Anuj Jain: We’ve touched the, the planet in so many ways that, you know, cities have a huge ecological footprint, right? both physically and indirectly through the supply chains that they, in fact, therefore, if we just flip the narrative about, what does it mean for cities to be green? Maybe we should think of what does it mean for built environments to be green? And that is really, a big part of the earth now. built environment is, is everywhere where humans have touched the planet, right? It could be rural, urban, or anything in between. So you know, it really also borders developments that we have at national parks, or, or seascapes even where humans are living. So, I think we should take a, a broader worldview here and say, how, how should. conservation and perhaps built environment and development be thinking about coexistence.

Mike DiGirolamo: Welcome to the Mongabay Newscast. I’m your co-host, Mike DiGirolamo, bringing you weekly conversations with experts, authors, scientists, and activists working on the front lines of conservation, shining a light on some of the most pressing issues facing our planet and holding people in power to account. This podcast is edited on Gadigal Land. Today on the newscast we speak with Anuj Jain, the director and principal ecologist at bioSEA. A consultancy that works with architects and land planners to shape built environments that are both ecologically sustainable and functional for people and wildlife. Cities are perhaps an unsung hero in the fight against biodiversity loss and climate change. Often seen as opponents of wildlife they can, when planned properly, be efficient ways for humans to coexist and sustain modern societal amenities. But cohabiting and integrating native vegetation and fauna into their infrastructure has been historically done poorly by many cities across the globe. The city state of Singapore has been working to change that and with impressive results. Today, the nation is 47% green space and reclaimed or protected vegetation. How the city arrived at this point is a long story that cannot be fully described in a single podcast episode, but today’s guest explains the how. And the why behind the philosophical and practical mindsets and methods that the nation has incorporated in creating this revitalized urban wildlife interface. Jain details the numerous benefits this has for both humans and biodiversity, such as efficient water usage, climate regulation, and heat mitigation, biodiversity protection, and just generally being much more pleasant to live in and be around. He discusses the challenges both Singapore. And other cities face in the global context of our biodiversity and climate crises and the mindset shifts required to reform our cities personally, I found Jain’s description of Singapore to be captivating, and he more than makes the case for any city to incorporate many of the practices that Singapore has been using to make their city more livable, breathable, and beautiful.

Anuj, welcome to the Mongabay Newscast. Thank you for joining us.

Anuj: Thanks for having me, Mike. It’s a pleasure.

Mike: So, you are in the city-state of Singapore, which is the subject of our conversation today and this city has revitalized to be 47% green space. This is a pretty unique feat. And my research tells me that back in the 1880s only 7% of the city’s forests remained. So the city has come a long way. So can you tell me why Singapore started revitalizing the urban wildlife Interface and what it was like before it really started undertaking this effort?

Anuj: Yeah, you’re right Mike. Singapore has gone through a radical change in the past 200 or so years, and in fact in the early 1800s it had lost most of its original forest cover, which was down to less than 1% by the turn of the century, largely lost to agriculture such as Gambia rubber and we celebrate the Singapore Botanic Gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and remembering and acknowledging that the gardens actually played a key role in establishing the rubber industry in Singapore and the region. But you know, over time, as a lot of land was lost to agriculture this happened largely in the 1800s/1900s, but since Singapore became independent in 1965, it’s also gone through a lot of changes, right? We should remember though that this place is tropical, right? It’s a small island state, over 700 square kilometers, just one degree north of equator, densely populated. And just for our international, audience, the population is about 5.9 million. So, you can imagine it’s very densely populated.

Mike: Yeah.

Mike (narration): Singapore is among the most densely populated countries in the world. However, it’s a city state, so it averages much higher than other nations because of this fact. The official government data set lists 8,207 people per square kilometer. For comparison, New York City has about 11,314 people per square kilometer, and on the far end of the spectrum, Manila in the Philippines has 43,611 people per square kilometer.

Anuj: So, in this density, as Singapore became independent, a lot of land had to be then used for urbanization, right? So, since independence, really urbanization has picked up and which is typical of any young city really—there’s more need for land, more housing, more commercial development. But in all this, as there was a lot of secondary forest, which was, left after urbanization. This is the real, real change, in a way, a lot of places which are big, right? Our forests are outside and the city becomes very dense and urbanized. Whereas for Singapore, it’s an island state, right? So, 700 kilometers or so is all that we’ve got.

Mike: Right.

