From Press to Screen - National Library Singapore

40NewspaperSG41COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTSFrom Press to Screenmore likely than ever to turn to searchengines when looking for information. Toaddress this issue, newspaper contenthas been search engine-optimisedwith the permission of the respectivepublishers, and been received withMichelle Hengenthusiasm by netizens.LibrarianLee Kong Chian Reference LibraryNational LibrarySince its official launch in January2010, NewspaperSG has proved to betremendously popular — more than 8million digital pages have been accessedby a total of 1.2 million visitors. Patronscan search 14.8 million articles in thesedigitised newspapers, from both NLBNg Hui LingAssociate LibrarianLee Kong Chian Reference LibraryNational Librarylibraries and also in the comfort of theirown homes.With the addition of Malay-languagedaily Berita Harian and Chinese-Blanguage newspaper Lianhe Zaobao toNewspaperSG’s stable of archived newsBerita HarianBerita Harian is the only MalayMazelan AnuarSenior LibrarianLee Kong Chian Reference LibraryNational LibraryASource: The Straits Times, 10 August 1965.(newspapers.nl.sg)BSumber: Berita Harian, 31 Disember 1976.(newspapers.nl.sg)REFERENCES1 Singapore: the Encyclopedia (2006). Singapore:Editions Didier Millet in association with theNational Heritage Board. p. 61.A读 者 目 前 可 通 过 NewspaperSG 查 找 《 联 合 早 报 》1983 年 至 1986 年 的 文 章 , 也 可 通过 预 览 服 务 的 栏 目 浏 览 《 星 洲 日 报 》。 同 时 , 读 者 也 可 以 把 所 需 的 资 料 保 存 到 题 录信 息 的 栏 目 , 或 通 过 网 络 社 交 媒 体 如 Facebook 和 Twitter 与 朋 友 分 享 文 章 。Para pengguna kini boleh mencari artikel Berita Harian yang diterbitkan antara 1970sehingga 1979 di dalam NewspaperSG (newspapers.nl.sg). Mereka boleh menyimpanpautan artikel untuk rujukan masa datang dan juga berkongsi maklumat melalui alatmedia sosial seperti Facebook dan Twitter.If you dread spending hours sitting ina dimly-lit room watching a stream ofmicrofilmed newspapers flutter by on aprojector screen, you might well becomea fan of NewspaperSG (newspapers.nl.sg).more productive research. Where in thepast, library patrons had to plough throughreams of microfilmed newspapers, now asimple keyword search allows browsingof the digital archive of Singapore andMalaya newspapers published from 1831to 2006. At present, 23 newspaper titlesA collaboration by the National Library are available.Board (NLB) and Singapore PressHoldings (SPH), the service facilitates Research shows that users are nowpublications, users who had voiced hopesthat plans to include digitised copies ofnewspapers in other languages were inthe pipeline, now see their wish cometrue. Another proposed developmentis to incorporate newspaper contentfrom other NLB-subscribed databaseswith NewspaperSG to form a singleseamless service.One of the significant time-savers thatNewspaperSG offers is a citation-savingfeature. Conveniently located at the topof the webpage, it allows users to saveand email citations for future reference.For a truly rich Web 2.0 experience,NewspaperSG is integrated with socialnetworking sites like Facebook andTwitter, to encourage knowledge sharing.The recent addition of vernacularlanguage newspapers, user-friendlyfeatures such as multilingual userinterfaces, translated search termsand search keyword recommendationsfurther enhance users’ experience of thiscomprehensive digital archive.Berita Harian merupakan satu-satunyaakhbar yang diterbitkan dalam bahasaMelayu di Singapura pada masa ini. Muladiterbitkan pada tahun 1957 di KualaLumpur, ia diedarkan ke seluruh Malayasebagai pesaing kepada akhbar UtusanMelayu. Selepas 1965, edisi Singapuramula diterbitkan untuk melaporkan danmembincangkan isu-isu berkenaanSingapura. Versi dalam talian, Cyberita,diterbitkan sejak 1996. Kini Berita Harianyang diterbitkan di Singapura sudahtiada kaitan dengan Berita Harian yangditerbitkan di Malaysia selepas SingaporePress Holdings (SPH) ditubuhkan danmengambil alih usaha penerbitannya.Berita Harian yang bertindak sebagaiwadah untuk masyarakat Melayu menyuarakanpandangan mereka telah menjadisumber melahirkan pemimpin Melayu.Antara wartawan dan penyunting BeritaHarian yang kemudiannya berkecimpungdalam arena politik termasuk EncikMohamad Maidin Packer, Hawazi Daipidan Zainul Abideen Rasheed.newspaper published in Singaporetoday. First published in 1957 in KualaLumpur and distributed in Malaya as arival newspaper to the Utusan Melayu,the edition known to Singaporeanstoday came into being in 1965. This newBerita Harian’s focus was news reportsand discussions of issues specific toSingapore. An online version, cyBerita,was made available in 1996. Today, thepaper is published by the SingaporePress Holdings (SPH), independent ofMalaysia’s Berita Harian.Berita Harian provides a platform for theMalay community in Singapore to voicetheir views and has been “a source ofMalay leadership” — a number of itsformer journalists and editors suchas Mohamad Maidin Packer, HawaziDaipi and Zainul Abideen Rasheedhave moved on to political careers.

