Ria Tan gave a wonderful and inspiring talk today at the National Geographic Store at Vivocity. Together with the crowd that included grandparents and children, Ria took us to explore some remote, and not-so-remote coastlines in Singapore, all in air-conditioned comfort! The crowd 00hed and ahhed as Ria went though a small collection of photographs she’s amassed over the past 10 years (did you know that Ria has a collection of over 2000 photographs on her website?!)

Because Ria has spent so many years documenting and exploring our shores, she gave us an insight into the changes she has observed over the years. She told us how Singapore’s marine creatures have struggled to survive with challenges such as coastal reclamation, climate change and disasters such as oil spills. We are fortunate to have a collective of dedicated and super motivated volunteers who relentlessly explore and record changes they observe along our shores. Ria explained that we have a lot to learn from studying our local marine life, and that they are like books which we still don’t yet know how to read! She said that scientists have a lot of work to do, and ordinary citizens like you and I can help scientists by exploring our shores, which Ria likened to a massive librabry, and help scientists find more “books” to “read”! All of us, regardless of our skill sets, have a very important role to play if we are to protect our precious and fascinating marine life as we progress as a developed country.

Ria brought some posters and calenders to give out to people in the audience who asked questions. Some people also stayed back to chat more about our shores with volunteers like Dinesh and myself. Some of the audience had volunteered with the Mega Marine Survey or attended guided walks at Chek Jawa, and it was nice to know that they have stayed in touch with our activities. There were also many new people who, after listening to Ria’a talk, wanted to know how they can get out there and start exploring! Yay!

Ria’s Talk about the “Secret Shores of Singapore” is the third of four talks that will be held at the National Geographic Store during this Marine Month. There is also an exhibition that will be at the store or another week. So even if you were not able to make it for the talks, do drop by for a look-see. Hopefully, we’ll see you next week at the store as we explore another very special and unique habitat in Singapore – sea grass meadows! What is sea grass and why should we care? Attend Siti M. Yaacub’s talk next week to find out!

A seacil being ‘launched’ at Sentosa, from an article on the project in Innovation, Vol 7 No. 1

The project was a source of controversy a few years back, the Society adds.

Nature Society (Singapore) hosts this discussion with Charles Rowe, the leader of this project, who will be giving a presentation on the merits of this project. Detractors of this project will also be invited to air their views and concerns. Join us in this discussion to judge for yourselves whether The Seacil Artificial Reef project was more of a boon or a bane to local coral conservation.

This discussion is open to the public.

Time: 8pm
Venue: The Sunflower (NSS office). 510 Geylang Road #02-05,Singapore 389466
Website: http://www.nss.org.sg/
Contact: email contact@nss.org.sg or call 6741 2036.

I hope to attend, and look forward to learning more about the project during the upcoming discussion.

What is the Seacil Project about?
from Artificial Reef Revitalises Marine Life by Kwang Wei Tjan and Lay Leng Tan in Innovation Vol 7 Issue 1, “the Seacil constitutes a concrete structure deliberately placed on the seabed to mimic the characteristics of a natural reef.”

“For waters with thick mud, the builders erect long, recycled plastic pipes on the seabed to support the Seacils. Divers first shift the structure to deeper waters using airbags and buckets, then lower it onto mud sub-sea surfaces (Figure 2). Cement weighs the structure down and anchors it to the upright pipes. High-pressure air pumped down through a hose flushes away the mud from the Seacil, thus allowing the establishment of marine life.”

from an article on the project in Innovation, Vol 7 No. 1

“Team members graft hard coral onto the platform and then introduce anemones and clown fish.”

from an article on the project in Innovation, Vol 7 No. 1

“Perhaps the greatest impact comes from the setting up of artificial reefs and rescue operations of marine life from areas designated for reclamation where the Seacil can serve as a planting or a transfer base. It can replace habitat loss elsewhere or in places where particular substrates are threatened, help preserve endangered sea life, even encourage new growth to revive many threatened underwater ecosystems everywhere.”

“The researchers’ future field surveys will focus on tagging the coral and monitoring the survivability of these underwater organisms.”

Diagrams in Undersea garden takes root S’pore Poly team creates marine site off Labrador for corals to regrow by Shobana Kesava Straits Times 29 Oct 07 outlines the structure of the seacils.

According to this undated online ppt by students of Singapore Polytechnic, they propose putting up seacils along West Coast beach, around the Southern Islands and at Sentosa lagoons.

What are some of the issues regarding the seacils?

Where do the grafted marine life come from?
from Artificial Reef Revitalises Marine Life, “Divers first harvested coral from the affected zones off Sentosa and Labrador. They selected healthy undamaged coral without bleached or dead areas and removed them carefully off the reef.”

How successful have the seacils been?
I am unable to find online results of monitoring of the project. Hopefully, these will be revealed during the discussion.

