Figure 1: Our group doing water sampling using the HORIBA water quality meter. (Photo Credit: Gretchen Coffman, 9 Sept 2023.)
Imagine aliens encroaching on your house, slowly taking away pieces of it, leaving you with only a small area to live in. That’s how I would imagine mangrove forests to feel, with less than 5% of the original mangrove forests found in the early 1800s still remaining in Singapore. Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (SBWR) is one of these areas of mangroves and is the largest patch of mangrove area in mainland Singapore. While we are still fortunate enough to see these mangrove ecosystems in Singapore, people should visit SBWR before climate change and developments potentially decimate these forests.