The lack of conservation can be due to several reasons. Firstly, it is due to the lack of awareness of either the diversity of Singapore’s aquatic life or the loss of aquatic life in Singapore. Secondly, it can be due to the lack of strict government policies that do not deter people or organisations from polluting our water bodies. Lastly, the lack of conservation may be due to nonchalance amongst Singaporeans as they do not see the urgency of the issue nor do they believe that this issue has relevance to their lives.
The juggling of Singapore’s dual identity as both a global city and a nation state also causes this issue. This dual identity poses an issue as there are varying needs of both identities and these identities may go against each other, easily causing a tension. A global city can be defined as a city that is a primary node in the global economic network while a nation state is defined as a sovereign state of which most of the citizens are united also by common identities and hence provides an enduring home for the people. Home is not where you live, but where you belong. In the case of the lack of conservation of aquatic life in Singapore, the needs of a global city causes the needs of a nation state to be sacrificed in place of the needs of a global city.
A tension would be caused due to the fact that Singapore is geared towards economic development with much focus and emphasis on that aspect due to its status as a global city. Therefore, Singapore has to balance competing demands to keep up with the every advancing and developing global economy and hence is unlikely to compromise on economic success. A choice has to be made between development that can bring benefit the economy like land reclamation for more industrial and housing developments that can potentially cause irreversible damage to the ecology of Singapore’s waters and preservation of our water bodies and the aquatic life that are strongly dependent. An example of the lack of conservation due to the needs of a global city is, the majority of the southern coastline and islands, where Singapore’s coral reefs are located, have undergone reclamation, and many intertidal flats have made way for petrochemical plants, as well as military and recreational areas. This hence affected sedimentation rates and levels of total suspended solids, greatly decreasing underwater visibility leading to a decline in coral cover at all sites between 1986 and 2012 by about 12 per cent at shallower depths of 3m to 4m, and by about 30 per cent at the deeper depths of 6m to 7m, from a study conducted by National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and the National Parks Board. However, the unique and diverse range of aquatic life, having 1/3 of the total hard coral species of the world and half of the world’s total “true” mangrove species recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This diverse range is surprising and unique for a country as small as ours and is a common identity that citizens can identify with and take pride in, creating a sense of belonging by Singaporeans. Hence, care for the environmental well being of the country is a need of by Singapore as a nation state. Therefore, it is a tension, as the government will have to both balance the needs of both the environment and economy and not at the expense of any aspect.
There have been reports of illegal disposal of waste into the sea from fish farms and illegal dumping of waste into the sea by companies and ships but the government has showed a lack of understanding of the adverse impacts on the environment through the lack of stringent enforcements on those who dump illegally in Singapore waters, lack of proper waste disposal infrastructure for fish farms and enforcement regime. This may be because Singapore as a global city has to maintain a good relationships with companies, both international and local, to maintain its status as the second largest trading port. Our trading port is an economic necessity because Singapore is lacking in land and natural resources. The port is critical for generating revenue from importing natural resources and then re-exporting products after they have been refined and shaped in some manner, for example wafer fabrication or oil refining. Hence, they will close one eye to such acts that pollute the environment, so as to ensure that they continue to stopover at the port of Singapore. For fish farms, there is no door to door trash collection for fish farms currently, resulting in the owners of fish farms dumping waste into the waters to save cost. According to WildSingapore, approximately 250 tonnes of trash (or more) will no longer be dumped into our waters every year if the trash collection service is provide for the fish farms. However, the government has yet to provide the service to the fish farms. The government does not focus on areas that do not bring much revenue and in other more important economic infrastructure that can develop the country further to keep up with the growing economy of the world, to maintain competitiveness and maintain its identity as a global city. The pollution of water bodies, however, leads to loss of marine life. Hence, it compromises on the needs of a nation state as the pollution of aquatic environments will not allow citizens to engage in aquatic activities, thus there will be less range of leisure activities and hence, welfare is compromised and does not provide an enduring home for citizens.