How will the project avoid damage to existing natural habitats during seacil construction, seacil launch and installation, and from debris resulting from seacil damage and ‘decay’ over time?
Since 2006, large concrete structures were seen on the seagrass meadows on Labrador.

From Large debris on Labrador explained? Oct 2007

From Large debris on Labrador explained? Oct 2007

Large loose plastic tubing and debris were seen on Labrador shore, abrading existing habitats including seagrasses and corals as they moved in the water.

From Large debris on Labrador explained? Oct 2007

From Large debris on Labrador explained? Oct 2007

In Nov 2007, the Straits Times reported that NParks said “The project is not harming the environment, since the artificial reef and garden sit on the sea floor, away from the natural coral reef zone of the nature reserve.” NParks added the debris “on the beach could have come loose and been washed ashore” and “that NParks had asked the SP team to remove them.”

In late Dec 2007, it seemed the large structures had been partially dismantled and lighter portions removed, although the concrete slabs remained on the shore (and began disintegrating). Portions of the concrete structure continued to be seen in Mar 2008 and Jun 2008 and Apr 2010

In Dec 2010, a triangular concrete slab was still seen on the high shore, from sgbeachbum.

seacil@labrador (HD) from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Other updates on Labrador

In Jun 2009, access to Labrador shore was permanently closed by NParks.

The natural seagrass meadows, reefs and coastal habitats on Labrador, our last mainland reef-rocky shore are bearing the brunt of the nearby long-term massive reclamation for a new Pasir Panjang Container Terminal which also includes underwater blasting.

My past interaction with Singapore Polytechnic on the issue in 2007:

On 30 Oct, I sent an email to Singapore Polytechnic Corp Comms informing them that I had posted photos of large debris on Labrador and asking two questions:

(a) Are the equipment depicted in my photos related to any projects by Singapore Polytechnic?

(b) What steps have been put in place to ensure that Cpt Francis’ project as outlined in the ST article does not result in damage to Labrador? (Undersea garden takes root S’pore Poly team creates marine site off Labrador for corals to regrow by Shobana Kesava Straits Times 29 Oct 07)

On 7 Nov, Singapore Polytechnic suggested a meeting to discuss the issue. I replied that I would only attend if I was not required to agree to non-disclosure of the meeting’s discussions.

On 21 Nov, when I asked about the meeting, I was informed that it was decided not to have the meeting and that the issues I raised had been addressed in the interview by Straits Times with Cpt Francis.

On 21 Nov, I also offered to give Singapore Polytechnic a free public talk about our shores to SP staff and students. I was informed that I would first have to submit my presentation materials for submission to SP management to review. I have offered them a CD of the entire presentation.

On 26 Nov, I also emailed Singapore Polytechnic about the issues mentioned in this blog entry.

I did not hear from Singapore Polytechnic about the 26 Nov email nor to my offer to give a talk about our shores to staff and students at Singapore Polytechnic.

Related articles

• Artificial Reef Revitalises Marine Life by Kwang Wei Tjan and Lay Leng Tan in Innovation Vol 7 Issue 1
• Seas get breath of new life in Riot, a magazine of Singapore Polytechnic
• Undersea garden takes root S’pore Poly team creates marine site off Labrador for corals to regrow by Shobana Kesava Straits Times 29 Oct 07
• Labrador Beach: Nature lovers fear coral project will cause damage But NParks says it is not true that artificial reef structures harm the environment Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 26 Nov 07;

Related blog posts
see also links on these posts for more blog posts on the issue

on wild shores of singapore

• Checking up on Labrador Apr 2010

on wildfilms

• Labrador Nature Reserve: after the construction Mar 2008
• Can Labrador Survive Dec 2007
• Labrador Nature Reserve: trashed Dec 2007
• Updates on large concrete slabs on Labrador shore Nov 2007
• Large debris on Labrador explained Oct 2007

This article was first published in WILD Shores of Singapore.

Mention coral reefs in Singapore, and the first response you often get is, “there are coral reefs in Singapore?” I could’ve kept it my little secret, but it makes me too excited so I just have to tell the whole world about it – YES! There are coral reefs in Singapore! And you’d be surprised at the kind of diversity you will be able to encounter on the little patches of reefs scattered around our island’s waters.

For the past seven years, the Hantu Blog has been documenting the marine and coastal life that exists around and on Pulau Hantu, an island located just two hours off the southern coast of mainland Singapore. With the skyscrapers and smoke stacks in view, it can be hard to conceive that there is any life beneath these busy waters, but BELIEVE IT! Even the volunteers and I get surprised with new finds after hundreds of dives!

Without water, Singapore would not be what it is today. Our seas are the very reason we’ve become such a successful island nation, and it was the reason why anyone settled here in the first place! Our oceans are full of life despite being the busiest port in the world! If we take care to maintain this balance, nature and development can exist together, enriching the life of millions of Singaporeans that live in super urban environments.

