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Habitatnews 2001-27: Saturday, 10th November 2001
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Current nature-related news busy Singaporeans might otherwise miss
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Contents

Mr Mah Bow Tan, the Minister for National Development, announces
two new legally protected nature areas in Singapore: Sungei Buloh
and Labrador on Saturday, 10th November 2001.
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http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/news/SBNPlaunch-10Nov2001/
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Fresh from the election trail, Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National
Development, accepted the congratulations of the audience for the
convincing victory at Tampines GRC.

He then went on to delight the crowd with a historical announcement
of two new legally protected nature areas in Singapore: Sungei Buloh
and Labrador

The two existing legally protected nature areas are Bukit Timah and
the Central Catchment.

Riding the MRT back home later, Subaraj Rajathurai pointed out that
these are our the first nature areas to be legally protected since
independence.

They are also the first inter-tidal areas, a mangrove and a rocky
shore. This is an exciting indication that the government has
recognised the diversity of tropical ecosystems.

The announcement is a reward to the many unnamed and hard-working
souls in the National Parks Board and organisations such as the
Nature Society (Singapore), the universities and private
individuals who have quietly struggled over the years to see this day.

The Channel 5 news of 9,30pm the same night reported the minister as
saying, "Places like Sungei Buloh are national treasures that
inspire a sense of identity and rootedness amongst Singaporeans."

That morning, as the Minister finished his speech, I started sending
out SMS' to friends. A former parks officer called to ask in disbelief,
"Eh, Siva, so good, ah?"

I guess we will be talking about this for some time to come...

Look out for more updates in future issues of Habitatnews.
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