Aggiornamento sulla petizioneRethink the Western Island Plan for Singapore: Save the Coral Reefs

Protecting Singapore’s Dugongs and Their Underwater Homes

Zoah TanSingapore, Singapore
24 ott 2026

Dugongs (Dugong dugon), often affectionately known as “sea cows”, are marine mammals related to manatees and native to Singapore. They are assessed as Critically Endangered locally, making the protection of their habitats an important part of conserving Singapore’s marine biodiversity.

These gentle marine mammals feed primarily on seagrass, using their sensitive, whiskered snouts to forage along the seabed. Like us, they need to breathe air, regularly surfacing between their underwater grazing sessions. Their lives are closely connected to seagrass meadows — vibrant underwater habitats that provide food and shelter for a wide variety of marine life.

Singapore’s seagrass meadows are a valuable part of our natural heritage. We are home to 12 of the 23 seagrass species found across the Indo-Pacific, with meadows at places such as Chek Jawa, Cyrene Reef, Pulau Semakau and Changi Beach. These often-overlooked underwater landscapes play an important role in supporting marine biodiversity and healthy coastal ecosystems.

However, seagrass meadows are sensitive to changes in their surroundings. Land reclamation can directly remove these habitats, while sediment stirred up during construction can reduce the sunlight that seagrass needs to grow. Protecting these meadows therefore helps safeguard not only feeding grounds for dugongs, but also the many other marine species that depend on them.

Dugongs also face challenges from boat traffic and fishing nets, which can cause injuries or accidental entanglement. Because they reproduce slowly and typically give birth to a single calf at a time, protecting the animals that remain is especially important. Their decline in other parts of the world, including China, where a 2022 study by the Zoological Society of London and the Chinese Academy of Sciences concluded they were functionally extinct, reminds us of the importance of protecting these animals while we still can.

As Singapore considers the Western Island Plan and future reclamation, we have an opportunity to think carefully about how development can coexist with the marine life that makes our island home so special.

Progress and nature protection should not have to be opposing goals. With careful planning, thorough environmental assessments and a commitment to safeguarding sensitive habitats, we can make more informed decisions about our coastal future.

Our reefs, seagrass meadows and the animals that call them home are part of Singapore too. They may be hidden beneath the waves, but they are an important part of our shared natural heritage — one worth understanding, appreciating and protecting for future generations.

By speaking up for our marine ecosystems today, we can help ensure that Singapore’s future includes not just new developments, but thriving waters and the remarkable wildlife that lives within them.

 

Sources

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