More and more people are become aware of the wilderness that is embedded within Singapore city. The next time you are on the beach, walk slowly and look out for critters scrambling along the sand. Recently, a friend and I were on a beach at Sentosa island, when we noticed something scuttling along the sand. He remarked, “This beach is not even real and it’s so developed. I thought it would be lifeless! And there are ghost crabs here!”

Be it day or night, if you just remain patient and keep your eyes and attitude open, you’re bound to find a little surprise along our shores. Just look at the birds! They’ve come to land on the beach because they know there are lots of critters to eat! So just imagine, what more lies beneath the waters surface!

It doesn’t matter if you’re not a diver. You don’t even have to know how to swim! You’ve interacted with our oceans in some way or another. If you have in your home, something that got to you on the deck of a ship that trudged across the sea, you depend on our oceans. If you enjoy the breeze that cruises through Shenton Way and Marina Bay, it’s the ocean that creates that breeze. If you enjoy seafood (and we know many people in Singapore do!) you need to take care of our oceans – a healthy sea begets healthy sea food for all of us. The oceans gives fishermen and fish growers a job, and it keeps the thousands of employees in our shipyards employed.

Here are three simple but big ways you can help our oceans:

1. Learn about our oceans! The more you know about what is out there and the better you understand our relationship with our oceans, the more ways you’ll learn to protect it. Visit Singapore’s wild places!
2. Not littering! When it rains, litter inland flows into drains, then to rivers, and out into our seas. Every year, thousands of animals die because they get entangled in trash or when they mistake trash for food and get choked trying to eat it.
3. Spread the word! Talk to friends and family about the problems (and the solutions) that impact our oceans.
4. Become a volunteer! Volunteering gives you opportunities to interact with others who care about our oceans. You may also get a chance to meet naturalists and scientists who are working hard to learn ways to defend our oceans.

Last month, the Hantu Blog was invited to attend the Green Singapore 2050 Summit by the Singapore Environmental Council, to give a talk about Singapore’s coral reefs and why they should be protected. About 300 students from various primary and secondary schools in Singapore attended the 4-hr talk, and learned about a variety of issues like climate change, consumerist habits, waste management, and of course threats to coral reefs. It was a lot of stuff for 4-hrs!

The event was organised by Singapore’s Northwest Community Development Council. Apart from the Hantu Blog, other speakers present at the talk were Howard Shaw (above: left) from SEC, Ang Jian Zhong (above: right) from the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, and the founder of Green Kampong Nadya Hutagalung. Because of the diverse backgrounds each of the speakers were from, students got a nice grasp of all the little things that comprise the environment – from big things like air and water pollution, to the waste each of us generates, to the tinsy details about how each and every person can make a difference. Jian Zhong started off by giving a brief history of the Singapore environmental movement. He talked about the challenges a land scarce nation like Singapore is up against, and the technology and ideas that spawn from being confronted with such challenges.

Howard sproke briefly about brown issues in Singapore and his experience in the field of waste management. He encouraged the students to consider and pursue careers in environmental management, saying it is the industry of the future as many challenges lie ahead of us where the environment is concerned.

Nadya (left) gave a broader picture of environmental issues and how Singaporeans can relate to things that are happening on a global scale and how our efforts can have a universal impact. She spoke about her latest mission to inspire and educate people in Singapore about how it is possible to live a sustainable lifestyle within a highly consumerist society like ours, where cars are scrapped after 10 years and everything is served in disposable packaging.

She illustrated examples of how ordinary people from all walks of life can make big differences by changing the little things that they do on a daily basis.

The students were excited and had many questions for her during the question and answer session at the end of the 4 presentations.

Then my turn came along. I was the last speaker (below). Not only that, I was the 1st speaker after the tea break so everyone was buzzing and full of tea and sandwiches. Thankfully, because corals and naturally colourful and beautiful, and sea creatures are naturally curious-looking or cute, it wasn’t difficult to keep the students awake and listening. Students and teachers got a crash course on corals, reefs, and marine life in Singapore. It fascinated many students and teachers, who later got very excited at the possibility of watching some videos of marine life in Singapore, which Howard kindly made extra time for before the Q&A session. While fascinated, the reality and severity of the threats our reefs are faced with obviously rang some alarm bells amongst the students because a lot of questions were asked about what can be done to halt or prevent our reefs from disappearing, and how marine life can be protected from harm! It was delightful to have the students voicing out their concerns, and it’s very apparent that everyone wants to live in a future Singapore that is not only clean and beautiful, but at least still a little bit “wild”.

