Singapore's second marine park: past, present and future

Plans for Singapore's second national Marine Park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef were announced on 9 May 2024.

Overlooking the Central Business District,
the rich reef edge of Kusu Island can be seen at the lowest tides.

Kusu Island indeed has some of the best reefs that the public can visit. While Lazarus Island has one of our largest coastal forests on natural cliffs and rocky shores. Here's a look at the islands' past, present and future.

Past 

It is great to know that we are protecting the very last remaining reefs, forests and shores on these islands. The rich reefs of Kusu Island of today are slivers of massive reef flats that were reclaimed less than one human lifetime, 50 years ago. Similar reclamation took place on the Sisters Islands, our first marine park. From the Historical maps of Singapore by NUS Libraries, even as late as 1975, the reefs of Kusu Island and Sisters Islands and other Southern Islands were still untouched. Seringat and Kias reef flats were still separate submerged reefs.

Kusu Island was in fact originally a tiny outcrop where the temple now is. And during the annual Kusu Island pilgrimage, devotees would land by sampan. As captured by this iconic photo by Ivan Polunin, from "Once upon an island: A rare peek into our past" Scenes of old Singapore through the lens of the late naturalist Ivan Polunin. Wallace Woon, Straits Times 20 Sep 2023.

Today, all these vast reef flats have been reclaimed, leaving very narrow margins outside the seawall that can only be accessed by non-divers at the very lowest tides. Check out the Historical maps of Singapore by NUS Libraries site where you can actually overlay the various maps over time and use a slider to see the changes.

It is good to cherish and protect what we have left. Also heartening to know that the heritage of these islands will also be incorporated into the new marine park. In  his announcement, Minister Desmond mentioned "We will be working with heritage experts and the heritage community because on Pulau Sekijang Pelepah which is Lazarus Island, there is a lot of history, both of the Orang Pulau, Orang Laut, Islander history, and also the history of Colonial Singapore – where we had ammunition dumps on the island as well. All in, a multi-textured, many-layered marine park – marine, terrestrial, but also heritage." More about this history in the links at the end of this blog post.

From "S'pore planning 2nd marine park at Lazarus & Kusu islands" 
Ashley Tan, Mothership 9 May 2024

Present

How did we get here? Lots of studies and submissions of feedback by the marine community to agencies. As well as studies by NParks. In his announcement, Minister Desmond mentioned 3 important studies that led to the second marine park. Here in chronological order are the studies:

Singapore Blue Plan 2018

In 2018, as Minister Desmond said, "our marine community came up with the Blue Plan, a very major piece of work that pulled together a large body of knowledge, and lots of experience, lots of energy and enthusiasm, and lots of data and science. We had lots of very good recommendations in there."

Kusu Reef area designated for the second marine park
is just minutes away from the Central Business District.

Among the Singapore Blue Plan 2018's many recommendation: "The cluster of Kusu, Lazarus and St. John's Islands is recommended for elevated protection status. The Blue Plan highlights that Lazarus, St. John’s, and Kusu Islands are established sites for coral nurseries as their shoreline offers ideal sheltered areas for growth of corals. Designating these islands as No-fishing Areas can bolster their rehabilitation. Protecting a larger cluster of islands means zonation plans for use can be implemented to manage tourism and human impacts."

Lazarus Island's natural coastal forest, cliffs and rocky shores
are among the largest that remain relatively untouched.

The Blue Plan is a ground-up initiative that presents the vision of the marine community in Singapore. The Singapore Blue Plan 2018, published by SIBiol, is led by marine biologists, and prepared with the broad inclusion of marine scientists, stakeholders and members of the public. Altogether, there are more than 100 contributors to this document.

Horizon Scan by SJI National Marine Lab

In 2020, the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory conducted a study Beyond the Horizon: The Future of St. John's Island Complex, surveying the public as well as industry, agency and scientist views. The study highlights that with mindful planning, the the St. John's Island Complex (SJI-C) can be transformed into a hub for eco-innovation, research, education and conservation. And proposed this map of the proposed zoning for land and sea space use of the SJI-C - red dotted outline as conservation zones.

