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  Straits Times Forum 2 Feb 07
Sungei Buloh rubbish comes from Johor Straits
Letter from Wong Tuan Wah Director, Conservation National Parks Board

Straits Times Forum 31 Jan 07
Rubbish everywhere at Sungei Buloh
Letter from Katharine Evans (Ms) Edinburgh, United Kingdom

ON OUR way from Europe to visit family in Australia, we decided to spend a few days in Singapore.

As birdwatchers we spent a significant portion of our time visiting nature reserves, including the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. The diversity of birds and other types of life there is very impressive and the rangers are informative and committed to conserving one of the few wild areas left in Singapore.

Conservation of wetlands is vital for the survival of thousands of birds that migrate vast distances every year.

However, the amount of rubbish floating around and attached to the mangroves at Sungei Buloh is depressing and in stark contrast to urban Singapore, where cleanliness appears to be of paramount importance.

It's a real shame that such care is not afforded to the small number of areas where animals are able to eke out their existence in an increasingly human-dominated world.

Straits Times Forum 2 Feb 07
Sungei Buloh rubbish comes from Johor Straits
Letter from Wong Tuan Wah Director, Conservation National Parks Board

I REFER to the letter by Ms Katharine Evans, 'Rubbish everywhere at Sungei Buloh' (ST, Jan 31). We are delighted that she enjoyed viewing the diversity of birds and appreciated the information shared by our park rangers during her visit to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

We also share the same view as Ms Evans that conservation of the wetlands is vital to the survival of the migratory birds.

We are aware of the floating rubbish she mentioned. This is flotsam from the Johor Straits and is brought in by the high tide every day.

We remove the floating debris twice a week and also involve the community and volunteers in coastal clean-up efforts. However, it is a continuous uphill struggle because the rubbish comes from the Johor Straits and we are currently assessing more effective ways to mitigate this.

We thank Ms Evans for her feedback, and welcome her to visit the reserve again.
links
Marine debris comes from everywhere...

Plastic trash vortex menaces Pacific sealife: study
By Deborah Zabarenko Yahoo News 5 Nov 06
Altered oceans: A plague of plastic chokes the seas
By Kenneth R. Weiss Los Angeles Times 2 Aug 06
Study finds plastic in 95% of dead birds
John Vincent news.scotsman.com 28 Dec 05

You CAN make a difference!
Join International Coastal Cleanup Singapore which is NOT just about picking up litter but about collecting data so as to better understand and manage marine debris.

Related articles on marine litter, Global issues: marine, recreation in our wild places and wild shores
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