Event title: Nature is Changing: Copenhagen & Beyond – What does it mean for Asia?
Date/Time: 11 Nov 2009, 5-7pm
Venue: Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Auditorium, Level 3 Blk B, Faculty of Law, NUS Bukit Timah Campus, 469G Bukit Timah Road Singapore 259772
RSVP: Admission is free, but registration is required. To enable us to gauge attendance, do register online at http://www.siiaonline.org, or contact us 65164202/6134 or lkyspppl@nus.edu.sg.

SYNOPSIS
Nature is changing – more frequent and unpredictable violent storms, heat waves, forest fires, floods, droughts, retreating glaciers and ice sheets, rising sea levels – these are just a few examples of the impacts of Climate Change on the world today. As world leaders meet at the Conference of Parties in Copenhagen to agree on a global response to the problem, the whole world is grappling to understand what Climate Change means to us, and what we can do about it.

In this dialogue, experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will explore the impacts of Climate Change on Asia’s people, economies and states. We will discuss issues affecting our environments from the Himalayas to the oceans. We will talk about the role of policy at global and national levels and its effectiveness in addressing these issues. Finally, we discuss the opportunities of nature-based solutions, and the positive actions Asian policy makers and the business community can take to improve Asia’s resilience to the impacts of Climate Change. Please come and discuss these topics with IUCN, raise your own concerns and explore possible responses to one of the most important issues affecting our lives today.

PROGRAMME
5.00-5.30 Registration
5.30-6.15 In Conversation with guests from the International Union for Conservation of Nature
Moderated by Assoc. Prof. Simon Tay, Chairman, Singapore Institute of International Affairs,
and Schwartz Fellow, Asia Society
6.15-7.00 Q&A session
Speaker(s):

Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji
IUCN Asia Regional Director

Ms. Aban Marker Kabraji has dedicated 20 years of her professional career to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Aban first joined IUCN as the Country Representative for Pakistan in 1988 for 11 years before initiating the establishment of an IUCN Asia Regional Office in Bangkok. Today, as the Director of IUCN Asia Regional Office she provides strategic leadership across ten countries and two expert groups covering a wide spectrum of thematic environmental programmes. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in negotiating with governments in implementing international treaties and conventions (CBD, CITES, and Ramsar). She maintains a special interest in gender, social equity and security, to the extent of undertaking programme activities in politically less secure areas where other environmental organizations have found it difficult to work.

Dr. T. P. Singh, Ph.D
Regional Group Head, Ecosystems and Livelihoods, Bangkok

Dr. Singh is responsible for the development and management of IUCN’s regional programmes related to the areas of Forests, Wetlands & Water, Environmental law, Protected Areas, Business & Biodiversity, Climate Change and Energy. He is also involved in developing IUCN’s new country programmes in India and Indonesia. Dr. Singh has three decades of experience in the natural resource management sector. Trained initially in botany and forestry, Dr. Singh’s technical and research skills are interdisciplinary in nature covering sustainable development, community based natural resource management, rural livelihood systems, watershed management, forestry and climate change and policy analysis.

Mr. Ganesh Pangare
Water and Wetlands Programme Coordinator, IUCN Asia

Ganesh Pangare is the Coordinator for the Water and Wetlands Program, IUCN, Asia Regional Office. His main area of work during the past twenty years has been in people‐centered water interventions, such as indigenous water harvesting systems, micro‐watershed management, participatory irrigation management, urban water bodies, and wastewater management. Currently his main thrust of work is in the area of pro‐poor water sector reforms and policy at local, national, regional and global levels for livelihood and food security, with a focus on primary stakeholder participation.

Mr. Donald J. Macintosh, Ph.D.
Coordinator Mangroves for the Future (MFF), IUCN Asia Regional Office

Don Macintosh has more than 35 years experience in education, research and international development, including working experience in about 30 countries, plus teaching and research supervision of university post‐graduate students from countries in the Caribbean, African, Asian and Pacific regions. As Coordinator of MFF, Don Macintosh oversees management of the MFF Regional Secretariat and implementation of the initiative. MFF is a partnership-based and people-centered initiative to promote the health, well-being and security of the coastal communities living in the Greater Indian Ocean region. MFF involves more than 10 countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Kenya, Maldives, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tanzania, Viet Nam.

