Article by Delia Binny, NParks Manager (Biodiversity)
August 2024
This year’s Festival of Biodiversity (FoB), held on 25 and 26 May at One Punggol drew nature enthusiasts of all ages to celebrate Singapore’s rich and diverse flora and fauna. The festival, held annually in honor of the International Day of Biodiversity and organised in collaboration with the Biodiversity Roundtable, is the biggest biodiversity festival in Singapore. At the launch of the 13th edition of FoB, updates on biodiversity conservation efforts by NParks and the community were announced by Guest-of-Honour, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was hosted by Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, Mr Desmond Lee. This included the success of ex-situ conservation efforts for all three of Singapore’s endemic freshwater crabs in the Species Recovery Programme, the completion of the third and most comprehensive edition of the Singapore Red Data Book (RDB3), and the revision of the NParks’ Biodiversity Impact Assessment (BIA) guidelines. President Tharman also presented awards to the winners of NParks’ Community in Nature Schools Award 2024, which received a total of 70 nominations across educational levels from preschools to junior colleges, up from 65 in 2022 and 44 in 2020.
With over 20 nature groups offering fun, interactive booths, workshops, and spotlight talks to educate and inspire attendees about the importance of biodiversity conservation, the festival brought together a diverse group of people united by a common passion for nature and a commitment to conservation. Volunteers from various nature groups, schools, and communities volunteered their time and effort, demonstrating the power of collective action in biodiversity conservation. Visitors also had the opportunity to participate in 4 game stations at the festival. These station games allowed participants of all ages to learn more about the history of Punggol and Punggol’s biodiversity through hands-on games and activities.
The NParks’ Conservation Division team sharing about the work that goes into conserving Singapore’s native flora and fauna.
As part of the station games at the festival, the community made pledges to conserve Singapore’s biodiversity.
Numerous booths hosted by prominent nature groups in Singapore showcased the remarkable biodiversity of Singapore, highlighting everything from native plants and animals to ongoing conservation projects, with informative displays, hands-on exhibits, and interactive activities. Knowledgeable representatives readily engaged visitors to answer questions and provide insights into the vital work done to protect our natural heritage.
A series of workshops delved deeper into various aspects of biodiversity conservation,
covering a range of topics from sharks and wildcats to oceans and forests. Younger participants enjoyed hands-on activities such as clay-making, mask-making and storytelling sessions and were encouraged to take an active role in conservation efforts within their own communities. For example, Singapore Wildcat Action Group’s workshop, “Love Our Wildcats!”, brought participants on a journey with Wildcats, through storytelling, mask-making and face painting while Biogirl MJ’s workshop, “Fingerprinting Our Marine Wildlife”, had participants diving into the world of our local marine biodiversity, with a fun fingerprint art session.
Singapore Wildcat Action Group’s workshop, “Love Our Wildcats!”, brought participants on a journey about wildcats, through storytelling, mask-making and face painting.
Biogirl MJ’s workshop, “Fingerprinting Our Marine Wildlife”, had participants diving into the world of our local marine biodiversity, with a fun fingerprint art session.
For the older participants, Singapore Youth Voices for Biodiversity hosted the “Workshop for Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework”, a thought-provoking workshop that introduced the 23 targets in the framework for biodiversity conservation while Dr Geoffrey Davison from NParks shared more about the newly launched Red Data Book (3rd Edition) in “The making of the Singapore Red Data Book–a resource for all nature lovers”.
The three spotlight talks were also a highlight of the festival, drawing over 100 participants who were eager to hear from prominent figures in the conservation world. Speakers included renowned biologists, ecologists, and conservationists who shared their experiences, research findings, and personal stories of working in the field. The Friends of Marine Park’s “Marine Talk for Kids!” introduced the wonderful world of marine life and habitats, while Zestin Soh from NParks spoke on “Discovering the Bees of Singapore”, where he introduced the impressive array of bee species that inhabit our parks, forests, mangroves and urban gardens. Jharyathri Thiagarajah from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) also brought wild Punggol’s history and biodiversity to life in her talk on “Perspectives from LKCNHM: Archiving our Historical Biodiversity”. These educational talks helped to spotlight Singapore’s habitats and the work done to protect Singapore’s biodiversity.
The Friends of Marine Park introduced the wonderful world of marine life and habitats at the “Marine Talk for Kids!”.
Zestin Soh from NParks at his talk on “Discovering the Bees of Singapore” where he introduced the bee species that inhabit our parks, forests, mangroves and urban gardens.
Jharyathri Thiagarajah from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) shed light into Punggol’s history and biodiversity in her spotlight talk “Perspectives from LKCNHM: Archiving our Historical Biodiversity”.
The Festival of Biodiversity is a testament to Singapore’s commitment to biodiversity conservation and a celebration of the incredible natural heritage we are fortunate to have. Mark your calendars for the next Festival of Biodiversity and join us in celebrating the beauty and diversity of Flora and Fauna in Singapore!
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