Speech by Minister Chee Hong Tat at the Festival of Biodiversity 2025

May 31, 2025

Introduction

Very good morning to all of you and it is my pleasure to join you here today at the 14th edition of the Festival of Biodiversity. Happy to see so many people here, including some of our young friends and children, our future generations.

Since the first Festival of Biodiversity in 2012, we have made remarkable progress in raising awareness and conserving our rich natural heritage.

This is only possible thanks to the strong support of our partners from the Biodiversity Roundtable and nature groups. So I want to start by expressing my sincere appreciation to our partners, and also to invite everyone to join me to give a round of applause for them.

Today’s Festival reminds us that it is not by chance that a land-scarce and highly urbanised city like Singapore, is able to safeguard our natural heritage and achieve our goal of being a City in Nature.

It is the result of a concerted team effort by various government agencies, community stakeholders, and friends like all of you who are present here today, working together to achieve this positive outcome.

The Nature Conservation Masterplan, launched in 2015 by NParks, is an example of our long-term commitment to strengthen biodiversity conservation at a national level. It includes key initiatives, such as:

1. Conserving native habitats like forests, mangroves and freshwater swamps;

1. Providing ecological connectivity, such as the Eco-Link@BKE, for wildlife to move safely between green spaces; and

1. Encouraging public participation and awareness in biodiversity conservation through community stewardship and outreach, including what we are doing here this morning.

A key area of focus under the Masterplan is the Species Recovery Programme, which restores habitats to recover and conserve rare or threatened species in Singapore. Since its inception, the Species Recovery Programme has seen encouraging progress. In 2024, the programme successfully bred and released over 100 Johnson’s Freshwater Crabs, which has been identified as an endangered native species.

For flora, the critically endangered Two-fold Velvet Bean was successfully propagated and reintroduced back into nature in 2022. To date, species recovery plans are being implemented for 86 plant and 46 animal species, and we are on track to meeting the target of conserving 100 plant and 60 animal species by 2030.

As an island state, Singapore’s coasts and marine spaces are not only an integral part of our geography, they are also valuable ecosystems that support rich biodiversity.

To conserve our blue spaces and the species that call them home, we have rolled out various initiatives in recent years. Last October, we opened the enhanced Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, which serves as an outdoor classroom for marine outreach and education, and a living lab for research to promote species recovery and habitat enhancement.

We also launched the 100k Corals Initiative in December last year, which aims to plant 100,000 corals in Singapore’s waters over the next decade and beyond. This is the most extensive coral restoration effort in Singapore to date. Currently, around 900 coral nubbins are being cultivated in the newly opened coral culture facility on St John’s Island.

Findings Of The Southern Islands Biodiversity Survey

NParks, together with our stakeholders from academia and the community, had also embarked on the Southern Islands Biodiversity Survey from 2020 to 2022.

This is the largest comprehensive survey of the Southern Islands, which spans the islands and reefs that lie to the south of mainland Singapore. These islands contain diverse coastal and marine habitats, including coastal forests, mangroves and coral reefs. Some of these habitats – and the species within them – are rarely found on mainland Singapore.

The survey provides valuable information on the species and ecosystems present in these sites, which will inform conservation and management strategies for terrestrial and marine habitats in the Southern Islands. The team comprehensively analysed the field data gathered, and extensively reviewed literature to capture secondary data.

The findings are remarkable. We have found about 1,500 flora taxa and 5,000 fauna taxa in the Southern Islands, highlighting the rich and diverse biodiversity that depend on these habitats. These include species that can only be found in the Southern Islands and nowhere else in Singapore. So it is remarkable set of findings, and some of them are also locally Critically Endangered, such as the Burny Bean tree, the Ridley’s Fagraea tree, and Giant Clams – just to name some examples.

The findings have been put together in an e-publication and published on NParks’ website. The highlights of the findings are also showcased on the exhibition panels at this festival.  

Establishment of Singapore Species Specialist Group

Our understanding of Singapore’s biodiversity is made richer by our passionate nature community, many of whom are here today. By understanding the diverse flora and fauna in Singapore, our City in Nature, we can better conserve our precious natural heritage for generations to come.  That is why I started off my speech by pointing out that I’m so happy to see some of our children with us, our future generations, who are here with us today, because what we do today has an impact on the kind of future we leave behind for them.

I am pleased to announce the establishment of the Singapore Species Specialist Group under the ambit of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Comprising over 100 experts and specialists from academia, nature community and government, this new specialist group will regularly review the conservation status of species in Singapore.

Engaging Youths

The gift of rich biodiversity in Singapore presents opportunities for us to involve students and youths in its stewardship. 

One example is the annual Biodiversity Week for Schools. This year’s edition started last week, and students can learn more about local flora and fauna and contribute to biodiversity conservation through activities such as storytelling and wildlife surveys.

11 youths from NParks’ Youth Stewards for Nature programme were keenly involved in planning this year’s Festival. I hope that the experience of working on this event – together with our community partners and our colleagues from NParks, will further fuel their passion for biodiversity conservation, and also, serve as a role model for other young people to join us in this effort.

Conclusion

Let me conclude. Environmental protection and biodiversity conservation have always been important to Singapore, even during the early years of our nation building.

Our founding Prime Minister, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, had a firm belief that greenery and biodiversity are essential to creating a more liveable city and a more pleasant home for our people.   

Programmes like Festival of Biodiversity are important in helping Singaporeans to connect with the natural environment and develop an appreciation for the flora and fauna around us. I encourage all of you to bring your friends and family to the Festival this weekend to learn more about our rich natural biodiversity, and join us in our journey to transform Singapore into a City in Nature.

I wish everyone a pleasant day and an enjoyable weekend ahead. Thank you very much.