Synopsis:
Global climate change is the biggest issue facing resource managers and poses a great challenge to businesses. Unless business adapts to changing resources, gives greater attention to sustainable behaviour and reduces the use of fossil fuel then there are risks. Here I review physical changes that are predicted to happen over the next 100 years, the impact of change on marine ecosystems, challenges to fisheries managers and novel approaches to dealing with climate change. Ocean pH, water temperature, currents, nutrient levels, strength of storms and sea levels are all projected to change over the next 100 years as a result of global warming. The impact of these physical stressors will vary by region and among types of organisms. Plants and animals are affected from the level of cell to entire ecosystems. I will present data from temperate and tropical waters of the Pacific on how patterns of growth of fishes and ranges will change. Even fishes that appear resistant to change can be affected by the collapse of key ecosystem functions. Coral reefs, the foundation of fisheries throughout the Pacific, are vulnerable to change and experiments demonstrate that the risk to reefs is greatest where exploitation of fishes is at a high level. Risk is not limited to the coastal belt, many islands of the Pacific are dependent on tuna for protein – changing oceanic currents can take fish away from traditional fishing grounds and nearby infrastructure for processing (e.g., canneries). Control of CO2 is still the biggest issue to reduce climate change. Innovative ways of making carbon neutral fuels and reducing methane emissions is working toward a solution and generating opportunity.

Bio: Michael J Kingsford
Michael is the Head of the School of Marine and Tropical Biology at James Cook University. The School is a recognized world leader in tropical marine science. He has been President of the Australian Coral Reef Society and Director of One Tree Island Research Station. He has published extensively on the ecology of reef fishes, jellyfishes, biological oceanography and climate change. His projects have encompassed a range of latitudes and he has edited two books on tropical and temperate ecology. A major focus of his research has been on connectivity of reef fish populations, environmental records in corals and fishes and deadly irukandji jellyfishes. In addition to research and leadership, he teaches undergraduate students and supervises many postgraduate students.

When: 29th October 2009, 07.00pm to 08.30pm
Where: Block A01-01
James Cook University Australia, Singapore Campus
600 Upper Thomson Road, Singapore 577421
Admission is Free! Light refreshments will be served.

Siti also included interesting facts with the help of the above map of Singapore from the mid 1900s. The map showed that before major land reclamation, what is now East Coast Park used to be a sea grass sand flat! Imagine what it must’ve looked like to early biologists and explorers! It must’ve been crawling with sea turtles, sea stars and seahorses!

Now that we knew all that there was to know about seagrasses (or was possible to know!) in 15 minutes, we graduated to learning more about dugongs with a presentation by Prof. Helene Marsh from James Cook University, who’s spent more than a decade researching about dugongs and the environments and people with which they interact with. She began her presentation by reflecting on an incident that occured in Johor that involved  a baby dugong getting trapped in a kelong or floating fishing pen. When Prof. Marsh visited Malaysia in 1999 she saw close to 20 dugongs in and around Johor during a single helicopter survey! Dugongs are able to travel up to 500km within a few days so it’s not impossible that some of those dugongs have visited Singapore!

During the Q&A session, Prof. Marsh elaborated on the reproduction of dugongs. She also reiterated points presented in her main talk discussing the contention between the preservation of culture and biodiversity – an issue that resonates throughout the region, since several dugong range areas are located within developing nations, with people that have an intricate relationship with dugongs.

Though the entire lecture lasted well over two hours, there was so much interesting information that it felt like there wasn’t enough time! At the end of it, guests were told that they had to help finish all the food and beverage that had been catered for the event or else they couldn’t leave! There wasn’t much protest to that, and it was a good opportunity for researchers and volunteers from the local and international community to mingle and get to know more about each others work. Here Dr. Abigayle Ng (right) shares a drink with Dr. Ruth M. O’Riordan. Ruth used to work in Singapore at the NUS studying the impact of barnacles as an invasive species, and Abigayle recently completed her PhD on the impact of invasive red-eared sliders in Singapore.

The theme of the ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity 2009 is “Biodiversity in Focus – 2010 and Beyond”.

The sub-themes selected for the Conference reflect the current global and regional priorities:
(a) Biodiversity and Climate Change;
(b) Access to Genetic Resources and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilisation; and
(c) Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity.

Registration is now open for this inaugural ASEAN Conference on Biodiversity 2009 (ACB2009) is hosted by NParks in partnership with the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB).

ACB2009 will bring together about 250-300 key biodiversity stakeholders from the ASEAN region and its partners representing government agencies, science and research communities, and non-governmental organisations. It will feature both plenary and parallel sessions, as well as poster presentations and exhibition booths to showcase biodiversity and conservation efforts in the region. A distinguished list of eminent speakers has been invited to grace the event, including:

• Dr. Aaron Bernstein from Harvard Medical School, co-author of “Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity”
• Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the CBD
• Mr. Timothy Hodges, Co-chair of the Open-Ended Ad-Hoc Working Group on Access and Benefit Sharing, CBD

Plenary papers to be presented include:

“The Status of Biodiversity and Challenges in the ASEAN Region” by Prof. Peter Ng Kee Lin, Professor, Dept of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore

“Climate Change and Biodiversity: The 2007 IPCC Report on Biodiversity and recent updates” by Dr. Andreas Fischlin, Head, Terrestrial Systems Ecology ETH-Zentrum, Zurich
Member, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

“Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity-The ASEAN Region’s Contribution” by Dr. Haripriya Gundimeda and/or Dr. Georgina Langdale The Economics of Environment and Biodiversity (TEEB) Team, UNEP

“Access to Genetic Resources and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising out of their Utilization” by Dato’ Zakri A. Hamid, Director of Advanced Studies, United Nations University

“COP10 and Beyond” by Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Director, CBD Secretariat

More details on the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity website and download provisional programme (PDF) and registration form (WinWord doc).

