relevant data for biodiversity conservation from 1981 to 1987. This was all on a state-by-state basis, because at the country level, conservation was too broad a scale to be effective, so the state controlled land use and utilisation of natural resources. Through this, I learnt how to work at the right scale, and how to move between scales; scaling up and scaling down. When you scale down from the state level, cities are the next big thing. In 2008, UN-Habitat said there are now more people living in cities than rural areas, and therefore we are moving into the Age of Cities. Singapore is unique in that it is both a nation and a city—complex with diverse issues to take into consideration, but small enough to be able to integrate and incorporate multiple sectorial concerns.
Dr Lena Chan
Senior Director, International Biodiversity Conservation Division, National Parks Board of Singapore
How did you become involved in biodiversity conservation? LC: I’ve always looked for a job where there is meaning, scientific credibility, social cause and equity. So, all my experiences have accumulated and enabled, in some way, my present work. After my degree, I was awarded a research fellowship by World Wildlife Fund Malaysia to do a state-by- state conservation plan for Malaysia. This was a dream job, because we got to travel to remote natural areas and find innovative solutions to carry out biodiversity conservation. At that time, no one had really heard of conservation—they associated it with saving cute animals like pandas, but no one thought about conserving natural resources, including plants and animals. We were given a great opportunity to do pioneering work in the collection of
When you talk about using buildings as connectors, do you think buildings can also create habitats? LC: Absolutely. Two hospitals here, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, are driven by champions of biophilic design. Liak Teng Lit, the former CEO of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, decided he wanted native butterflies, native birds and native freshwater fish on the hospital grounds, so he designed for that. The result is incredible. Similarly, Commonwealth Secondary School has actually created two different ecosystems in their school grounds. One is a secondary forest and the other is a wetland, and it’s amazing because they have infused that so much into the whole ethos of the school. They are just totally immersing themselves into biodiversity conservation and biophilia. The principal and a teacher there are the main drivers of the project— you need champions for these kinds of things.
What advice would you give other ecologists or conservationists who want to strengthen biodiversity conservation in their own countries? LC: Conserve what you have. Connect these spaces. Then create more, through habitat enhancement, habitat restoration or habitat creation. Collect information on these spaces; collect scientific data so that you can design sound science-based management plans, and evaluate whether they are effective. Finally, collaborate and cooperate. You’ve got to involve people, the community, the government as well as the private sector. So, we should be all increasing collaboration.
Feminism can provide a vital contribution to rethinking the world away from the inequalities made painfully visible by the pandemic.
18 FUTURARC
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