In 100 years, Singapore grew from a small colonial port into one of the world’s most well-developed and modern cities. But, what did this transformation cost? Although we claim to be a “garden” city, many of our original forests, wetlands and mangroves have already been destroyed. A few weeks ago, I visited the Keppel Discovery Wetland in Singapore Botanical Garden (SBG), the last refuge for Singapore’s endangered freshwater wetland species. The field trip was part of NUS GE4224 Applied Biogeography module.
Through this blog, I would like to share with you the importance of the Keppel Discovery Wetland and why you should visit this magical site.
The Keppel Discovery Wetland (see Figure 1) is a 1.8-hectare active restoration project where the physical landscape and plant species were specially curated to closely resemble the original wetland ecosystem in the area. This project is one of the last swamp forest wetland habits in Singapore. The majority of this habitat has been removed or is highly inaccessible to the public. Therefore, this restored wetland and its trails/boardwalks provide visitors with a convenient way to experience this rare ecosystem and to appreciate the disappearing Orchids and Wetland tree species.
Figure 1: Map of Keppel Discovery Wetlands
(Source: National Parks, 2017b)
In the Keppel Discovery Wetlands, there is a variety of endangered and nationally extinct Orchids that are grown in their natural state. This includes the Deer Antlered Phalaenopsis (extinct in Singapore), Finlayson’s Cymbidium (critically endangered in Singapore) and many other rare Orchids. During the trip, I got to see the world’s largest and oldest Tiger Orchid, which is believed to be planted in SBG back in 1861. The Orchid Islands area represents an important ex-situ conservation, where species are conserved outside of their natural habits, to prevent the species from going completely extinct.
Figure 2: Tiger Orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum) is a native Orchid that is presumed nationally extinct in the wild
(Source: Joel Ng, 2022)
Figure 3: Deer Antlered Phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis cornu-cervi) is a native orchid that is presumed nationally extinct in the wild
(Source: Singapore Botanical Gardens)
Apart from Orchids, the restored wetland also conserved a variety of freshwater swamp tree species that are almost extinct in the wild. For example, the wetland contains a 160-year-old Marsh Pulai that is critically endangered in the wild due to the loss of freshwater swamps in Singapore. Other protected species include the Ridley’s Staghorn Fern and Alstonia spatulata which are both critically endangered in Singapore.
Figure 4 : Marsh Pulai (Alstonia Pneumatophora) is a native tree in Singapore and is considered critically endangered
(Source: National Parks, 2021)
On top of the conservation of endangered species, the SBG also plays a key role in restoration. The seeds from many conserved orchids, like the Tiger Orchid (nationally extinct in the wild) were harvested, cultivated and then re-introduced into the wild. Such restoration is especially important given that 90% of Singapore’s native orchid species are already endangered or extinct in the wild. This provides hope that we may someday view these species back in the wild.
Through this field trip, I realized that the Singapore Botanical Garden is much more than a tourist attraction and a nature reserve. The Botanical Gardens is more like a time capsule for Singapore’s plants, preserving species from the past that would have otherwise gone extinct. These conserved species can then be bred and reintroduced into the wild for future generations to appreciate.
Written by Joel Ng Jing Long
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