Home / Nature

Sungei Buloh Nature Park

Sungei Buloh Nature Park located at 301 Neo Tiew Crescent, Northwest of Singapore. It was designated a wild bird reserve and nature park for mangrove flora and fauna in 1989. The 87 hectare site is the first of its kind to be established in Singapore, and lies directly along the East Asian Flyway, a migratory route for birds. A wide variety of migratory birds can be observed during the migratory season. 

Although the original mangrove forest was cleared for prawn farming, it was identified as one of the richest sites within the nation for the stopover of migratory birds crossing the Straits of Malacca. It is located in Lim Chu Kang at the north-western corner of the island beside Kranji Reservoir. Development works on the Park started in 1990 and took three years to complete at a cost of $8.5 million. Sungei Buloh Nature Park was officially opened to the public on 6 December 1993.

The cumulative number of bird species found in Sungei Buloh increased from 126 in 1989 to 175 in 1994. There were 7,000 stopovers in 1992 rising to 24,000 in 1995. However, the annual one day surveys held by Nature Society found a recent decline in the bird population with only 4,788 birds from 33 species recorded for 1997 compared with 8,606 birds from 55 species in 1995. This appears to be part of a nation-wide decline in water bird populations. Aside from birds, there are many other plants and animals found within the Park.

Sungei Buloh Nature Park is fully funded by the Singapore Government at a total annual operating budget of S$1 million. In its opening year, 87,000 visitors were recorded with an average of 80,000 visitors in subsequent years. Park staffs have developed nature education programs for schools and the general public as well as a volunteer guide programme. It also publishes a magazine WETlands and carries out scientific activities like bird ringing: a process for the identification of birds. In 2000, 1,154 birds of 78 species were ringed in Sungei Buloh. The record for the oldest recaptured bird is a migratory Common Redshank ringed on 1 November 1990 and recaptured on 27 November 2000.



Author
Timothy Pwee



References 
Master plan for the conservation of nature in Singapore. (1990). Singapore: Malayan Nature Society.
(Call no.: RSING 333.9516 MAS)

Sungei Buloh Nature Park. (1998). A guide to Sungei Buloh Nature Park: Where mangroves and wetland wildlife thrive. Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: R 508.5957 SUN)

Tourism and environmental best practices in APEC member economies (pp. 41-44). (1997). Singapore: APEC Secretariat.
(Call no.: RSING 338.4791 TOU)

Bird ringing in Sungei Buloh Nature Park in 2000. (2001, April). Wetlands, 8(1), 7-11.
(Call no.: RSING 508.5957 SBNP)

Traditional prawn harvesting. (1999, April). Wetlands, 6(1), 4.
(Call no.: RSING 508.5957 SBNP)

These birds are giving Singapore a miss. (1997, March 17). The Straits Times, Home, p. 25. 

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. (n.d.).About us. Retrieved February 1, 2005, from www.sbwr.org.sg/aboutus/ourhistory/

Subject
Nature>>Nature Conservation>>Nature Reserves
Recreation>>Places of Interest
Protected areas--Singapore
Parks--Singapore
Singapore--History--1965-1990
Arts>>Architecture>>Landscape architecture