Anuj: As the city grew from its former land use clearing, which was largely agriculture based, as economy intensified, a lot of that agriculture was abandoned. Secondary forest grew and as I was telling earlier this is tropical. So if you leave the land right, very quickly, it becomes secondary forest. And I think that was the difference. A lot of land was left, due to, initially, global population pressures, as that slowly matured, right? That became secondary forest. So when urbanization picked up, slowly some of that land was converted into urbanization, but a significant chunk was actually still left for secondary forests, for different land use types, including military, including as reserve land, which may be developed in the future. So that’s where we are really, we still have 40, over 40 percent of land that is vegetated or green. Small percentages of primary forest, over 18 to 20% of secondary forests and the remaining bits, really, parks and gardens. I should point out also that as Singapore became independent, the, greening efforts were conscious. Our, founding father and prime Minister, first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, really liked the city to be green, both as a way to have a more pleasant environment for people and investors as they come into the city state and personally, he was a fan of gardening. So that really changed how the government saw greenery. There was a lot of streetscape, cityscape, planting to green the city, the streets, parks and gardens were created at that time. And fast forward, many of these policies have continued to stay through the National Parks Board which has continued to champion the cause of urban greening over the years, 30/40 years, through many targeted programs now such as creating a ‘city in a garden,’ so to speak. And more recently, as they say, the 1 million Tree planting campaign.

Mike: Right, right. Yeah. Thank you so much for detailing that, that history. That is really, interesting. And really and we’re gonna hit on a few points. So 78 kilometers squared was either reclaimed or protected. And then there’s another, 10 square kilometers that are planned in the next decade. And I think it could be really hard for people to visualize what this looks like without actually being in the city itself. So can you describe for us what it might look like today to take an extended stroll through the city? What would someone see as they walk around?

Anuj: That’s a really good question. So most people when they land into Singapore, they would probably fly in from the airport that is in the east. And there they would see a sprawling, open landscape, which is quite urban. There are streetscapes lined with, large Bougainvillea trees, carefully landscaped that goes on for several kilometers, along the coast. In the east we have a 10 kilometer long East Coast Park. And the east really is a bit more urban. But people quickly realize as they go into the downtown, it’s quite densely populated with this central business district. But really the jewell of it all is the city center, which is all forested. In the center we have about 30 square kilometers of the central catchment nature reserve, which is protected. It also has some of our vital water reservoirs, which serve as a water supply for the country. And in the connected to that, through vegetation patches, we have a large Western catchment. Much of it is it a military training ground. And by virtue of its land use type, it has been protected, by limited human access as well. The north and the southern parts of Singapore are bordered by Malaysia and Indonesia respectively. So we have a very tight sea space as well.

Mike: Yeah.

Anuj: Up in the north is Malaysia and we are only separated by half a kilometer from Malaysia by the straits of Johor and in the south an equal amount by Riau Islands of Indonesia. So in the sheltered bay, so to speak, on the streets we have some very rich waters. Those are in the south are home to corals. And we are largely in a very diverse water area, we are not far from the Coral Triangle, which is a mega diverse for its known for its coral diversity we are also in a very rich mangrove area, Singapore posts over 30 species of mangroves in a very small landmass. So the coastline is quite rich. Up in the north we also have a protected area of Sungei Buloh and funny enough, it’s called the second airport of Singapore, just because a lot of migratory birds land there and it’s protected, because that.

Mike (narration): Hello listeners, and thanks once again for tuning in. If you haven’t yet subscribed to our show on your favorite podcast platform, I highly encourage you to do so as this is the best way to stay up to date on our latest releases. And if you’re looking to support us, please leave a review as this helps elevate the profile of our show. If you have feedback for us, please reach out to us at podcast@mongabay.com, and if you’d like to donate to Mongabay, head to mongabay.com and click on the donate button in the upper right hand corner. Thanks so much for listening back to the conversation with Anuj Jain.

Mike: That is, thank you for painting that picture for us. And I would like to go back to something that you mentioned earlier, which is that Singapore has been designated as a garden city. So what is this term? Can you talk about it? What does it mean exactly and why is it used?

Anuj: So as Singapore had lost a lot of its original greenery, much of it was secondary. And as I alluded earlier a lot of subsequent greening was intentional, creating parks and gardens, through careful landscaping, identifying plots of land, where it may be surrounded by a commercial development or a busy housing district, but recognizing that we need to have these vital nodes where there are dense pockets, which creates a good public space for people, and it allows for people to be close to nature. I think Singapore also has this ambition of every resident to be within 10 min minutes, walk from a park, which is incredible. And to create these nodes, we need a lot of urban green, green greenery. And so this idea of creating parks and gardens, and having that sort of create a canopy, which creates a good space for wildlife, but also public space. A good microclimate as well, and eventually, become…makes it resilient to climate change. All of that thinking really set the stage for being a garden city.

