Celebrate Bukit Brown’s Biodiversity. Do not destroy it.
Here is more information about Bukit Brown Cemetery’s environmental value. The information is courtesy of Dr. Ho Hua Chew from the Nature Society (Singapore).
I) Size
Bukit Brown is about 200 hectares in size, with a large portion of the area wooded, some of it very dense.
II) Ecological Importance
- Serves as carbon sink, sequestering CO2 for Singapore.
- Serves as a free natural air-conditioner for Singapore.
- Serves as a rainfall sponge, with the greenery and woodland soaking up rainwater. This prevents erosion and flooding.
III) Biodiversity
There are a total of 86 bird species recorded in Bukit Brown, both resident and migratory.
Of these, 12 are nationally threatened bird species. The Singapore Red Data Book (2008) lists them as either critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. They are:
- White-bellied Woodpecker
- White-rumped Shama
- Spotted Wood Owl
- Violet Cuckoo
- Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
- Thick-billed Green Pigeon
- Changeable Hawk Eagle
- Oriental Magpie Robin
- Straw- headed Bulbul
- Black-headed Bulbul
- Rusty-breasted Cuckoo
- Red-legged Crake
Bukit Brown also serves as an extended habitat or foraging range for many forest bird species from the Central Catchment Nature Reserves (i.e. from the MacRitchie forest north of Lornie Road). It can serve or is serving as an important stepping stone for birdlife to disperse from the Nature Reserve to the southern parks like the Botanic Gardens, the Istana and the Southern Ridges like Mt Faber, Kent Ridge, Telok Blangah Hill Park, etc.
For more information about Singapore’s natural environment and biodiversity, please visit the Singapore Nature Society’s website: http://www.nss.org.sg