Registration closes 18 September 2009

Cost: Registration fee S$75. Only 30 places are allocated for the Singapore public (inclusive of NGOs).
Contact: Register with wendy_yap@nparks.gov.sg (Tel: 64651688) or muslim_anshari_rahman@nparks.gov.sg (Tel: 64651679)

The biodiversity implications of climate change events are very grave and a whole suite of catastrophes have been predicted; from massive changes in ecosystems, die-offs of whole communities and mass extinctions of many plants and animals. This comes at a time when mankind is only beginning to realise that Earth’s biodiversity is not just more substantial than we have presumed, but far greater than anything we could have imagined. As scientists rush to discover and document new species and ecosystems, they find the ‘rug being pulled from under them’ due to man’s relentless changes to the environment! Nevertheless, the stark reality of the matter is that biodiversity and natural history will survive regardless of how humans mess up the planet. As the systems we know collapse and species die, new ones will replace them eventually – nature has a resilience that mankind always underestimates. The unpleasant question we need to ask instead is this: ‘Can humankind, as know it, survive climate change and how?’

More details about Prof. Peter Ng and the talk.

Light refreshments will be served after the talk.

Admission is free but registration is required. More details on the Department of Biological Sciences website.

Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: LT 31, Blk S16, National University of Singapore location map
Website and contact: http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/60anniversary/public_lectures.html

“Forty-two countries have confirmed their participation. They will send their naval chiefs of staff and some deputy chiefs of staff,” First Admiral Willem Rampangilei, commander of the Indonesian Navy`s Main Base VIII, said in a meeting on preparations for the Sail Bunaken 2009 here on Tuesday.

Sail Bunaken was aimed at building a sense of seamen`s brotherhood and enhancing international relations, he said.

“The event is to give a chance to the world to see the marine beauty of North Sulawesi, to develop the mariners` spirit, and to make North Sulawesi a gateway to East Asia,” he said.

Activities of “Sail Bunaken” will include “Indonesian Fleet Review 2009″ consisting of a sailing pass parade to be participated in by warships, traditional ships, state ships, tall ships, yachts, and open ships.

A yacht rally will also be organized by the marine affairs and fisheries ministry on the occasion.

“Up to May 26, 150 yachts have been registered for the Yacht Rally which will start from Darwin, Australia, to Bitung and Manado,” he said.

The warship parade will be participated in by among other things USS George Washington with around 5,000 crew members on board, and the US warship will be guarded by three frigates with respectively having 500 crew members on board.
The warships will arrive in Bitung starting August 12, 2009, he said.

The Sail Bunaken Festival will bring together around 7,000 to 8,000 sailors from all over the world.

“Ship crew members from all over the world will sail to Manado to visit the Bunaken marine park. Sail Bunaken will be greater than the Bunaken Festival which was held earlier,” North Sulawesi Governor Sinyo Sarundajang said earlier.

The sideline activities will include an international seminar on “Building a Comprehensive Maritime Security” to be organized by the Indonesian Navy, and another seminar on “Possible Benefit of the Effort to Minimize Illegal Fishing in the Region” to be organized by the Indonesian marine and fishery affairs ministry.

First published on Raffles Museum News

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim gets acquainted with the Hantu Blog at this year's Envirofest2009

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, got acquainted with the work of the Hantu Blog at this year’s Envirofest at Toa Payoh HDB Hub. Dr Ibrahim who’d visited the shores of Semakau was surprised to learn that there was life on tiny little Hantu Island.

In an attempt to gain some perspective of the island, Dr Ibrahim asked how big Pulau Hantu was compared to Pulau Semakau. Hantu’s diverse reefs are about 12 times smaller than Pulau Semakau, but as marine biologist and PhD candidate, Jeffrey Low said it, “It’s just like Singapore. Small but a lot of potential. Nice things come in small packages.” Neither of us could have said it better!

The Hantu Blog hopes that awareness about the potential of even small reefs in Singapore helps with the consideration of establishing a Blue Plan for marine areas in Singapore. Our reefs are nothing like the Great Barrier Reef, but it’s what we’ve got and it’s something good and worth preserving, as many visitors to Envirofest 2009 have agreed. Many kids were inspired to learn to dive or go for reef walks after learning that creatures like seahorses and butterfly fishes can be easily spotted on our reefs. They were also thrilled to hear of the existence of Dugongs and dolphins within our shores. Many people inquired about getting “out there” and seeing such unique sights for themselves. The truth is that these areas are not hard to access! Just pop by West Coast Pier of Marina South Pier and book yourself a return ferry ticket to any of our beautiful southern islands! We always recommend you go with a guide however, to get the best experience! Open up your eyes and let nature surprise you!

