Govt to map coastal habitats after Western Island announcement

Two days after the announcement of Western Island, NParks issued a tender for a 15-month mapping of reefs, seagrasses and mangroves through high-res satellite images. "The map will quantify any changes to the habitats since 2018, supporting sea space and conservation planning across Singapore. As with previous mapping efforts, the geospatial dataset from this study will be made publicly available."

Huang Danwei, deputy head of the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, said the results from the study will be critical for mitigating the impacts of ongoing coastal development projects and planning upcoming projects.

Marine biologist Ow Yanxiang, senior research fellow at the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory said: “Our coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves forests have survived our nation’s many years of growth and development, so can we engineer ways to build our future with nature, instead of over it?”

Orang Laut SG, an initiative to preserve the maritime heritage of islanders living on Pulau Semakau, has called for cultural and social impacts to be considered, as well as continued access to the surviving islands, coral reefs and coastal waters. “Environmental assessments alone cannot account for the loss of heritage, community access, livelihoods, traditional knowledge and relationships with the sea.”

Nature guiding workshop with Republic Poly (Sep 2026)

For the first time in 10 years, I am starting nature guiding workshops again. Because our Mother Shores needs guides to bring more people to see her and her babies on the mainland! 

Thanks to Republic Poly for hosting the first one. And the more than 30 students and friends of the Poly who made time to attend! Special thanks for the awesome turnout by youth advocates and survey team members to support as facilitators. And everyone for contributing ideas and good humour to make it a fun workshop.

I hope to do more workshops soon, and meet more people who love our shores!

Cyrene in the dark

Although Cyrene lies in the middle of an industrial triangle, it still has some of Singapore's most amazing shores. A very large team surveys on a predawn low tide.

It was a relief to see that the Knobbly sea stars seem to have recovered from the mysterious injuries we saw in Feb 2026. The corals seem to be alright. Although most of the centre was bare sand, there is still lush seagrasses near the beacon area. But we sense the shore remains rather quiet. The rest of the team saw giant clams and other interesting marine life.  I will update when they have uploaded their photos.

Western Island: Govt will study Mother Shores and listen to stakeholders

Ministry of National Development (MND) told The Straits Times: “As part of the planning process, the Government will be conducting technical studies to inform the development plans, including the reclamation profile. These studies include feasibility studies, site investigations and surveys, as well as engineering and environmental studies, to better understand the various development possibilities and their preliminary impact on areas like biodiversity and hydrodynamics.”

Eleven scientists and nature groups spoke to ST. They stressed the need for comprehensive studies and public consultation before reclamation begins because they believe the works will cause irreversible loss to the mature habitats in the area.

MND said that stakeholders will be engaged to listen to their inputs before studies and work commence, with their feedback carefully considered. “Their knowledge and expertise will help inform the studies, assess potential biodiversity impact and identify measures to avoid, minimise and mitigate impacts where possible.”

Share YOUR views on REACH until 3 Sep. REACH would like to hear your views on the PM's National Day Rally Speech. Your views are important to us. It will help us understand what matters most to you, so that we can prioritise these as we work together to shape a better future for Singapore. 

New 'Western Island' to merge all southern reefs

A new 'Western Island' to be created 'in the coming decades' merging Pulau Semakau, Pulau Bukom, Pulau Sudong and possibly Pulau Hantu, Pulau Jong and Pulau Sebarok. 

A new link will also be built to connect Jurong Island to the new western island. These long-term plans are being studied carefully, said PM Wong. 

Beting Bemban Besar after the storm

A small team head through the storm to survey this humungous submerged reef near the ongoing reclamation at Pulau Sudong. 

Photo by Richard Kuah

They make all kinds of special finds including Knobbly sea stars and many colourful marinelife commonly seen on our reefs. The corals and seagrasses seem alright. I had to skip this survey to attend another advocacy event. So much thanks to Richard for making sure the team was safe.