A Report On Wildlife Conservation In Singapore

Introduction

According to a report by WWF and TRAFFIC, Singapore was ranked the world’s second-largest shark fin trader by value after Hong Kong. Singapore was even found to have the world’s second-largest seizure of illegally-imported ivory in 2002. These dishonourable findings question Singapore’s role in conserving the wildlife. This paper examines wildlife conservation in Singapore. It covers the importance of wildlife conservation, the challenges faced in wildlife conservation and the types of wildlife conservation efforts in Singapore’s context.

Importance of Wildlife Conservation

Wildlife conservation is not simply protecting the wildlife and their habitats for there is more to it than meets the eye, as demonstrated by the following factors.

1. Prevents Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity loss is an urgent issue as the global wildlife population is declining at a worrying rate. This can be seen from the Living Planet Index (LPI), which measures trends in thousands of populations of wildlife animals globally indicating a of 58% decrease between 1970 and 2012. Thus, it is extremely important to conserve the wildlife for its sustainability before the problem spins out of control.

Benefits Public Health

The wildlife plays an instrumental role in enhancing the health of many worldwide. As stated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, over 40,000 species of the wildlife have been used for the benefit of public health. Moreover, wild animals and their habitats act as a buffer between humans and emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). However, by clearing undisturbed habitats, humans become more susceptible to EIDs. A case in point is the Hendra virus which started with deforestation in Australia, causing certain bats to move near horses which fell sick after ingesting contaminated bat spit or urine. Subsequently, humans who came into contact with these horses got infected. Evidently, the wildlife holds immense health importance to humans.

Healthy Ecosystem

An ecosystem provides “ecosystem services” which humans rely on heavily such as air purification and climate regulation. However, its ability to provide these services is undermined when humans prioritise their interests over that of the wildlife. For instance, over 95% of Singapore’s tropical forests were cleared for agricultural and urban development reasons. This essentially means that the food and shelter that many wild animals rely on the forest for were taken away from them for the sole purpose of satisfying human needs. Not only does this threaten the survival of the wildlife, but it also, imbalances the ecosystem which consequently compromises the quality of the services that the ecosystem supplies. Hence, these “free” services that Mother Nature has bestowed upon us should not be taken for granted because as easy as they come by, it is just as easy for them to slip away for good if humans continue to selfishly engage in damaging acts to the wildlife and the environment.

Challenges in Wildlife Conservation

Singapore faced varied difficulties in its attempt to protect the wildlife, as can be seen from the subsequent examples.

Urbanisation

While Singapore has managed to evolve from a third-world country into a first world one at a fast rate, this impressive feat came at a price due to rapid urbanisation. Urbanisation typically involves deforestation, as is the case in Singapore where over 95% of the natural habitats were lost since 1819 owing to deforestation. It does not help that several Singaporean firms use unsustainable palm oil which has been linked to negative environmental issues including deforestation. Apparently, Singapore contributed substantially to harming the safety of the wildlife.

Illegal Wildlife Trade and Poaching

In Singapore, those caught engaging in illegal wildlife trade and/or poaching may face serious consequences such as heavy fines and even imprisonment. However, that does not seem to be stopping people from committing such crimes. Through undercover investigations, ACRES discovered the sale of alleged illegal bear products in Traditional Chinese Medicine shops. Additionally, despite the 1989 ban on international trade of elephants, ivory of exceeding 12. 5 tonnes were seized in Singapore since 2002. The poaching situation in Singapore is not any better as the number of poaching cases has increased with there being an approximate 158% increase from 2012 to 2014.

Invasive Alien Species (IAS)

The existence of IAS brings about numerous negative impacts. IAS can be defined as a non-native species which has been accidentally or purposely introduced to an environment with the ability to flourish and cause potential harm to the native biodiversity. Through competition for resources, it endangers the lives of the local species by forcing out those unable to compete, which would lead to a substantial drop in the number of species in the invaded habitat. Besides that, it could adversely affect the value of said habitat for other species by changing the ecosystem’s balance. The white-crested laughingthrush is an IAS introduced to Singapore by the caged bird trade threatening native forest birds as its large size and omnivorous nature give it an advantage in its competition for resources.

Types of Wildlife Conservation Efforts

There are several organisations making the effort to conserve the wildlife through various means.

World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore

WWF Singapore was established by WWF International to increase public awareness on conservation matters and gather support for initiatives worldwide for the world to become a sustainable one. It aims to educate the masses that seemingly insignificant acts can accumulate to greatly impact the environment and protect biodiversity through awareness campaigns and outreach activities. For example, it started a campaign in 2015 to bring attention to the annual haze problem in Singapore and the ways to put a stop to it.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS)

WRS is a self-funded organisation that works jointly with organisations sharing similar interests to protect biodiversity in Singapore and Southeast Asia. It often organises conservation outreach events at different locations in Singapore to enlighten the public on wildlife and inform them of WRS’s local wildlife and conservation projects. One such event is the ITE Eco Conference 2014 where WRS shared information on wildlife crimes in Singapore. WRS is also engaged in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, health and research, such as building its Wildlife Healthcare and Research Centre to offer medical care to the animals at Night Safari and Singapore Zoo.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore Conservation Fund (WRSCF)

The WRSCF was established mainly to protect endangered native wildlife in Singapore by funding projects that can contribute significantly to local biodiversity research and conservation. Its conservation efforts include outreach activities to educate people and heighten awareness on the topic of conservation such as annual outreach events at the Istana Open House.

Conclusion

This paper analysed Singapore’s contribution towards wildlife conservation and discussed the reasons to conserve the wildlife, the factors making wildlife conservation challenging, and the conservation efforts undertaken by various organisations. There is no denying that Singapore had caused substantial damage to the ecosystem and thereby the wildlife. Though the hard truth is that what is lost may never be fully recovered, it is clear that much has been and is being done for the wildlife’s welfare. In fact, NParks introduced a national plan to encourage biodiversity conservation and is developing better defined targets for 2011-2020 to facilitate in achieving its global targets. That said, more conservation efforts would be of great help in safeguarding the wildlife and sustaining it for the future generations to enjoy.