE, Oct 7 — The Mandai mangrove and mudflats, a rich feeding ground for migratory birds and home to the vulnerable Mangrove Horseshoe Crab, will become Singapore’s newest nature park in mid-2022.
The announcement today by Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee was widely welcomed by members of the nature community.
The new status will allow the National Parks Board (NParks) to better monitor and protect threatened species of mangrove, crustaceans and migratory shorebirds, and will also give NParks teeth to enforce anti-poaching laws under the Parks and Trees Act.
“This nature park will be sensitively managed by NParks, (it) will conduct habitat enhancement measures such as coastal clean ups and mangrove replanting,” said Mr Lee, whose announcement was in conjunction with World Migratory Bird Day next weekend and the 25th anniversary of Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.
The 73-hectare nature park, sited 3km east of the 130-hectare Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, is currently state land. The conserved area will comprise a 26-hectare mangrove forest, which has 16 threatened species of mangroves, and a 42-hectare mudflat.
The new nature park will complement the wetland reserve as a place for outdoor education and research, said Mr Lee, who is also Minister for Social and Family Development.
Basic amenities like bird hides, bicycle racks and a walking trail could feature at the new nature park.
From surveys and radio-tracking of shorebirds in recent years, NParks confirmed that the majority of shorebirds that roost in the wetland reserve at high tide would fly to look for food at the extensive mudflat exposed at low tide. Molluscs, crustaceans and worms are among the creatures found in abundance at the mudflat.
This means that both the mudflat and the wetland reserve are ecologically inter-dependent for shorebirds.
Some 21 species of shorebirds have been recorded at the wetland reserve, with a peak count of 2,025 birds in 2012. They include the Whimbrel, Common Greenshank and Common Redshank, which are common winter visitors.
Today, Mr Lee also hosted Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on a tour around the wetland reserve.
Mr Lee stressed that Singapore has to adopt a “different conservation approach”. This means that instead of keeping visitors out with “fences”, it has to nurture a love for nature and “draw people in”. — TODAY