42 43With 200,000 copies published dailyby Singapore Press Holdings (SPH),Lianhe Zaobao is the leading Chinesenewspaper in Singapore. The paperAng Seow Lengis also distributed in mainland China,Senior LibrarianNational LibraryHong Kong and Brunei. The result ofa merger between Nanyang SiangwerPau and Sin Chew Jit Poh, the paperoriginated as the Nanyang Sin-ChewLianhe Zaobao (or Lianhe Zaobao, forshort). The former two newspapers wereThe Orchid’s Manifold Facesthe earliest published in Singapore, inC1923 and 1929 respectively.来 源 :《 联 合 早 报 》,1983 年 3 月 16 日The 20 th World Orchid Conference will once again be held in been awarded to the winners ranging from gardening hobbyistsIn its lifetime, Lianhe Zaobao has setSingapore from 13–20 November, at the Marina Bay Sands Expo to firms in the horticulture industry. The oldest awarding body联 合 早 报and Convention Centre. This major event is regarded as the for orchids is the Orchid Committee of the Royal Horticulturala number of firsts. In 1991, it became“Olympics of Orchids”. World Orchid Conferences were initiated Society. 4 It classifies its awards as follows: First Class Certificate《 联 合 早 报 》 是 目 前 新 加 坡 的 京 、 上 海 、 广 州 等 几 个 大 城 市 the first Chinese newspaper in thein 1952 by Gordon W. Dillon, from the American Orchid Society. (FCC), Award of Merit (AM), and Highly Commended Certificate主 要 华 文 日 报 , 由 新 加 坡 报 业 的 五 星 级 酒 店 公 开 售 卖 , 成 为 world to implement fully computerisedHe was also the editor for American Orchid Society Bulletin from (HCC). In Asia, the oldest awarding organisation is the Orchid控 股 公 司 出 版 。 它 每 日 的 发 行 第 一 家 获 准 在 中 国 大 陆 发 行 的 output typesetting and an industrywide1943–1967, and from 1970–1973. The first conference was held Society of Southeast Asia. 5sensation in mainland China,at St. Louis, Missouri in October 1954. Since then, it has been量 约 为 20 万 份 , 除 了 在 新 加 坡 海 外 华 文 报 。1995 年 开 启 电 子发 行 之 外 , 也 在 中 国 大 陆 、 香 版 联 合 早 报 网 (zaobao.com)held once every three years. Regarded as the most significant According to Teoh Eng Soon, an orchid enthusiast, awards fromHong Kong and Taiwan. Study groups港 特 别 行 政 区 和 文 莱 等 地 少 量 , 通 过 网 络 将 《 联 合 早 报 》 的event in the international orchid circuit, it attracts academics, these particular societies are most highly valued: the Royalof delegates visited the Singapore发 行 。 它 的 前 身 是 1923 年 创 刊 内 容 迅 速 传 送 到 全 球 各 角 落 ,orchid breeders and enthusiasts who gather to share about the Horticultural Society, American Orchid Society, Orchid Societyoffices of Lianhe Zaobao to study this的 《 南 洋 商 报 》 和 1929 年 创 成 为 东 南 亚 第 一 家 进 入 互 联 网promotion, cultivation and study of orchids.of Southeast Asia, Orchid Society of Thailand, Hawaiian Orchid刊 的 《 星 洲 日 报 》。1983 年 ,new production method from journalistSociety, South Florida Orchid Society and the Australian Orchid时 代 的 华 文 报 , 也 是 全 球 最 早这 两 家 历 史 悠 久 的 报 章 合 并 ,The 4 th World Orchid Conference was held in Singapore in 1963 Council. 6 These awards recognise the best orchids grown,上 网 华 文 报 之 一 。 联 合 早 报input to layout. In 1993, Lianhe Zaobaofrom 3–10 October. It was jointly sponsored by the Malayan encourage research and reward the growers and breeders for成 立 新 加 坡 新 闻 与 出 版 有 限 公 网 的 点 击 率 从 每 天 1 万 , 到 今 became the first foreign newspaperOrchid Society, Royal Horticultural Society and the American their efforts.司 , 并 共 同 在 1983 年 3 月 16 日 天 每 天 近 500 万 的 页 览 量 , 增 to be available in mainland China, onOrchid Society. This first major orchid event hosted in Asia出 版 了 《 南 洋 • 星 洲 联 合 早 报 》 加 了 数 百 倍 。 进 入 Web2.0 时 the newsstands of five-star hotels inincluded an orchid show at the Singapore Turf Club, a proud Orchids — More Than Just a Flower, 简 称 《 联 合 早 报 》。 代 , 新 加 坡 报 业 控 股 推 出 以 18 Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou andshowcase of the rich variety of orchids from all over the world.岁 到 35 岁 为 主 要 对 象 的 双 语in other major cities. In 1995, LianheThis event attracted 700 delegates from 45 countries. 