Ecological Profiling Exercise

In 2022, as mentioned by Minister Desmond, "NParks completed the Ecological Profiling Exercise (EPE), on land and in our marine areas. And the key is to understand which is the important and biodiverse areas in Singapore, both on land and in our waters. We also wanted to identify ecological connectivity between our biodiversity hotspots, because that will allow flora and fauna to disperse and to traverse respectively. The southern islands are rich in biodiversity – coral and other species. The EPE identified the Southern part of Lazarus Island, or Lazarus South, as well as the coral reefs on Kusu Island as being especially rich in coral biodiversity, and so today, we plan to designate our second national Marine Park – Lazarus South, as well as Kusu Reef." More about Ecological Profiling Exercise (EPE) in "Singapore to have 4 new eco-corridors; Lower Seletar Reservoir Park to be expanded"Ng Keng Gene, Straits Times 7 Jun 2022. 

According to media articles, NParks highlights that  the eastern foreshore area of Lazarus South and Kusu Reef have "exceptionally high biodiversity". Studies showed that the reefs at Lazarus Island are a sink for coral larvae from the Sisters' Islands. Meanwhile, the reefs at Kusu Island are "extensive and well-consolidated", and are a good substrate for coral transplantation and restoration efforts. As such, they can act as a source of coral larvae, and can help seed and restore other reefs in the southern waters as well. The Southern Islands' coral reefs and rocky shores are also crucial to maintaining habitat connectivity between the East and West Johor Straits.

Rich reefs of Kusu Island seen during our survey in Sep 2023.

While Lazarus island has one of the few remaining natural rocky shores in Singapore, as well as one of the largest tracts of native-dominated mature secondary coastal forests in the Southern Islands, with some rare plant species.

Living coastal forest and rocky shores of Lazarus Island seen on our survey of Jan 2024.

From our regular surveys, the artificial shores are also very much alive. These shores were created by burying the two reef flats of Seringat and Kias, and joining them to Lazarus Island to form a huge artificial lagoon dubbed 'Eagle Bay' by the many yachts that anchor here.

The big lagoon is now filled with seagrasses and sea turtles are often spotted here. Some of our sightings on our last survey here in Jan 2024.

While in the tiny artifical lagoon facing the mainland there has been natural settlement of mangroves, including some rare species. Here's what I saw in Nov 2020 and Nov 2014 - time to revisit it soon! 

From Bay of Marinas: rare mangroves in secret lagoon! Nov 2020

Future

Minister Desmond mentions "In terms of next steps, we will be working very closely with the nature community, and working closely with experts and researchers to do a more detailed study, so that we can delineate the boundaries of this second marine park."

Kusu Island is ringed by corals
even in the area outside the designated marine park.

Media reports mention that to further study and determine the boundaries of the proposed marine park, NParks will work closely with URA and stakeholders such as the Friends of Marine Park, a community which includes divers, anglers, boat owners and academics, as well as government agencies, in the second half of 2024. The boundaries of the marine park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef are slated to be finalised in 2025.

Let's hope we can together create a marine park that everyone can enjoy and appreciate.

References

Full Speech by Minister Desmond Lee on plans to designate a new Marine Park at Lazarus South-Kusu Reef, 9 May 2024 from the Ministry of National Development websiteMinistry of National Development website.

Thank you for joining me. We are here in the Southern Islands, specifically on Lazarus Island.

10 years ago, in 2014, we announced the designation of our first national Marine Park, Sisters’ Island Marine Park. That was significant because, as you know, Singapore is a small island, with limited land, but we also have limited sea space.

Our waters are one of the busiest waterways in the world, serving one of the busiest international ports in the world. There are many demands on our waters – for commerce, shipping, industry, food and aquaculture, for research, recreation, fishing, outdoor, nature, and adventure activities.