With several thousand visitors at the Envirofest 2009 this weekend, it’s apparent that the heartlands is the place to be for educational outreach work! Many kids and adults walked away learning about corals and reefs and why they are important to our environment.

Interesting questions that arose were: What’s a snapper? What are sponges? Are corals plants? Is there anything to see at Pulau Hantu? How do we get there? Why are all [the marine groups] doing different projects instead of working on the same project?…

All very interesting and good questions, and they were all fed with good answers! Visitors walked away enlightened and some of them even walked away with free trips to Pulau Hantu and other islands of interest around Singapore in a bid to learn more about our natural heritage!

It was tough to work alone at the booth but thankfully, volunteers form Naked Hermit Crabs and Team Seagrass were ever kind to lend some of their time to assist me when the crowds began to throng in! Thanks to Lay Kun and Anu (NHC), Dinesh (Team Seagrass), Chay Hoon and Jimmy for helping out! We also shared resources – everything form scissors to velcro, drinks to pencils and even FANS! Yes, the heat at the event was extraordinary and it was affecting the attention span of both volunteers and visitors to the booths! So the fans were a very welcome addition to our booths!

Thanks also to Wenhua for her tenacity! Without which this event wouldn’t have happened! The National Junior College students did a great job keeping everything organised and getting all the groups comfortably in place, and more importantly for working so hard with the endless crowds that kept coming in to check out the booths!

A lady who came by the Hantu Blog booth shared that she was exceptionally “proud of today’s youths” and that she was “inspired by the hard work of the volunteers who despite their busy schedules make time for their passion and good work”. Comments like these make the effort and exhaustion all worth while! See you at next years Envirofest then!

The Hantu Blogs interactive word search puzzles were a huge hit with kids and adults alike! Despite the hot and humid weather, shoppers and browsers stopped by the many booths at the Envirofest 2009 at Toa Payoh HDB Hub to work their way through quizzes for a chance at a lucky dip that could win them anything from a free poster on tropical rainforests to a guided tour of the intertidal reefs of Sentosa!

The theme of this year’s Envirofest was “Family” and it certainly seemed like alot of parents, grandparents and kids, came down to learn about everything under the sun!

The integrated trail at this year’s event, meant visitors got to learn everything from the sea to the shore, mangroves, fresh water systems and rainforests! I was eager to see how the plan would pan out and boy was it an exciting layout!

There was lots of getting up close and personal to the animals that call Singapore home thanks to wonderfully preserved animals loaned from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. Alot of the animals showcased are either rare or endangered so without the help of the museum, ordinary folk wouldn’t have the chance to see in detail and in some cases even feel the texture of these unique and wild animals that need our help to survive!

Staff from Nparks were also busy telling stories of each of the animals on display at their booth. Visitors also got to learn about the different types of plants that we use on a regular basis (in our food and culture) that originate from the forests! Some visitors even asked if they could buy the exhibits on display for cooking or taking home!

Being at Toa Payoh HDB Hub was great and important because we got to meet the people in the heartlands, where most Singaporeans reside, and bring wild Singapore to them! Several of them had not heard about reefs and it was important for them to learn of their existence and how it is important for us to protect them.

Though the Hantu Blog’s main activity is diving, these educational roadshows are integral and purposeful to its work. These roadshows are one of the primary reasons why we dive Hantu on a regular basis and collect data – so it can be shared with the public!

It was a learning experience to meet with the members of the public who will one day make a choice to either save or lose our reefs. We’ve got alot of work to do! Another long day tomorrow!

The Hantu Blog will be at this year’s Envirofest at Toa Payoh HDB Hub!

If you’ve always wanted to see what Hantu is like or learn a little more about local marine life, join us at the festival this month! There’ll also be games and quizzes you can put your wits to for a little something special in return!

Our volunteers will also be at our booth to give you a first hand account of what diving in our low visibility but highly diverse local waters is like!

See you there!

Time: 6:30pm – 10:00pm

Venue:  TBC

Richard Willan will be in Singapore on the 14th of February 2009. Willan will share his experience of working with nudibranches and help us understand better the lives of these small and alluring creatures. For nudibranch fanatics in Singapore this a chance not to be missed.

RSVP necessary as space is limited. Join the Facebook Event to receive updates.