1Orchids have enjoyed admiration from generations of artists,《 联 合 早 报 》 创 下 许 多 个 “ 第 移 动 与 在 线 平 台 omy(onlineZaobao launched the world’s firstgardeners and philosophers. Confucius said, “acquaintance with一 ”。1991 年 , 它 成 为 世 界 mobile for the young,www.Parade of Orchidsgood men was like entering a room full of fragrant orchids. OneChinese e-newspaper, zaobao.com,上 第 一 家 真 正 全 面 电 脑 化 的 omy.sg), 不 但 提 供 丰 富 的barely notices the scent, but as time passes a subtle influence will华 文 报 , 从 记 者 输 入 文 稿 到 编which allowed for the online proliferation新 闻 与 娱 乐 资 讯 , 更 跨 越 文Flower shows have had a long history in Singapore. According辑 排 出 大 版 , 完 全 通 过 电 脑 操 字 , 以 视 频 (vodcast) 和 音 频of its content. It the beginning, zaobao.to The Straits Times, they were held in Singapore in 1884–1900作 ; 这 在 当 时 引 起 中 国 大 陆 、 (podcast) 呈 现 新 闻 。 作 为 报 com received about 10,000 hits daily.and in 1931–1937. When the Singapore Gardening Society was香 港 和 台 湾 报 业 同 业 的 兴 趣 , 业 控 股 旗 下 的 华 文 报 章 ,《 联 This number has since increased byformed in 1937, they took over the organising of flower shows till纷 纷 组 团 前 来 考 察 。1993 年 , 合 早 报 》 为 omy 在 新 闻1941, when the “Grow More Food” show took their place. 2 Orchidsmore than a hundred times to 5 million它 又 获 准 在 中 国 登 陆 , 可 在 北were the mainstay in these shows. The flower or horticulturetoday. Entering the era of web2.0, SPHshows continued after the war, growing in magnitude and scale.REFERENCESlaunched its bilingual online platformApart from domestic exhibitions and events, Singapore’s orchidomy. Targeting young people betweenhybrids also participated in overseas competitions.the ages of 18 and 35, this platform1 杨 瑞 锋 . (2008, 08 06). 20 年 交 往 交 织 出 联 系 大新 加 坡 : 新 加 坡 报 业 控 股 华 文 报 集 团 .Singapore’s inaugural international garden and flower show was网 . Retrieved 05 19, 2011, from 联 合 早 报 :introduced the use of vodcasts and4 新 加 坡 报 业 控 股 . (n.d.). 联 合 早 报 网 .http://www.zaobao.com.sg/special/singapore/held in December 2006. Known as the Singapore Garden Festival,Retrieved from http://www.zaobao.com.sg/ podcasts as new ways of presentingpages4/zaobao85080906h.shtmlit was a major attraction, to welcoming approximately 200,0005 Singapore The Encyclopedia (2006), p. 61. news. As part of the SPH stable, Lianhe2 韩 咏 梅 . (2008, 08 06). 新 闻 开 口 记 者 两 栖 .visitors 3 throughout the event. And the numbers kept increasingRetrieved 05 19, 2011, from 联 合 早 报 :6 http://www.sph.com.sg/ourproducts_Zaobao continues to provide strongfor the subsequent Garden Festivals held in 2008 and 2010.http://www.zaobao.com.sg/special/singapore/newspaper_beritaharian.shtmlcontent backing for omy’s news andpages4/zaobao85080906bv.shtml7 http://cyberita.asia1.com.sg/mnt/html/kenal.htm entertainment information.Competitions to judge award-winning orchids are common3 林 任 君 主 编 . (1993). 我 们 的 七 十 年 , 1923-1993 .in flower shows. Cups, medals and other special prizes haveMore ThanJust a FlThe 20 th World Orchid Conference:Where New and Old World Orchids MeetHome to a botanic gardens famed for its orchid researchprogrammes, one of the oldest active orchid societies inthe world — the Orchid Society of Southeast Asia (OSSEA),and to Vanda Miss Joaquim, its national flower, Singaporeis one of the most important producers of orchids in theworld. A key international marketplace for orchids fromboth the east and the west, Singapore is the perfect venuefor 20WOC, and the only Asian city to have had the rareprivilege of hosting the iconic international event a secondtime. Set to take centre stage on the world’s floriculturalcalendar, this triennial international event will be held atMarina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre from 13 to20 November 2011.NEWSCourtesy of the 20WOC.

