pls save ubin!!!!!
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(extracted from another forum)
Forum : Is Ubin fence really needed?
I REFER to the article, 'New Ubin fence to stop illegal entry' (ST, May 9). On that same day, I happened to kayak around Pulau Ubin.
To a nature lover like myself, the metal posts are a real eyesore. They just do not fit into the natural surroundings and they make Ubin look like a prison island.
I also wonder about the impact that the fence will have on the island's flora and fauna as it covers a large area.
As suggested by Lee Poh Onn in the commentary, 'Looking after nature...and the economy' (ST, May 2), why not conduct an environmental impact assessment of the fence and release the report to the public so that people can be convinced that there will be no negative impact on the ecology?
Perhaps the Police Coast Guard could also inform the public about the severity of the illegal immigrant situation on Pulau Ubin? Is the situation so bad that the fence has to be built? Is there another solution that is more environmentally friendly?
Singapore has very high standards for cleanliness and law and order. This is its strength in fighting diseases such as Sars.
However, I feel that there is a tendency to be overly clean in the management of nature sites.
For example, not all nature areas need to have boardwalks. Not all nature areas need to be opened for large number of visitors.
I often feel that Singapore's nature areas are a bit too sanitised. How about leaving some nature areas as they are? One example would be the deeper and more pristine part of the central catchment area. Perhaps a place like this should be left alone as it is now for research purposes.
It is beyond doubt that dealing with issues such as illegal immigration and adequate water supply is critical to the nation's survival.
But these are issues that other countries have to deal with too.
Perhaps we can continue to compare notes and learn from other countries ways of putting more environmentally friendly solutions in place.
Sustainable development is the key. Conservation has become a complex matter. One can no longer stand by the roadside and shout 'Stop killing whales!' and hope to be heard and taken seriously.
Conservationists have to understand issues such as population explosion, birth control, water shortage in dry areas, firewood shortage in bitterly cold winters and economic survival.
Human beings are the only species on earth with the capability to change the landscape drastically. We have been doing that for centuries.
We are also the only species that can protect animals and plants from disappearing forever from this earth.
Through our ignorance and the need to grow, humans moving into a natural habitat have usually changed the landscape drastically by logging, mining, setting up new townships or over-harvesting, causing precious plants and animals there to become extinct.
We have been treating the land and ocean as an endless food supply and sewage disposal system. The story is the same all over the world.
But there have been battles fought and won. The orang-utans in Borneo have found a little haven in Sepilok and, closer to home, Chek Jawa has been saved. These are stories to spur us on.
I would also like to urge conservationists and nature lovers to be global in their work, as well as acting locally.
We should try to care for the endangered gorillas in Africa and polar bears in the frozen Arctic. I like to think of myself as a citizen of Planet Earth who happens to be a Singaporean.
We cannot mourn for the past but we can save what we have now.
However, if images and stories in the media are any indication to go by, we do not have much time left. It would be tragic if our children grew up knowing only plastic, concrete, glass and metal, and thinking that animals are to be found only in zoos.
We have only one Himalayas, one Amazon, one Antarctica and one Pulau Ubin. Let us protect them for ourselves, for our own well-being and for our children to experience, enjoy and learn from.
KHOO SWEE CHIOW -
New Ubin fence to stop illegal entry
Nature lovers worry about area's ecology but police say study shows there won't be negative impact
By Neo Hui Min
A FENCE is being put up along the northern coast of Pulau Ubin to act as a deterrent to illegal immigrants coming by sea.
It will reduce the number of possible landing spots on the island, and make it easier for the authorities to intercept illegals, the Police Coast Guard told The Straits Times.
But the plan is getting nature-lovers worried because of the threat they say it could pose to marine and coastal life.
Their concern is that feeding patterns and the movement of wildlife, including animals such as otters which move between land and sea, could be affected.
Pulau Ubin is gazetted as a Nature Area in the Singapore Green Plan, and is a popular haven for those who want to enjoy the outdoors.
But the police said the potential impact of the project on the marine environment has been taken into consideration.
It commissioned a formal study - an environmental impact assessment - which showed 'no negative impact at the final sites chosen'.
Other assessments will be made during and after the construction of the barrier, it said in an e-mail response to Straits Times queries.
Ubin's northern coast, which faces Johor, is a known landing spot for illegals.