Mike: This is a really good spot for us to talk about the benefits of urban greening because, cities are somewhat of a…I think a lot of people might not fully grasp how much of a key tool they’re gonna be in the fight against climate change and biodiversity loss. So can you describe specifically why urban greening is crucial to fighting climate change, adapting to it, and helping to mitigate the biodiversity crisis?

Anuj: And I’ll start by perhaps stepping back a little bit and saying, we all know that urbanization is here to stay. More than half of the world is now living in cities and is only gonna grow. So a lot of people, perhaps Mongabay listeners, including myself, who have a background in wildlife conservation, tend to think of conservation in national parks and remote spaces where our megafauna is. And no doubt those are the frontiers, where mega conservation, megafauna conservation, mega flora conservation happens. But in my view, we’ve touched the planet in so many ways that you know cities have a huge ecological footprint, right? Both physically and indirectly, through the supply chains that they impact, therefore, if we just flip the narrative about what does it mean for cities to be green? Maybe we should think of what does it mean for built environments to be green? And that is really a big part of the earth now. Built environment is everywhere where humans have touched the planet, right? It could be rural, urban, or anything in between. So you know, it really also borders developments that we have at national parks, or seascapes even where humans are living. So, I think we should take a broader worldview here and say, how should conservation and perhaps built environment and development be thinking about coexistence. Right? So with that mindset, if we zoom in, what is Singapore doing to perhaps green, keep itself green. Right? And what does it mean for conservation? I think it’s taken a very methodical approach in which, our best spots are protected. So that includes a primary forest, the mature secondary forests, the mangroves, the pea swamps, but it’s only a small part. And just to give a number about protected area is only about four to 5% of land area in Singapore. Whereas over 45% is actually green, right? So only a tiny percent is protected, but much of the remaining forests are not protected. And that is both a silver lining, and a risk because at some point they could go, and they are designated to be left green as long as they can be. But you know, the benefits they provide present a stronger case for them to be kept than taken away.

Mike: Right. And can you detail just for folks that are curious, what are the specific benefits?

Anuj: So urban greenery, really presents many benefits, from of course biodiversity saving species, both flora and fauna, including things that may be very forest dependent to things that may be urban adapted. But the benefits really go far and wide. beyond that, we are looking at things like climate regulation, how does a green space actually influence a microclimate in the city? How much carbon does it sequester? How much air does it purify, how much water does it clean and therefore contributes to better storm water management, in the city. And with increasing, climate risk, if there’s going to be more and more heavy rainfall, a lot of cities are having to, deal with that infrastructure, widening canals, having more underground water storage and therefore, a green city. Really becomes important where all this greenery becomes like a sponge, really collecting the rain, infiltrating it, slowing down the water flow. And then through that urban greening initiatives, we begin to see integration of bioswales, retention ponds, detention pond, that can double up as wetlands, swamps, marshes, and create a lot and a lot of different habitats in the city.

Mike: That’s incredible. Yeah. I mean the benefits seem almost too numerous to list. But as an ecologist, do you have a particular favorite technique or practice that is being implemented, that you’re particularly fond of?

Anuj: Yeah, I’ll perhaps allude, to what I do, on a day-to-day basis a little bit. so with a background in wildlife conservation and having worked in national and international NGOs, I set up a consultancy practice several years ago bioSEA where we look at the intersection of ecology and biomimicry design, and here we take pride in being the bridge. Working closely with nature and folks in the built environment. So on a day-to-day basis, we may be working with architects, planners, landscape architects in shaping the greenery across different scales, from large to small. And sometimes these are difficult conversations trying to explain to architects, what does all this green, green mean, and it comes in different shades. Not all green is the same. But we take the approach of looking at a macro scale, trying to identify if a development sits within a certain mosaic, it could be connected to different land uses, different greenery patches. So what does it mean right to develop here? Should we be developing here in the first place? Or should development not be happening here at all? And of course, in any city, like Singapore, there needs to be proper environmental impact assessments done before any development is addressed. So as we interpret these data sets, one of my favorites is to actually think about integrating forested water in a lot of designs we do, we actually think about transitions. We know Singapore is a small city state, and therefore, we are not far from the coast. In a lot of places we have impacts of mangrove and coastal flora and fauna. And we like to then think about creating these transition zones, starting with, maybe the coastal vegetation and how does that transition quickly into, maybe fresh water, vegetation, brackish zones, then into swamp forest habitats transitioning into perhaps even marshlands which may be more grasses and then as we transition this water journey, something that is more terrestrial into grasslands and forest habitats. Suddenly urban design presence and opportunity to create habitats and kind of buffer the natural spaces, the wild spaces that are protected, or maybe spontaneous. And so I really like to think of these built environments as being buffers to the natural areas that are there.