44 45BOrchids can be commonly found in homes, hotels and offices.Flourishing in all parts of the world, they come in different colours,shapes and sizes, and can be found growing in a wide range ofenvironments. Teoh summarised it best, when he drew attentionto the resemblance of orchids to insects and even slippers:“ There are orchids which resemble moths (Phalaenopsis),butterflies (Psychopsis papillo), the slippers of Aphrodite ormoccasins (Paphiopedilum and Cypripedium), dancing ladies(Oncidium), spiders (Brassia), scorpions (Arachnis) and bees(Ophrys). 10“Orchids also have several uses, in addition to their being ornamentalplants. The vanilla seed capsule is a common ingredient used inbaking. Derived from Vanilla planifolia orchid, it is also used inbeauty products like perfume and aromatherapy oils.Henry Nicholas Ridley, who was the first Director of theSingapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 till 1912, also contributedto the identification of orchids in Malaya. When collecting plantspecimens, he made conscious effort to collect orchids for theherbarium, for the purpose of study, cultivation and exchange.Published records show that he had described 13 orchid generaand about 200 new species. In 1893, he described the firstorchid hybrid, Vanda Miss Joaquim; and in 1896, he wrote thefirst account of orchids in the Malay Peninsula. 17The Singapore Botanic Gardens, under its third Director, RichardEric Holttum, was the sole organisation to be actively involvedin producing orchid hybrids. Holttum was with the SingaporeBotanic Gardens from 1922 to 1949. He was regarded as apioneer for creating orchid hybrids in this region and for his workin the experimental cultivation of orchid seedlings in Malaya inAAThe National Orchid Garden offers a permanent showcase of the largest display oftropical orchids in the world, including “hand-crafted” orchids bred by the Gardens’horticultural staff. Source: Simon McGill.BBefore the three-hectare National Orchid Garden was constructed, the one-hectareOrchid Enclosure at the Singapore Botanic Gardens was home to the many varietiesof orchids that were developed through the orchid breeding programme. Courtesy ofSingapore Tourism Board.CFreshly cut orchids are prepared for export, delivery and arrangement by the staff atToh Orchids at Sungai Tengah. Courtesy of Ministry of Information, Communicationsand the Arts, Singapore.DA watering machine traverses the greenhouse aisles at Toh Orchids. Courtesy ofMinistry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Singapore.ELuscious orchid blooms thrived at the Mandai Orchid Gardens, which closed on 31December 2010. Courtesy of Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts,Singapore.be exerted to one”. 7 There is even has a legend attributed to oneof its species. According to the Javanese, the foliage of Macodespetola (also known as jewel orchid, famed for their striking leafpatterns) arose from shreds of a magic silk scarf that had beenplaced on jagged rock by a beautiful goddess. 8The orchid family, Orchidaceae, is one of the largest families offlowering plants and has about 25,000 species. With the sheeramount of the species under this family, some are still waiting tobe discovered, while new species are being found and hybridsbeing created all the time. The orchid derives its name from theGreek term, orchis, meaning “the testicles”, an association madeby Theophrastus (c. 370–c. 287BC), with reference to the shapeof the root tubers of species in Greece. The ophrastus was aGreek philosopher who wrote two large botanical treatises,History of Plants, dealing with classification and distribution,and Causes of Plants, dealing with structure and physiology.Later, Carl von Linnaeus (1707–1778), a Swedish naturalist andphysician, who is well known as the “Father of Plant Taxonomy”,retained this name in his Species Plantarum (1753), whichCDCertain orchids are also used for food or food supplements. Forinstance, the leaves of one species Anoectochilus have beensold as a vegetable in Malaysia, and the leaves of Dendrobiumsalaccense are cooked and added as a seasoning with rice. In2005, chef Choo Kwang Keong tried to introduce the eating oforchids in Singapore. Classes were held at the Mandai OrchidGarden as part of the Singapore Food Festival, to teach peoplehow to cook with orchids. 