Boatmen who ferry visitors to and from the island said they saw at least seven illegals being handcuffed and escorted by the police to mainland Singapore from Ubin last weekend.
Police have set up posts at Changi Jetty to check the identification cards of people getting on or off bumboats shuttling between the island and the mainland.
The police would not disclose the exact location and extent of the area being fenced off. They would say only that 'physical barriers' are being put up 'along remote stretches of our coastline, such as the northern coast of Pulau Ubin'.
A Straits Times team visited the island on Tuesday and saw that metal posts were in place - in the sea and on shore - just after the Outward Bound School and going up along the northern coast to Tanjong Balai.
But as work on the posts was incomplete, it was unclear exactly where the fence will end. This has prompted some concern that Chek Jawa beach could also be affected.
The National Parks Board believes this would be unlikely, however, and had indicated to the police that the barriers should not have a negative impact on the area's ecology.
Chek Jawa is home to a diverse range of marine life, including horseshoe crabs, peacock anemones and cuttlefish.
The Nature Society learnt about the fence after a tip-off from a sailing enthusiast. Conservation committee chairman Ho Hua Chew said the project and any environmental impact assessment 'should have been announced in public' before implementation.
But without knowing the extent of the fencing, it is hard to assess the impact on the environment and wildlife, he said.
'Jungle fowl forage on the beach for food, especially at the beach, where the forest comes close to the water,' he added.
'Dugongs moving along waters of the northern shores could be hit if the fences cut across estuaries, because they sometimes swim close to the river mouths to feed.' -
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heh well i remember once when that chek jawa was a place i could go and simply park a sailboat there.....but ever since they added it to the nature thingy i havent been able to do that no more.....
sian lah the government sometimes can be too over zealous.Have not seen the fences yet though as i havent gone sailing in awhile.Maybe will check it out next time. -
nobody cares about ubin???? -
Agree wif you dude....
Ubin should be protected at all costs..
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i dunno what the heck is going on..
i think they should have thought hard and long about putting up that damned fence..
i wonder about the idiots making the decisions and what they are thinking of in their bloody ivory towers.. -
Why not just put some soldiers on patrol there?
Stupid suggestion. hahaaaaa -
i think it's a case of "nature can't give us any revenue"... it's useless..
there are illegal immigrants using Ubin.. fence it up.. who cares about the people? who cares about nature? who cares? -
they claimed that its to deter illegal aliens from entering the island.....
imagine this scenario:
after drifting ?? days at sea,they finally see land!!!!ITS UBIN!!!!but wait!!!theres this fence stretching over the shore....oh thats too bad,lets all jux drift back.....
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fricken braindead morons..
the illegals are desperate enough to get to Ubin.. what the hell is going to stop them from cutting down the fence or climbing over it?
i wonder if our lea-duhs can think or not...
sad...Originally posted by ratinacage:they claimed that its to deter illegal aliens from entering the island.....
imagine this scenario:
after drifting ?? days at sea,they finally see land!!!!ITS UBIN!!!!but wait!!!theres this fence stretching over the shore....oh thats too bad,lets all jux drift back..... -
In my opinion, I think this is not a good idea, the fence make the place looks "ugly".
There is a documentary about the fencing up of Ubin on Channel U tomorrow (14 June) at 10.30 pm. -
so what are the alternate solutions to fencing??
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i guess like you said.. post some of our soldiers there.. do guard duty there...Originally posted by Parka: so what are the alternate solutions to fencing??
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Originally posted by Parka: so what are the alternate solutions to fencing??
put landmines on the beach and blow those illegal immigrants to smithereens! -
wah.. like that i not illegal alien, go there jalan-jalan kena turned into roast bear...Originally posted by PaJeRoMiNi Ver 1.0: put landmines on the beach and blow those illegal immigrants to smithereens!
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Originally posted by the Bear:wah.. like that i not illegal alien, go there jalan-jalan kena turned into roast bear...
kakakaka -
Pix of Chek Jawa!!
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Beautiful place man....Ubin....
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Well if you have seen the location of Ubin no 1 is gonna be drifting in there lah....it's to prevent people coming in from nearby malaysiaOriginally posted by ratinacage:they claimed that its to deter illegal aliens from entering the island.....
imagine this scenario:
after drifting ?? days at sea,they finally see land!!!!ITS UBIN!!!!but wait!!!theres this fence stretching over the shore....oh thats too bad,lets all jux drift back.....