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.