Acknowledgements!

Images from:
www.wildshores.blogspot.com
www.lazy-lizard-tales.blogspot.com
Other google images

Measures

In recent years, mangrove planting and enrichment planting efforts have been implemented to help recover mangroves at various sites. These include SBWR, Pulau Ubin, Pulau Semakau and Pasir Ris mangrove, For instance, over 400,000 mangrove saplings were planted as part of the efforts to replace loss of mangroves during construction of a landfill at Pulau Semakau (National Environment Agency, 2009).

Threats

Development in Pulau Semakau such as daming up of rivers to form reservoirs and canalisation of streams or waterways, land reclamation have reduced the number of mangrove forests, driving out species living in them.

Api-api jambu is Singapore’s rarest Avicennia. Its fruits are eaten, leaves fed to livestock while the wood produces good-quality pulp for paper production. In traditional medicine, the bark resin is used as a contraceptive and the leaves used to treat burns. This tree is listed as 'Critically Endangered' in the Red List of threatened plants of Singapore

Inconsiderate fishing and catching of organisms in Pulau Semakau. Fishnets are left after the fishing is done but they caught some marine organisms in them. Also, the long driftnets were left there after being used, it destroyed the corals. Below is an example of a snail being caught in the net, and it is listed as Vulnerable in Singapore.

Uniqueness

Pulau Semakau is named the “Garbageland of Eden” as it is the first ever offshore island used as as a landfill. In 1999, when the last remaining landfill on Singapore’s mainland was exhausted, the Semakau Landfill was created by enclosing Pulau Semakau and a small adjacent island (Pulau Sakeng) with a rock bund. All our waste now ends up at Semakau. Although this is so, wildlife still strives there and people are attracted to Pulau Semakau.

This Seashore Bat Lily, a rare endangered plant has only been recorded in Pulau Semakau so far. This plant was first discovered by Joseph lai during the Semakau mangrove survey conducted by Zeehan Jaafar and Loh Tse Lyn in the year of 2005. It is listed as one of the Critically Endangered in the 2008 RED list of threatened plants of Singapore

Semakau also has vast stretches of Tape seagrass (Enhalus acoroides) which is considered rare and vulnerable in Singapore. Tape seagrass makes up the bulk of the seagrass meadow at Semakau. This seagrass meadow stretches the whole side of the island we were surveying. Seagrass meadow also ocurred where there was a slight depression in the topography of the flat, hence its always submerged. The meadow with its thick cover of seagrasses, makes it an ideal habitat for juvenile fish mainly because it provides protection from predation.