About Richard Willan

Dr. Richard C. Willan has been studying nudibranchs for almost 40 years. He obtained his B.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Auckland studying the taxonomy and ecology of side-gilled sea slugs and sea hares. He then crossed the “ditch” as the Tasman Sea is popularly called to join the staff of the Zoology Department at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. After 12 years there, he moved into the tropics to take up the Curatorship in Molluscs at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin. He is a keen and still active diver. His research deals with the names (nomenclature), relationships (taxonomy) and evolutionary lineages (phylogeny) of nudibranchs (and other opisthobranchs – like bubble snails, sea hares, sap suckers and side-gilled sea slugs). He has published four books and numerous scientific papers on nudibranchs. Most recently he wrote the book “Undersea Jewels: A Colour Guide to Nudibranchs” with Gary Cobb. He has prepared several applications on the names of nudibranchs to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. He has supervised several postgraduate students working on research projects associated with nudibranchs.

Things got off to a windy start when we arrived at the Volvo Ocean Race Village at Sentosa Cove to set up our tables. Boards, posters, and flyers were literally taking off in the strong gusts that funnelled through the venue in the late morning. But with lots of BluTac and paper clips, exhibitors managed to hold down their exhibits in preparation for the crowds that were going to turn up!

But the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) Toddycats seemed to have less of a problem with the wind. Once again, stunning the crowd with their curiously preserved animals. Nothing fazes them! Have specimen, will triumph!

Exhibitors employed various ways to draw crowds to their booths. Students and adults took to the fun and easy games at the Naked Hermit Crab booth.

The NParks Coral Nursery with their little coral tank bubbling with live coral, also made for an intriguing exhibit!

I was blessed to have Marcus fill in some time for me while I took a break from the booth (that is, running around to document the event!). Marcus is usually found at nature events masquerading as a photographer but is in actuality a die hard nature activities volunteer. He was cameoing at all the different booths throughout the day, dropping in a word or two to the public about Singapore’s submerged wild places!

Thanks to the Singapore Scouts Association for organising the Race to Save the Environment event!

On Tuesday, The Hantu Blog had the pleasure of being invited by Singapore American School (SAS) teacher and PADI Instructor, Jim Diebley, to give a talk about marine conservation and the biodiversity of local waters.

Diebley learnt about our talk “Southern Haunt” (developed to commemorate the IYOR) when his student and Hantu Blog diver Lisa Paggeot, who joined the Blog for 2 of our dives this year, recommended we share some local knowledge of our reef with the staff and students of SAS.

I had the priviledge of being introduced before my talk by the precocious and enthusiastic 14 year-old Lisa, who has logged over 100 dives across 4 countries! Lisa, who’s contributed images of nudibranchs to Neville Coleman’s book 1001 Nudibranchs, has ambitions of becoming a nudibranch taxonomist when she grows up – a very specific career choice for most students her age! With her energy, experience, and enthusiasim, Lisa and her father Bruce have been working on the possibility of developing a tv series for the young diver to document her advantures and communicate her love for the ocean.

Members of the audience commented that despite being in Singapore for over a decade, they’d never heard talks about diving at Pulau Hantu and the diversity of Singapore’s marine life. We also discussed briefly about the future of Singapore’s reef – if it’s future is secured by existing policies or if more effort is needed by both grassroots and government organisations to safeguard it’s future. Diebley, who’s been working in Singapore for several decades indicated that is it important Sinagpore finds a means to preserve its historical and natural heritage by heightening the access and recognition of people and places of value to Singaporeans and its expat community.

More about Lisa Paggeot

Email us at hantublog @ gmail.com if you’d like us to give a talk to your school, office or club.

The Hantu Blog lent its support to local marine group Cyrene Star Trackers by adopting a knobbly seastar at this year’s IYOR Reef Celebrations at the Botanical Gardens

Debby the Hantu Blogger picks out Bibi the seastar from the Star Trackers adoption board

The Hantu Blog believes that the marine protection movement is a dynamic one, and it takes all sorts of groups and individuals working within unique systems in the environment and society, to ensure a holistic approach towards conservation. We believe that support and understanding between local NGOs is an essential lubricant for direct or indirect collaborative effort. Whether you’re walking on the reef with the Blue Water Volunteers, doing Reef Checks with Reef Friends, volunteering with groups like Team Seagrass, Naked Hermit Crabs, or The Raffles Museum Toddycats, your work is essentially a cog in the system that keeps the whole engine that is the environmental protection framework, moving tirelessly forward and engaging every sector of society, and recognising every individuals unique skills, purpose and interests.

The Hantu Blog named it’s seastar Bibi, which is short for the Arabic word “Habibi” meaning beloved or darling. The name also has a Farsi and Persian origin, meaning “lady of the house”. A name that is both assertive and compassionate; a trait of many of our volunteers in Singapore, and around the world that dedicate their lives towards protecting the world and all its inhabitants.

To adopt your own Cyrene Seastar visit startrackers.blogspot.com