11Some orchids have been used in folk medicines and cures. In theMalay Peninsula region, women in Malaysia would make a drinkfrom the boiled leaves of Nervilia aragoana to prevent sicknessafter childbirth. In Malacca, boils are treated with a poultice madefrom Oberonia anceps. 12 In India, there has been study made onsome orchids as traditional medicine. 13Singapore Botanic Gardens — The Powerhousefor Orchid Hydridisation ResearchThe Singapore Botanic Gardens played a pivotal role inspearheading orchid research and conservation, though orchidshad been an object of study in Singapore even before itsestablishment in 1859. The Agri-horticultural Society, a privatebody, was already active in orchid cultivation. There was mentionof a “derelict orchid house” that was inherited when the BotanicGardens took over from the Society. 14The variety of tropical orchids has been a fascination forhorticulturalists. Records of plant exchange at the Gardens from1875 onwards showed a high frequency of species being sentto all parts of the world. The Gardens’ earliest records notethat the Superintendent of the Gardens, H.J. Murton, began tocultivate orchids in a newly constructed Orchid House duringthe mid 1870s. 15 However, orchid thefts and pilfering became sorampant that by 1879, Murton reported that ‘the larger part of theOrchidaceae has been removed and fixed on trees beyond thereach of visitors to prevent their being stolen’! 161928. The first hybrid, Spathoglottis Primrose, flowered in 1931, 18ushering in an era of active orchid hybridising in Malaya. Thesecond orchid hybrid to flower after the first orchid hybrid VandaMiss Joaquim flowered, Spathoglottis Primrose was germinatedon an artificial media. It was the first successfully grown hybridin Singapore using what was known as the Knudson’s method.Holttum registered 28 hybrids during his employ with theGardens. Another major contribution from him was the book,Orchids of Malaya, which was published in 1953, featuring morethan 750 Malayan orchid species. 19 It is still regarded as animportant reference today.After the Japanese Occupation, the creation of Malayan hybridsbegan to pick up speed in 1949, with the landmark floweringof Vanda Tan Chay Yan in 1952. 20 This particular hybrid wasawarded a First Class Certificate (FCC), the highest award givenby the Royal Horticultural Society of the UK, at the ChelseaFlower Show in England in 1954. 21A Tissue Culture Laboratory was established in the Gardens in theearly 1970s to experiment on tissue culture of orchids. By 1978,the Laboratory started a service to assist local orchid growersand breeders. 22 Economically driven, the Laboratory contributedto mass propagation of selected orchid hybrids to enable localorchid industry to gain an edge over competition from Thailandand Malaysia in the cut-flower market. Free flowering and robustorchid hybrids that last long in vases were the preferred choice.The Orchid Enclosure was first opened to the public in 1955.The hugely popular enclosure was expanded with time and theNational Orchid Garden was opened at the end of 1995, exhibitingan extensive range of orchids. In order to cultivate and researchthe orchid species growing in higher altitudes and from temperateclimates, the Cold House, also known as the Temperate House,was built in 1972. And in 2004, it was replaced by the Cool HouseConservatory, which was constructed in the National OrchidGarden. 23 As at 2009, Tan Wee Kiat reported that there were morethan 1,000 orchid species and 2,000 hybrids in the collection. 24The Gardens has also registered more than 400 hybrids. 25introduced the concept of binomial nomenclature. 9E

