Speech by MOS Alvin Tan at The Festival of Biodiversity

Introduction

Good morning. Welcome to the 15th edition of the Festival of Biodiversity (FoB). This year we celebrate 15 years, and 15 years is a big achievement for us in FoB.

We started FoB in 2012 to raise awareness about Singapore's rich flora and fauna and inspire the public to play a part in conserving it. Well, this is our 15th year, but 14 years ago, FoB started here, and we were trying to raise the level of understanding about biodiversity and conserving our green and blue spaces.

Updated Nature Conservation Masterplan

Building on this spirit of collaboration, I'm pleased to launch the updated Nature Conservation Masterplan (NCMP).

Now, since we launched the NCMP in 2015, this NCMP has been a roadmap. It's been a north star for how we conserve our biodiversity as we transform into a City in Nature.

This updated NCMP is the result of our nature groups and our community working together to better profile Singapore's evolving priorities and expanded conservation efforts over the past decade, and I wanted to specifically focus on three key updates to the updated NCMP

The first is, beyond conserving key habitats, we will place greater emphasis on enhancing ecological connectivity between these spaces, so that animals can connect and travel between spaces. It enables species to travel between spaces and ensures their long-term persistence.

Second part of the updated NCMP is that we will distinguish between conservation initiatives at the ecosystem level, such as restoring our forests and coral reefs, and then also distinguish it at the species level, such as monitoring and managing threatened species. Now these are two very distinct approaches, but we need both approaches to better support our flora and fauna.

The third part of the updated NCMP is community stewardship and outreach, as well as science and technology. These are now reflected as horizontal thrusts because they undergird our biodiversity conservation initiatives.

Now, a good example of how this works is the recent study on leopard cats in the Changi area conducted by the Singapore Wildcat Action Group, or SWAG. Vilma and the team are here. Vilma, I said last night I was watching your very interesting video, because of how you use your camera traps to capture the presence of leopard cats in the area, and how you use the data that you collect to inform how you safeguard their health and welfare. So, I thank Dr Vilma D'Rozario and the SWAG team for their dedication on this project.

I want also to thank our nature community partners, who continue to work together with NParks to support the NCMP, and you can catch highlights of the updated NCMP at the Festival, or view the full masterplan on the new BiodiversitySG website

Youth-Led Initiatives

Now, earlier on this morning, many of the groups we met had talked about one key thing, and one key question is, how do we encourage our children, our youths, to carry on this very sacred activity of stewarding our green and blue spaces? And so I'm glad that our youth continue to take centre stage at this year's Festival.

Now, FoB's Youth Planning Committee, formed under our Youth Stewards for Nature programme, has been instrumental in shaping this year's festival alongside our nature group partners.

NParks has also worked with the Youth Corps Singapore's Sustainability Cluster on a wildlife photography initiative called "A Shot at Nature", which encourages young Singaporeans to document and celebrate our nature heritage. The winning photographs are on display at FoB.

If you are a youth and you are keen on biodiversity conservation and the biodiversity conservation sector, please join our Human Library career exploration session, organised under our National Youth Council's Job Tasters programme, which is happening tomorrow at FoB. So please join our sessions.

Tropical Forest Ecology Research Findings

I also wanted to share some exciting updates from our local tropical forest ecology research field.

Now, to better understand our forests and coordinate forest-related research projects in Singapore, NParks launched the Tropical Forest Ecology Research Programme (TFER Programme) in 2021.

Now, the TFER Programme has yielded significant findings that deepen our understanding of Singapore's forests and it will guide how we manage and protect our forests. Please allow me to share two key highlights.

The first is that researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum have worked with NParks to complete the largest survey of flying insects in Singapore's forests. Now, you may wonder why flying insects, because while small in stature, insects form the foundation of healthy forest ecosystems, serving as food sources and pollinators.

Using DNA analysis, the study detected around 140,000 distinct genetic signatures from insects, revealing the vast species diversity in our tropical forests, with many species yet to be formally named or described by scientists. At a time when insect populations are declining globally, these findings are hopeful reminders of the richness of our tropical forests.

Secondly, a pioneering 18-month NUS study supported by NParks has established Singapore's first plant-frugivore interaction network to map relationships between fruiting trees and the animals that feed on these fruits.

Now, the study recorded over 1,000 interactions between these fruit-eating animals and forest trees, and found that common fruit-eating animals like the Olive-winged Bulbul play key roles in seed dispersal and natural forest regeneration.

Now, this study also found that key food tree species, such as Medang and Common Kelat, support threatened species such the locally Vulnerable Red-crowned Barbet.

Together, these findings reveal the intricate web of relationships that sustains our forests and long-term research like this can help us truly understand these interdependencies and best protect our forest ecosystems.

TFER Grants and Fellowship Scheme

Now, it is with this in mind that we continue to invest in forest ecology research. In January, we launched the Grants and Fellowship Scheme under the TFER Programme.

On top of NParks' existing support, which includes providing research expertise, this scheme offers up to $100,000 in funding for each selected project, and supports early career researchers in tropical forest ecology.

Now, we have completed the first grant call earlier this year, and we welcome interested researchers and corporate sponsors to come onboard for future grant calls. Your partnership will help us advance our understanding of Singapore's forests and contributing to local and regional conservation efforts.

National Institute for Marine and Ocean Sciences

But beyond our forests, our green spaces, Singapore's coastal and marine habitats are also important and rich ecosystems.

In my Committee of Supply speech earlier in Parliament this year, I announced NParks' plans to establish a new marine science research centre of excellence in partnership with NUS. Now, this centre will anchor and advance our marine science capabilities.

I am thus pleased to announce today we will formally name the centre the National Institute for Marine and Ocean Sciences, or NIMOS. Congratulations to NIMOS. Now, so what will NIMOS do? NIMOS will bring together expertise from government, academia, and the wider research community to deepen our understanding of our blue spaces, and also to develop a robust pipeline of local talent to grow our marine science ecosystem. We will share more about NIMOS later this year.

Acknowledging Key Donors

Now, all of these are not possible without all of our partners, our community groups, but also our key donors.

So, I wanted to thank Delta Electronics and the GSK-EDB Trust Fund, for supporting initiatives such as our 100k Corals Initiative and the Second Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey, or CMBS 2, which help us conserve our rich coral diversity and learn about the marine life in our waters.

Tribute to the Late Cheryl Chia

This morning, we are missing a very special person, and that very special person is our colleague, the late Cheryl Chia. Last year, in my first FoB, Cheryl brought me around, and I remember her great energy in her baby, which is the FoB. Cheryl dedicated 30 years of her life to NParks. She played a pivotal role in growing the Festival of Biodiversity into what we see today. In growing FoB and advancing our Community in Nature efforts, bringing people closer to Singapore's natural heritage. Cheryl was also deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of environmental stewards through initiatives such as the Biodiversity Friends Forum and Youth Stewards for Nature. So, my dear friends, we remember our dear friend Cheryl for her passion, leadership, and lasting contributions to our conservation journey.

Conclusion

But allow me to conclude. Today, we have seen what is possible when government, researchers and community groups come together around a shared purpose. We've seen together what happens when people come together, passionate about our green spaces, about our blue spaces, and about our biodiversity. FoB reminds us how far we have come, but also much more we need to do, and the work is ahead of us.

So I wish everyone an enjoyable and inspiring Festival of Biodiversity. Thank you very much for all your contributions.