During the course of the semester, we have had guest speakers coming to talk to us about different conservation issues in Singapore. For instance, we had a talk about the conservation efforts in Chek Jawa, which links to the need to maintain biodiversity. We understand that human interference in natural habitats can have serious irrevocable effects on the wildlife, especially in the case of extinction. The loss of biodiversity in the little but still gradually shrinking natural habitats in Singapore is a worrying one.

Queenstown MRT track

[Image mine, all rights reserved]

Another urgent issue that links with Leopold’s philosophy is that of the Cross Island MRT Line. The plans to build a new MRT line that cuts through MacRitchie Forest and the Central Catchment Reserve have been quite a hot topic among environmentalists, and this issue was brought up multiple times across the semester by all the guest speakers.

Infographic explaining the new Cross Island Line

[Image courtesy of Love Our MacRitchie Forest]

The central ideas of the Land Ethic that Leopold espoused clearly apply; by building the new MRT line and cutting across the little primary rainforest that we have left in Singapore, we are disregarding the fact that we will be radically affecting the health of the natural community and its myriad members. Even by conducting soil inspection studies, we will be disturbing the land. We are not showing humility or respect to the natural community to which we belong, and we are subscribing to the economic land ethic that sees economic development of our own species as being more important than the health and lives of other natural beings.[/caption]