50Wealthy Reserves inNatural Heritage:unnoticed on Singapore’s shoreline until this year. It has beennamed after the Lee Foundation.Discovered for the first time in Singapore, Janss’ pipefish(Doryrhamphus janssi) is another little pecularity. It belongs tothe same family as the seahorse, which has the male of thespecies carry eggs in its pouch.A once-missing species, the white-spotted Cat Snake (Boigadrapiezii) has been recently observed at the Central CatchmentNature Reserve, over 100 years since its last sighting. However,experts believe that these endangered species, which haveA Decade of Biodiversity ConservationSara Pekbeen rediscovered, still face the threat of extinction due to trendsof habitat loss. 2CSingapore does not have grand forts, great palaces or ancientrelics. But the diversity of our terrestrial and marine fauna holdsclues to the millennium past; adding richness and depth to ourbiodiversity. Thousands of living marvels and natural heritagereside in our lush and beautiful islands, from the rocky shorecreatures at Chek Jawa and Pulau Ubin to a wide variety ofplants, animals and insects found at the nature reserves.Since post independence in the 1960s, Singapore has engineeredits landscapes for rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. Atthe same time, a policy to create a clean and green city wasimplemented. To keep our ecosystems balanced, governmentand non-profit organisations have continued to conserve thehabitats and wildlife for our future generations.For the past ten years, local conservationists have welcomedto Singapore’s intertidaland subtidal habitats500 species of plantsand animals new toSingapore. More than100 new species havealso been discovered.Aand Discoveries in SingaporeBSenior LibrarianLee Kong Chian Reference LibraryNational LibraryThese accomplishments were unveiled at “A Decade ofBiodiversity Conservation and Discoveries in Singapore”, anexhibition to mark Singapore’s commitment to biodiversityconservation.The exhibition was launched by Tommy Koh, former chairmanof National Heritage Board and the Patron of the Nature Societyof Singapore at the HortPark Gallery on 21 April 2011. Thisamazing showcase was put together by National Parks Board(NParks) and National University of Singapore’s Raffles Museumof Biodiversity Research (RMBR). Since 4 July, the exhibitionhas travelled to the National Library and the public libraries.The natural world takes centre stage in wooden crates ondisplay. Astonishing photographs of new and rediscoveredspecies heave into view. Every species is unique. The exhibitionemphasises not only what has been found but also the unknownand beyond our current understanding of life forms. A recentstudy 1 reported that an estimated 8.7 million species exist onplanet Earth; 90 percent of plant and animal species have yet tobe discovered or classified. Our ecosystems are more complexand diverse than we can grasp.The gallery of images tells of Singapore’s diverse habitats andthe rare and weird plants and animals which occupy them:Lee’s Purple Marine Crab (Leelumnus radium), a brightpurple marine crab covered by layers of dirt, has beenAThe long, hanging flowers of Coelogyne rocchusenii. Photo: Alvin Lok. Courtesy ofNational Parks Board.BJann’s Pipefish can be found swimming under rocky overhangs, corals, or close to thefloor of its reef habitat where it performs the role of cleaner fish. Photo: Jani Tanzil.Courtesy of National Parks Board.CNamed after the Lee Foundation, the purple marine crab is a recently discovered newgenus and new species. Photo: Jose Christopher Mendoza. Courtesy of National ParksBoard.DHystrix brachyuran, the nocturnal Malayan porcupine, is believed to originated fromSouth Asia. Photo: Norman Lim. Courtesy of National Parks Board.EArchibasis rebeccae, or Rebecca’s sprite is an extremely rare species of damselfly. Photo:Robin Ngiam. Courtesy of National Parks Board.Chanced upon during a dragonfly conservation project, a silveryand blue damselfly (Archibasis rebeccae) is also featured in theexhibition. This rare discovery has also led to a book on Singapore’sdragonflies, Dragonflies of our Parks and Gardens (2011).Listed as nationally extinct, the Necklace Orchid (Coelogynerochussenii) was encountered at the deep Nee Soon SwampForest last year. 4 Another rediscovery is the stylised orchid(Dendrobium aloifolium), which was last spotted in 1911. 