BACKGROUND INFORMATION Located 8km south of mainland Singapore Off the Straits of Singapore

1. Pulau Hantu Pulau Semakau Pulau Bukom 韩都岛 士马高岛 毛广岛 • BACKGROUND INFORMATION • Located 8km south of mainland Singapore • Off the Straits of Singapore • Made up of two islets: • Pulau Hantu Besar (Big Ghost Island) • Pulau Hantu Kechil (Little Ghost Island) • Story tells of a legendary battle of ghosts INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES Pulau Bukom housed the first petroleum tank depot and oil refinery and by 1902, it was the centre of oil distribution in Asia. In 1961, the island was taken over by Shell which built Singapore's first oil refinery. Today, the area still remains under Shell, producing 400,000 barrels of oil per day. A large-scale ethylene oxide / mono-ethylene glycol plant and a significant refinery modification project are underway in Singapore. • BACKGROUND INFORMATION • Located 5km south of mainland Singapore • Off the Straits of Singapore • Having a companion islet to the south: • Pulau Bukom Kechil • Approximately 1.45km2 • Previously a mangrove swamp, providing freshwater to ships • Origin of name not confirmed Chen QingyangTay Kiat Long • MARINE LIFE • Wide variety of corals • Wide variety of fish • Rare beauty • Some mangrove community JEOPARDY TO ECOLOGY During the construction of the landfill, 13 hectares of mangroves were lost. The lost of the mangroves is a serious problem to the ecosystem. The mangroves are home to lots of rare species of wildlife and might even hold the cure to certain illnesses. They are home to the primary producers and with the producers gone, it might affect the food chains. Animals that feed on the species found on the mangroves might not be able to survive and will lead to lower survival rate for them. Any leakage of the landfill might result in a serious pollution of the water nearby. Tourists activities might damage the fauna, flora and coral reefs found there, depleting our precious wildlife.Similarly, tourists might damage the coral reefs and fauna and flora through their activities. It is found tat certain species of crabs that live on these coral reefs might hold the cure to cancer. With the depletion of these wildlife, the cure to such illnesses might also just disappear. SUSTAINABLE ISLAND PROGRAM Approved by Sime Darby Plantation in 19 January 2009. It promotes sustainable destinations and responsible island development, increases awareness about the fragile marine ecosystem and highlighting the negative impact on the reefs, calling Wild Asia and Reef Check Malaysia to conserve and protect reefs in Singapore. PIPELINE BUNDLE The lead contractor for the project was Kvaerner. Under the terms of the contract the company was required to install a pipeline bundle to convey naphtha and other products from Singapore port to Jurong Island. The bundle needed to stretch 4.5km on the seabed. Kvaerner used a technique known as bottom pull to achieve the task, which would be otherwise hampered by the intense port traffic. The pipeline is used to link the new condensate splitter unit on the island of Pulau Bukom with downstream users on Jurong Island. The submarine pipeline bundle, which initially will carry naphtha to the Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore's facility on Jurong Island, will be over 4.5km in length and 28m deep in parts. It consists of eight pipelines and two fibre optic cables, giving a combined pipeline length of over 36km. The pipelines themselves are fabricated from 12m pipe lengths. They are then welded into 250m lengths, known as strings, before being assembled into a bundle of eight with a series of cross-braces. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Pulau Semakau is Singapore first offshore landfill, covering a total area of 3.5 square kilometers. It was created by joining Pulau Semakau with Pulau Sakeng using a 7km rock bund. Contrary to popular belief, Pulau Semakau is clean and not smelly despite being a landfill. On 16 July 2005, it was opened to public for nature related activities. Those activities include fishing, bird watching, intertidal walk and checking out of the mangrove trees there. Pulau Semakau is home to many wildlife and the natural mangroves there is home to a huge variety of plants and animals no longer seen on other parts of Singapore. RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES Pulau Hantu is developed as a tourist destination, housing multiple swimming lagoons, popular among fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling enthusiasts. The islands are also popular with campers and day-trippers. As a tourist destination, the ecosystem problems that can occur is water pollution from boats and land pollution from inconsiderate beachgoers and visitors who litter. Heavy fines can be imposed and more park patrol can be implemented to ensure that people do not pollute the environment. • MARINE LIFE • Less vibrant than that of Pulau Hantu • Reef Corals, mainly hard corals • Fishes • Marine flora and fauna • The Straits Times 4 Aug 07 • Bumper Harvest for anemone hunters • Research mission uncovers many new species