Conservation work still the focus of former president of Singapore’s Nature Society

SINGAPORE – Amid the hustle and bustle of urban Ang Mo Kio are remnants of secondary forests and rubber plantations nestled in Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West opposite Ang Mo Kio Public Library.

This is an example of how nature is growing closer to where the majority of the Singapore population live, said Dr Shawn Lum, the former president of Nature Society (Singapore), or NSS.

“There are thousands who would go to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, or Sungei Buloh Wetlands, but there are many more who possibly would not do that. And urban parks (like the one in Ang Mo Kio) are near where people live, allowing them to get in touch with nature,” he said.

For the 60-year-old botanist, the natural world is both work and play. He teaches plant diversity, forest ecology and conservation as a senior lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment. 

Outside of work, he spends most of his time at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, or is involved in discussions with the authorities about conservation issues in developments.

He was president of NSS for 15 years, before handing the reins to Dr Yeo Seng Beng, a medical doctor elected on May 13, 2023. 

During Dr Lum’s tenure as president of the oldest non-governmental organisation in Singapore, he had witnessed the involvement of nature groups in the greening of the Rail Corridor and the development of the Cross Island MRT Line (CRL) that had raised strong concerns from nature groups with its original proposal to cut through the central catchment area.  

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) had to engage nature groups for the first time ever in 2013 on strong concerns that Singapore’s nature would be adversely impacted, as the Central Catchment Nature Reserve is home to a rich variety of plant and animal species unique to Singapore.

In addition, less than 0.5 per cent of the Republic’s original forests remain, and they are mostly found in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. 

The

engagement of green groups in the development of the CRL

was particularly interesting compared with past cases where the green groups worked closely with agencies on issues from behind the scenes.

Said Dr Lum: “Engagement helped redefine some of the ways that we used to do this kind of discourse, trying to work together to get an acceptable outcome, balancing development, nature and the community.”

There were previous instances where, without clear engagement from the authorities, people had resorted to writing letters to a newspaper’s forum editor. And sometimes, the stand-off played out very publicly in the media, recalled Dr Lum. 

“I used to be asked this question: Do we argue pro-nature or pro-development? Which is kind of a false dichotomy, because it is not a case of one or the other, but how to accommodate both, or what’s the best way to accommodate heavier development while allowing nature to thrive,” he said.

Thanks to higher awareness, nature conservation has grown over the past two decades to become more mainstream – and that has helped create a middle ground in land-scarce Singapore.  

“There are still people who really feel very strongly that nature is sacrosanct, and we must preserve it at all costs – I do respect this view.

“But I think given the constraints and the pressures on land use from every direction, I think this idea of trying to search for a good solution is maybe the only viable way forward. Otherwise, we just get this stand-off and antagonise everybody all around. It’s just not productive,” he added.

Nature can be found in the most surprising of places, said Dr Lum. For example, while Keppel Marina is crawling with yachts, its underwater world can be quite surprising. 

“You can see reef animals, fish and sometimes endangered turtles in that area,” he said. “If you take care of the environment and keep it clean, some form of nature will be able to not just live, but thrive.”

But he was quick to add: “There’s a much, much bigger component of our wild, native wildlife and plant life that really requires undisturbed forests, habitats, like mangroves, coral reefs. They would never just come into the urban areas.”

And because not all of Singapore’s natural world is “urban nature”, different indicators should be used when deciding on conservation, said Dr Lum, who obtained his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley. 

Despite having retired as NSS president, Dr Lum is still active in the society and hopes to work more with young activists.

“Today, with younger conservation leaders having grown up with conservation almost as a given, I hope to keep the stories of the pioneering conservationists alive.” 

But he insists he is no true pioneer in nature conservation, where activists felt that they had to choose only one side of the conservation divide in the 1970s and 1980s, when nature sites rapidly made way for economic development.  

Another aspect of nature conservation activism that Dr Lum hopes to continue in NSS is international partnerships akin to that with BirdLife International. Headquartered in Britain, BirdLife International is the world’s largest international partnership for nature conservation, with regional offices in several countries. NSS has been its Singapore partner since the 1990s. 

“Singapore has so much talent, whether that’s in media and communications or education or science, in all kinds of different sciences, from engineering to food science. All these different skills that could contribute to making biodiversity globally more secure,” he said.  

“Nature is in deep trouble. We have a biodiversity crisis. And so it’s kind of almost as if you live in this neighborhood, you worked so hard to make your house clean and nice, well-kept, but then the neighbourhood is kind of falling apart.”

Dr Lum’s top 5 green spots in Singapore 

1. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

This forest fragment has withstood two centuries of human impact, and is home to Singapore’s largest remnant of old forest growth. It is also probably where I’ve spent the most of my time. 

2. Parts of MacRitchie Nature Trail

They are some of the most beautiful remnants of forest, and next to them are forests that are regenerating – so it’s interesting to see the contrast.

3. Upper Seletar Reservoir Park

You can find various forest types here, including a swamp forest which is a very rare type of vegetation. The fringe of the great Nee Soon freshwater swamp system is also located here.

4. Chek Jawa Wetlands

It was an early experience of activism in nature conservation for me. Even though I did not lead this campaign, seeing this special place being saved was exciting. 

5. Labrador Nature Reserve

It’s got the best remaining reefs and seagrass in Singapore. This last piece of natural rocky shore is also one of the first places that one of my most important mentors, Professor Leo Tan, the founding dean of science at the National Institute of Education, had dedicated most of his professional life to saving.