It may lead to the loss of several local aquatic animal species. Due to the increasing amount of water debris in the sea, which is caused by the inappropriate disposal of land litter, our water bodies are polluted, leading to the degradation of their living environments or unintentional ingestion of litter mistaken as food.
Pollution from litter causes the degradation of living environments. Rope from ships, fishing lines and broken nets can entangle aquatic animals, most commonly turtles, birds, crabs and fish. Alternatively, it can block out the sunlight, preventing aquatic plants from surviving, as they cannot photosynthesise, thus affecting food chain of aquatic animals since plants are the primary producer and all animals either directly or indirectly rely on them for food. Additionally, plants like mangroves have breathing roots and hence need to be exposed to air. However, due to wastes in the water, the roots may be covered or blocked, thus stopping the circulation of air and they will not be able to carry out their functions.
Ingestion of wastes is another major contributor to the death of aquatic animals. Common wastes that end up in the sea include plastic bags, plastic bottles and small plastic bits. These are often mistaken as food and causes blockage within the digestive system and eventual death. Consumption of plastics also reduces the storage volume of their stomachs, so the animals are unable to consume enough food for their survival. These animals, having filled their bellies with plastic of some sort, have a false sense of having their hunger satiated and often die of malnutrition. In birds, when the storage volume of their stomachs is reduced, they are unable to lay down fat deposits, which are important in their long-term migration and reproduction.
Some examples of local animals facing extinction are the Chinese Ergret, a migratory bird that migrate from north to south and stopping in Singapore after breeding; dugong, of which rare sightings have been made off the main island of Singapore; and the Singapore Freshwater Crab, a nocturnal herbivore that can only be found locally.
It will lead to a loss of identity. Since we were young, many of us have been exposed to the diversity of our aquatic life. For example, the knowledge of our diverse range of mangroves is widely known. Even in history, students are taught that mangroves have aided us during the colonial years in providing a safe trading port. Thus, mangroves may be a common identity that many Singaporeans connect with and if it were to disappear, it would be a huge loss of identity. Additionally, Singapore’s coral reefs have recently gained widespread recognition and have grown to be a feature known nationwide due to the rareness of such reefs with such diversity and the high levels of average coral cover. However, if they were to disappear, it will also be a loss of identity and hence, one less thing that ties us together. Hence, the loss of aquatic life will lead to a loss of identity amongst Singaporeans.
This issue goes against the ethic of respect with regards to nature. Respect can be defined as treating something or someone with kindness and care. Nature is something that connects all living beings together, and all beings are sentient (beings with the ability to suffer or have other subjective experiences) to at least a certain extent. Needless destruction of or harm to harmful living things is a wrong against them, not just a possible wrong against other human beings. Respect for life may, therefore, substantially improve humanity's chances of surviving and flourishing into the deep future as the welfare of individual organisms, which are entities with inherent worth, determines our moral relations with other living beings. As stated by the life-centered theory, we have moral obligations that are owed to plants and animals of nature themselves as members of the Earth’s biotic community as all beings are equal. We are morally bound to protect or promote for their good and it is our duties to respect the integrity of natural ecosystems, to promote endangered species and avoid environmental pollution, which are ways to allow wild species populations achieve and maintain a healthy existence in heir natural state. Therefore, not conserving or preserving our aquatic life is not protecting the value of naturalness, not respecting each and every sentient being. Our actions have huge implications on nature, creating a highly complex relationship between the changes we have made to the environment and its wellbeing. If we are not able to “right” our wrongs and allow the environment to degrade to a worse extent, we would not have had showed respect for nature as care and concern has not been demonstrated.
The lack of conservation goes against the ethic of compassion and empathy. Compassion is the response to suffering with understanding, patience, and kindness and allows us to open ourselves up to the sufferings around us and seek its alleviation. Empathy is the ability to understand the plight of others and these two moral values go hand in hand, especially in acts of conservation and protection. The development of our country at the expense of the environment shows that we lack empathy for the wellbeing of the other living entities and thus compassion as we do not take the initiative to protect their wellbeing and prevent them from suffering due to our pollution of their living environment. Hence, the lack of action shows we are neither compassionate nor do we empathise for the betterment of sentient living things through our influence and actions.