in S’pore waters • Dr Daphne Fautin discovered new species of sea anemones in Pulau Hantu waters • Biggest and smallest known species of anemones can be found in Singapore • 40 species of anemones are discovered in Singapore • Some species proven to have anti-cancerous secretion • Habitats destroyed would result in medical remedies left uncovered • Fishing industry would be affected as well Ecology in Jeopardy Singapore • Channel NewsAsia 19 Jul 07 • Singapore's biodiversity may provide potential cures for diseases • MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd (MerLion) and the National Parks Board of Singapore (Nparks) • Signed agreements to work together in R&D of drugs from Singapore’s biodiversity SHELL AFFECTS SHELLS The mangrove swamps originally thriving in Pulau Bukom have entirely been wiped out to make way for the chemical refinery. This results in a severe loss of habitat, and caused the extinction of many uncovered species and medical remedies before they can even be studied. Pollutants are constantly being emitted into the atmosphere as a side product of chemical reactions occurring within the industrial plant, and mixing with the air would cause many undesirable pollution, greenhouse effect and irritating smog. Chemical accidents are inevitable in a island with a sole purpose of housing a reputable chemical industry. Fires and spills would not only result in economic loss, but also ecological loss due to harmful pollutants emitted into the air or sea. SEDIMENTATION Sedimentation can occur from littering, oil spills, erosion or land reclamation. Excess sedimentation can reduce light penetration to the aquatic plants, alter the conditions of water and reduce the strength and structural integrity of the coral reef framework. This changes the conditions of the water, making it less suitable for ecology, therefore not only increasing the death rate but also decreasing birth rate or infant mortality. The combined impacts from sedimentation and suspended sediments degrade coral reefs over time, resulting in a slow but steady reduction in live coral cover and a reduction in the lower depth limit of coral growth on reef slopes. • The Straits Times 3 June 2006 • Project Noah • Proposed installation of filters in the lagoon separating Kechil and Besar • Clears water of excess silt • Allow coral growth within lagoon • Rejected by conversationalists PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES Impose serious penalties like heavy fines or even jail terms for offenders found to be damaging our wildlife there such as the coral reefs. We can also have conservation and recycling programs. With less waste, the landfill will take a longer time to fill up and also there is a smaller chance of pollution when transferring waste over to the landfill or when using the incinerators at the landfill. Regular checks on our mangroves, coral reefs and ‘protect’ them officially with the law. This means that no one is allowed to destroy our wildlife for purpose like expanding the landfill. • LAND RECLAMATION • There was a massive land reclamation project in Singapore in the 1990s, which have affected marine ecology. • Before: • Pulau Hantu Besar 2 hectares • Pulau Hantu Kechil 0.4 hectares • Surrounded by fringing reefs • Common reef flat between islets • After: • Total 12.2 hectares of land • 400 000m3 of sand • Narrow strip of reef (20-30m) PREVENT OIL LEAKAGE Singapore legislation demands that the bundle be protected by a layer of armour rock, to prevent damage from anchors and other dropped or dragged objects. The seamless pipeline was supplied by Sumitomo in Japan. 100% radiography of all welds and careful handling of the pipelines during installation was ensured, as once covered by the layer of armour rock, any leaks would be very hard to deal with. Regular checks and maintenance can be carried out to minimise chances of leakage. We can also cut down on oil consumption so as to produce less air pollution from the refining process. ILLEGAL FISHING Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from Indonesia intrudes Pulau Hantu territory without official permit, affecting fish population in Pulau Hantu. There is insufficient funding invested in prevention, resulting in poor communication and coordination. More funding can be invested in the apprehension of illegal fishermen. • REFERENCES • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ • http://www.pulauhantu.org/ • http://www.wildsingapore.com/places • http://library.thinkquest.org/04apr/00793/Islandtext/diveisland.htm#divehantu • http://coralreef.nus.edu.sg/ • http://colorclouds.blogspot.com/2006/11/marvellous-pulau-salu-dive.html • http://habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/news/pulauhantu/ • http://www.wildsingapore.com/news/ • http://www.simplygreen.com.sg/misc/hantu.html • http://www.hydrocarbons-technology.com/projects/pulau/htm • http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_922_2005-01-19.html • http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Singapore/Pulau_Semakau-1495685/TravelGuide-Pulau_Semakau.html • http://www.eart-h.com/text/semamap1.htm