But also, our waters are rich in marine biodiversity. We have about a third of the world’s hard coral species, and lots of other marine life in our waters. So precious waters, heavily used, and therefore, just as we master plan very carefully for our mainland, we also have to plan very carefully for our waters. Therefore, when we do our Draft Master Plan and our Long-Term Plan, we also plan for our waters.

In 2022, when colleagues undertook and completed the Ecological Profiling Exercise (EPE), this was carried out on land and in our marine areas.

And the key is to understand which is the important and biodiverse areas in Singapore, both on land and in our waters. We also wanted to identify ecological connectivity between our biodiversity hotspots, because that will allow flora and fauna to disperse and to traverse respectively.

The southern islands are rich in biodiversity – coral and other species. The EPE identified the Southern part of Lazarus Island, or Lazarus South, as well as the coral reefs on Kusu Island as being especially rich in coral biodiversity, and so today, we plan to designate our second national Marine Park – Lazarus South, as well as Kusu Reef.

This would include the foreshores which contain coral reef in the Northern and Eastern parts of Kusu Island, as well as the Eastern Part of Lazarus Island South.

But this national Marine Park will also encompass terrestrial land as well. Lazarus Island South contains one of the few remaining rocky shore habitats in Singapore, as well as a very significant native-dominated mature secondary coastal forest, with some rare tree species.

Therefore, we thought it is important, the science, the data tells us that it is important, to protect and conserve these areas, and we intend to designate Lazarus South Island as well as Kusu Reefs, as our second national Marine Park.

All this is work in progress, and work started many years ago. In 2014, we designated out first national Marine Park, Sisters’ Island.

In 2018 our marine community came up with the Blue Plan, a very major piece of work that pulled together a large body of knowledge, and lots of experience, lots of energy and enthusiasm, and lots of data and science. We had lots of very good recommendations in there.

In 2020, the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory did a horizon scan around St John’s Island and they too felt that the areas that we are talking about today are important biodiversity areas.

In 2023, we announced the enhancement of Plant-A-Coral, Seed-A-Reef Programme, where we intend to plant up to a 100,000 corals in our Marine Park in order to strengthen coral restoration and coral conservation.

All this is important because the two Marine Parks – the first, and when we finally designate the second Marine Park – it will enable us to strengthen marine and terrestrial conservation, will provide tremendous opportunity for education and research, and provide spaces for nature-based recreation done sensitively.

This is also very important in an era where climate change and its impact are more keenly felt. All this will also facilitate marine science research, and strengthen our position as an island city-state that cares for its blue spaces well, and also ensures that we conserve areas for the future. So all in, a big plus for marine and nature conservation.

In terms of next steps, we will be working very closely with the nature community, and working closely with experts and researchers to do a more detailed study, so that we can delineate the boundaries of this second marine park.

We will be working with heritage experts and the heritage community because on Pulau Sekijang Pelepah which is Lazarus Island, there is a lot of history, both of the Orang Pulau, Orang Laut, Islander history, and also the history of Colonial Singapore – where we had ammunition dumps on the island as well. All in, a multi-textured, many-layered marine park – marine, terrestrial, but also heritage.

Thank you.

Video of Minister Desmond's announcement.


Media articles about the second marine park
"S'pore planning 2nd marine park at Lazarus & Kusu islands" Ashley Tan, Mothership 9 May 2024
"S’pore’s proposed second marine park in Lazarus South, Kusu is home to rare rocky shore, coral habitats" Shabana Begum and Leow Wen Xuan, Straits Times 9 May 2024

More about the history of these islands

"Once upon an island: A rare peek into our past" Scenes of old Singapore through the lens of the late naturalist Ivan Polunin. Wallace Woon, Straits Times 20 Sep 2023.

"St John’s Island: From Gateway to Getaway" by Marcus Ng, 30 Apr 2018 on the National Library's biblioasia.
"Through Time And Tide: A Survey of Singapore’s Reefs" by Marcus Ng, 6 Apr 2017 on the National Library's biblioasia.

Online maps
Historical maps of Singapore by NUS Libraries