SINGAPORE: Big Sister’s Island reopened to the public on Monday (Oct 28) after three years of enhancement works.
The revamped island has several new features such as a floating boardwalk, a coastal forest trail and a lagoon tidal pool where visitors can swim or snorkel.
The island’s new features give visitors more opportunities to get close to Singapore’s rich array of marine and terrestrial biodiversity such as coral reefs and mangroves, the National Parks Board (NParks) said.
Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, the country’s first marine park, plays an important role in conservation, research, outreach and education.
The blacktip reef shark, copperband butterflyfish and giant carpet anemone are some of the aquatic creatures that can be found in waters surrounding the marine park.
Although the park spans across 40 hectares, only Big Sister’s Island is accessible to the public. Small Sisters’ Island, which is earmarked for marine conservation, continues to be off-limits.
Singapore announced in May that the southern islands – Kusu and Lazarus – have been picked as the proposed site for the country’s second marine park. The reefs of Lazarus Island and Kusu Island are home to 97 and 141 coral species respectively, including certain rare ones, said NParks.
Opening the park on Monday, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said Singapore’s rich array of marine biodiversity is constantly being threatened by climate change and environmental pollution.
“Singapore’s waterways are one of the busiest in the world, serving one of the busiest ports internationally. There are many demands on our waters. For example, commerce, shipping, industry, food and aquaculture, as well as recreation, to name a few,” Mr Lee said.
He also briefly spoke about an oil spill from a pipeline belonging to major energy company Shell that occurred on Oct 20, saying that no oil was observed at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park.
“Events such as oil spills and coral bleaching are a sobering reminder of just how vulnerable our marine ecosystems are”.
Visitors to Sisters’ Islands Marine Park can catch a ferry from Marina South Pier. Singapore Island Cruise and Ferry Services will commence ferry services to the marine park from Tuesday.
These are the new features visitors can look out for.
