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Dear Members and Friends of Nature Society (Singapore),
I hope that you have been well and enjoying a chance to look back on the past year and to savour its finer moments – with hopes that there will be even more in the year ahead.
For biodiversity, 2022 brought both sobering news as well as great hope. Both the BirdLife International State of the World’s Birds Report 2022 and the WWF Living Planet Report 2022 confirmed our fears: nature has never been in as precarious a state as it is in now. Almost half of all bird species are in decline, says the State of the World’s Birds, with more than one in eight species threatened. Overall, wildlife populations are down nearly 70% from 1970 levels, according to this year’s Living Planet Report.
The year concluded with the ratification in Montreal, Canada, of the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework, touted by some to be the “Paris Agreement for Biodiversity.” Among other things, the new biodiversity framework calls for conserving 30% of our land and seas by 2030. How can the global community make this new biodiversity agreement work when we could not meet targets set by previous international agreements?
These ambitious international goals and actions may seem remote from our tropical city-state, but I feel that Singapore can and should raise its conservation ambitions to assist nature both locally and regionally. There is expertise in so many sectors that can assist both our climate and biodiversity crises. Finance, law and policy, science and engineering, communications, education, and businesses large and small – all can make meaningful contributions to nature conservation and scale up local innovation in collaboration with partners overseas. And Nature Society aims to be part of this multi-sectoral movement.
As part of civil society, the Nature Society (Singapore) is committed to show that what is good for Nature is good for people, and that the life-giving function of nature goes far beyond providing for our physical needs. A familiarity with nature can bring joy and added meaning to our lives, a strong endorsement for nurturing the naturalist in each of us. The Nature Society will continue to put the study, protection, and celebration of nature at the heart of everything we do.
In the year ahead, the Nature Society will undergo refinement and renewal of its activities and procedures so that we can more effectively contribute to the care and protection of our precious natural world. Your support and participation give us the capacity and inspiration to work to celebrate and save our natural heritage, and we hope you will continue to believe in and work alongside us. There is much to do and not much time to work with, but I am hopeful that with your help and active participation we will help ensure a brighter future for nature and for people.
Wishing you and your loved ones peace, health, and a very happy holiday season.
Sincerely Yours,
Dr Shawn Lum President Nature Society (Singapore)
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