Singapore

Singapore

Singapore's environment has changed drastically due to rapid urbanization and immense population density. In 1819, when a British trading post was first established on the island, Singapore was still nearly entirely covered in rainforests. During that time it still contained flora shared with the Malay Peninsula, but the biodiversity of the fauna was even then relatively low. Following the establishment of the trading post, rapid deforestation began due to crop cultivation. Deforestation of Singapore was largely completed by the 20th century. By some estimates, there has been a loss of 95% of the natural habitats of Singapore over the course of the past 183 years. In modern times, over half of the naturally occurring fauna and flora in Singapore is present only in nature reserves, such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, which comprise only 0.25% of Singapore's land area. To combat these problems, the Singaporean government has made the Singapore Green Plan in 1992 and the new Singapore Green Plan in 2012 to continue it. The plan aims to keep tabs on the unstable populations of fauna and flora, to place new nature parks, and to connect existing parks. In addition, there are plans to set up a "National Biodiversity Reference Centre" (now known as the National Biodiversity Centre).