5 It wasfirst recorded in Singapore in 1889 by Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley,the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens.Native orchids are hard to find due to the loss of their habitatsand these orchids are rare finds from the pristine swamps.Maintaining the health of the natural environment and biodiversityis takes on even greater importance in a highly urbanised city statelike Singapore. Biodiversity — the variety and interdependenceof living things that exist on Earth — give us inestimable benefitsand help the ecosystems adapt to changes including a widevariety of environmental threats.The exhibit highlights a decade of milestones in Singapore’spreservation of biological diversity. Some of these include:Singapore’s signing of the International Convention of1 Ang, W.F. et al. (2010). Rediscovery of Dendrobium Aloifolium (Blume)CHB.F. (Orchidaceae) in Singapore. Nature in Singapore, 3, 321–325.Retrieved from http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/index.html2 Convention on biological diversity. (2011).The Singapore Index on Cities’Biodiversity. Retrieved from http://www.cbd.int/3 Lok, Alvin Francis S.L. et al. (2011). Rediscovery in Singapore of CoelogyneRochussenii de Vriese (Orchidaceae). Nature in Singapore, 4, 49–53.Retrieved from http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/nis/index.html4 Mora, C. et al. (2011). How many species are there on Earth and in theocean? PLoS Biol 9(8). Retrieved from http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.10011275 National Parks Board (2011). History of biodiversity conservation inSingapore. Retrieved from http://www.nparks.gov.sg/6 Scheffers, B.R. et al. (2011).The world’s rediscovered species: Back fromENDNOTESDEBiological Diversity (an internationaltreaty behind globalconservation programmes) in 1993;the documentation of the framework on biodiversityconservation in the Singapore Green Plan launched that sameyear; the recommendation of nineteen nature areas in 2003; andthe establishment of the National Biodiversity Reference Centrein Singapore in 2006. 6 Last year, Singapore contributed to theglobal biodiversity conservation movement by developing thefirst assessment tool for cities to measure biodiversity — theSingapore index on Cities’ Biodiversity. 7The unrelenting and persevering efforts of our nature enthusiasts,and their adventurous tastes for new discoveries has openedour eyes to the natural beauty hidden in our rainforest swamps,mangroves and shorelines. As we celebrate the InternationalYear of the Forest in 2011, we can all learn to protect and valuegreen spaces as both solace for wildlife, and home for us.the brink? PLoS ONE 6(7). Retrieved from http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.00225317 Walker, M. (October 8, 2009). BBC – Earth news: How cities drive plantsextinct. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/ news/FURTHER READING1 The National Parks Board also launched a new one-stop integrated portal onplants and animals in Singapore—Flora&FaunaWeb at http://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg. The portal allows searching and provides information on morethan 2,500 plant and 1,000 animal species in Singapore.2 Ng, P. K. L, Corlett, R. T, Tan, H. T. W. (2011). Singapore biodiversity: Anencyclopedia of the natural environment and sustainable developmentSingapore: Editions Didier Millet in association with the Raffles Museum ofBiodiversity Research. Call no.: RSING 333.95095957 SIN3 Ngiam, R. (2011). Dragonflies of our parks and gardens. Singapore: NationalBiodiversity Centre, National Parks Board. Call no.: RSING 595.733095957 NGI