The largest block of mangroves in Singapore totalling more than 100 hectares can be found in Sungei Buloh. This site is under legal protection as Sungei Buloh was conserved for this habitat, a key indigenous ecosystem that the government has committed to safeguard for us and for future generations.

At Sungei Buloh, works is in progress to reforest parts of the wetland are. Over the past few years, forest tree planting and mangrove enrichment planting with species such as Rhizophora mucronata, Avicennia alba and Sonneratia alba have taken place in partnership with the community with good results.

The epiphytes and climbers have not been forgotten. As they add value to the structure of a forest, epiphytes such as orchids (Family: Orchidaceae) and hoya (Family: Asclepiadaceae) are being sourced and we continue to add them in Sungei Buloh to enrich the existing populations. They include the Cymbidium bicolor which has been tissue cultured and propagated from seeds collected from existing plants in the wetland forest. Some epiphytes have been brought in for planting such as the Cymbidium finlaysoniana, Bulbophyllum apodum and Vanilla griffithii.

Efforts to increase the quantity and species of hoya at Sungei Buloh are also in progress. Sungei Buloh is now home to a clump of Hoya diversifolia that had been salvaged from a nature lover. It is through this network of cooperative and dedicated nature lovers that the Hoya from various parts of Singapore have now converged to find a place at Sungei Buloh. Hoya verticillata, Hoya coronaria and Hoya latifolia could all find refuge and thrive peacefully on trees in the wetland one day.

Apart from these plants, a ginger Alpinia aquatica, a climber Adenia macrophylla, a shrub Gmelina elliptica and Abutilon indicum, a shrub from the Hibiscus family that can naturally be found in the back mangrove areas are some of the plants that have been planted within the wetland.

With much positive human intervention, and in another decade or two, the mangrove ecosystem at Sungei Buloh could one day closely resemble a pristine ecosystem that was once common in ages past. The challenge lies for all of us as a community of nature lovers to manage, nurture and grow the existing mangrove so that the range of species, species composition, stand maturity and zones of back mangrove are in harmony even as the wetland management continues to provide recreational and educational opportunities for visitors.

This year the Straw-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) has, for the first time, made its presence felt daily in the wetland with its exquisite warble of bird song that can uplift the spirits of urban people like us. We certainly look forward to further nurture and grow Sungei Buloh to be a wetland where more of these plants and animals can thrive. When stenotopic species such as the Mangrove Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis rufigastra) and Mangrove Pitta (Pitta megarhyncha) take up residence in Sungei Buloh, we would know that our efforts have been realised. Let’s work together and make this happen!