Opening Remarks by 2M Desmond Lee at the Launch of Sunda Pangolin National Conservation Strategy and Action Plan

Sep 18, 2018

A very good morning to everyone. Thank you for joining us at this very formal occasion. I recall over a year ago, we met – not here, but in another part of the Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) estate, to talk about the beginnings of the National Strategy for the conservation of the Sunda Pangolin here in our City in a Garden. It was a process by which many different agencies, animal conservation groups, nature groups and academic institutions, came together to try to forge an understanding of what is needed in order to better understand the habits of the Sunda Pangolin in Singapore – its population, its range, the threats that are posed in the wild and by man, and to understand the challenges and the opportunities that being in a City in a Garden poses to such a special and shy species of mammal. 

As we all know, the Sunda Pangolin is a critically endangered species here in South East Asia and the world. It is hunted for exotic tastes and for medicine of some form. So it takes more than just conservation groups or the Government to be able to effectively do this work. 

Some time ago, we recognised that being successful in biodiversity conservation in this small city-state requires more than just leaving nature alone – that is important, but recognising the proximity in which man is to our green areas means that we must do more than that. We require custodianship, we require stewardship of the many parties that are passionate about wildlife conservation. But also a broader understanding, and a sense of stewardship and ownership by the broader public. We thought that we should continue to grow and establish multi-party working groups for many of our species in Singapore. That is a very special way in which we do things – we bring government agencies, not just NParks, but also other important stakeholders like PUB, LTA, URA, HDB, and other agencies, who look after, plan and establish our infrastructure, especially those that surround nature reserves and nature areas. We try to forge a common understanding and see whether we can come up with win-win solutions for man and for the Sunda Pangolin. 

If we can do so, our agencies will then be able to plan their developmental structure with small, thoughtful measures weaved in that makes space for our wildlife, including the Sunda Pangolin, without having to undergo massive retrofitting thereafter. It is that thoughtfulness, integration and coordination at the operational and planning level that we can make a real difference. 

Earlier on, after the effort that it took to firstly word-smith our aim and objective of the Sunda Pangolin Working Group, today, I am happy that the Working Group has come up with a National Strategy and I hope that going forward, we put this earnestly into action. It also involves many Singaporeans in wildlife monitoring, bring young children on board to do citizen science, allow them to use technology to help participate in wildlife counts, and use the Sunda Pangolin and other native wildlife as – I wouldn’t call them mascots, but as icons that we can find in our school textbooks, pre-school materials, and allow them to get a better feel of the wildlife that inhabit this island, along with all of us.

This reflects, in a way, a special kind of responsibility, that a small city-state like Singapore, who prides ourselves as a City in a Garden has. We want to be able to showcase this work, evolve it in a uniquely Singapore way, and it will be the thriving of native Singapore wildlife that will be our pride. Not too long ago, we released the Johora singaporensis – again, it is the fruit of a lot of multi-agency work. We also have working groups for human-wildlife interaction, including for macaques, and other species. I look forward to all these working groups coming up with very thoughtful and sensible, forward-looking plans that involve more than just the nature community, but our planning and operational agencies, our communities and the broader public. 

I would like to thank the working groups for your very hard work, I look forward to a scientific, evidence-based, community-participatory approach to conservation in Singapore. Thank you all, thank you WRS for hosting us today.