Semakau landfill opens for nature-based activities
Launch welcomes back 40 former resident families from Pulau Sakeng
News Release No: 30/2005
Date of issue: 16 July 2005
For
40 families, returning together to the island of Pulau Sakeng where
they once lived was something they had often talked about.
It
was a wish come true for them this morning as they set foot on the
island - now joined by a bund and road to Pulau Semakau to form Semakau
Landfill - as special guests of Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, the Minister for the
Environment and Water Resources. The Minister was there to officiate
the launch of Semakau Landfill for recreational activities.
Semakau
Landfill was developed to meet Singapore's need for landfill when the
last one on the mainland at Lorong Halus closed in 1999. It is also the
world?s first manmade offshore landfill.
Throughout
the planning, design, and construction of the landfill island, and
since it came into operation, painstaking efforts have been made to
protect the island's ecosystem and preserve its rich natural
environment and biodiversity.
These
efforts have clearly paid off. So much that when Minister Yaacob first
visited the landfill last year, he saw the potential in Semakau to
become a recreational haven.
The
idea became a challenge that the National Environment Agency (NEA) has
made good. Three special interest groups have responded with enthusiasm
to the idea of using Semakau Landfill as a place for recreational
activities. They are the Sport Fishing Association of Singapore, Nature
Society of Singapore, and Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research
(RMBR).
'We
are proud to be playing a part, alongside NEA, in increasing the
awareness and promoting the island's abundant biodiversity,' said Ms
Ria Tan of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, which has been
carrying out inter-tidal surveys at Semakau Landfill.
'Semakau's
marine life is amazingly rich. Semakau has probably the largest
seagrass area in the Southern shores while Semakau's reefs abound with
a rich variety of corals and other creatures. Semakau's natural
mangroves also shelter a wide variety of flora and fauna. Some so rare
that they are no longer found elsewhere in Singapore,' she added.
Members
of the public who are interested in visiting Semakau Landfill should
contact one of these three interest group: Sport Fishing Association of
Singapore (sport fishing) at http://www.sfas.net; Nature Society of Singapore (bird watching) at contact@nss.org.sg or 67412036; or Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) at http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/.
About NEA
A
statutory board under the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources,
National Environment Agency's mission is to protect Singapore's Clean
Air, Clean Land, Clean Water and high standards of Public Health and
sustain it for the benefit and enjoyment of many future generations to
come - through close partnership with the Public, Private and People
sectors and promotion of environmental ownership by everyone in
Singapore. More information about NEA is available at http://www.nea.gov.sg.
About Semakau Landfill
The
Semakau Landfill is located eight kilometers south of the mainland
Singapore. Commissioned in April 1999, the Semakau Landfill was
initially expected to meet Singapore's need for landfill space for 30
years, but the nation's recycling efforts have extended this to beyond
the year 2040, as at 2005. The goal towards Zero Landfill as part of
the Singapore Green Plan 2012 can only be achieved with everyone's
commitment, and Semakau Landfill's increasing life expectancy shows
that Singaporeans are indeed playing their part. Semakau Landfill is
the first offshore landfill in the world accepting mainly inorganic
waste - that is, ash from Singapore's four incineration plants -
subsequently, will double up as the world's first island made almost
entirely from a waste landfill.
~~~ End of News Release ~~~
For more information, please contact:
Call Centre: 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632)
Email:contact_nea@nea.gov.sg
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