Mike: And is there any specific water use benefits that come from this? Because, obviously vegetation helps filter water. Can any of this water be reclaimed or used?

Anuj: Absolutely. Singapore places great emphasis on using water and literally almost every drop of water that falls from the sky is used. Either for gray water use or for drinking water use. So all of this water as it falls in the ground is channeled through swales, grains and canals into our reservoirs. Therefore, there is a real opportunity to collect all this water in a meaningful way and create habitats. Now in the past, many of these tended to be ornamental, but over time the government has also integrated these waterways into what they call the active, beautiful and clean the ABC waters program, which is intentional and it alludes to creating both an active waterfront that is beautiful and clean, but also more and more integrating that with a biodiverse landscape that offers a nature-based solution really.

Mike: I mean, all of this it’s beautiful. It also is practical and makes a lot of sense. Is there…I’m curious because many cities don’t do this, but is there any city that stands out to you as being a prime candidate to move forward on urban greening and implementing these practices?

Anuj: Hmm. That’s a tough question because there’s so many cities that are on this journey and doing it in many different ways. And the well-known examples would be, cities in Europe such as, Stockholm, Amsterdam, maybe even London, Paris, that are trying to integrate a lot of these principles in their own design. I will, however, talk about perhaps the less known cities, where we’ve been working on lately as well, going all the way to the Middle East, right? So cities such as Dubai and Riyadh, in UAE and Saudi Arabia, respectively, many of these cities are quite young, from the built environment perspective and taking these principles to a whole new level, and a whole new climate. Because, many of the other cities we spoke about, right, the tropical temperate where some of this work has been time tested and perhaps more mainstream, but less so in desert climates. And if you just think about the global impact, we know desertification is a big problem in the world, right? And cities like in China are planting green walls and even in Africa, planting a row of vegetation to stop how deserts would expand and sort of desertify large places of the planet. And therefore, if we have good ways to green cities in arid climates, I think that’s a real game changer.

So, cities like Riyadh, where we’ve been doing some projects, are really playing with the ideas of capturing water effectively. They of course are…water is scarce and then planting vegetation that is really suited to the climate. Planting it densely experimenting with many different added agriculture techniques, Miyawaki reforestation techniques with native crops.

Mike (narration): The Miyawaki technique is an aforestation and restoration technique developed by botanist Akira Miyawaki. It’s especially popular for restoring the ecology of urban areas by creating forest islands. The method uses randomly planted native seedlings, and only organic material.

Anuj: And so I think it’s also about changing mindsets and I think that change of mindset has been happening, coming in early, establishing these guidelines before a city becomes too fast and dense, too steep into the developmental race, shall we say. So stepping in early and making these policy changes, which sets the stage for proper integration of nature-based solutions.

Mike: Yeah, the point you raise about intervening before a city gets too locked in is key. But even for cities that are, for lack of a better term, kind of already just locked into this urban “concrete jungle,” so to speak, what are some things that you think can be done in the short term to help them along on that journey?

Anuj: I think there is a famous debate hap that happens across cities thinking about density, whether we should build dense or build sparse. And perhaps a good example is Singapore versus Hong Kong or even adding Sydney to that mix. Hong Kong being a typical example of a very dense city, with a large, protected area. So more than 70% of, of Hong Kong, if I remember correctly, is green and the city is really packed in the remaining 20-30%. that means you know where it’s packed, the density is extreme. And it so extreme sometimes that it could compromise wellbeing, people feeling stressed, surrounded by tall buildings, not enough green space. Too many people really. And then on the other hand, there could be cities like Sydney, which are more horizontally laid out, a larger suburb, more bungalow style and could be also be typical of very many American cities as well, which have a much larger footprint. And there the argument would be, building less densely, building on the ground low rise and having maybe gardens and more, public parks and spaces in between. And subsidies have a larger ecological footprint just because they cover more land, right? And they have less green area. Singapore is somewhere in between, right where we are about half green, half built. The density is heavy and dense in some areas, but in other areas we do have a countryside and it feels a bit more relaxed. I don’t think globally there is an agreed golden rule, but I’d like to think maybe a balance is good.

Mike: That is a really, that’s incredibly insightful for you to…that information you just said there, because the debate I often—when people think of densifying here in Sydney, they tend to get a little bit apprehensive because they think it’s going to turn into something a bit like…just concrete everywhere. No green space. And what you’re saying is that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can have density, you can have more mixed use housing and integrate green space at the same time. It is doable. Because as you mentioned, Sydney is really horizontal and in fact it’s really tough to see it expanding outward anymore. There’s just…it because it’s already very large and wide, and covering that much more land, the infrastructure would cost an astronomical amount. So that was a really, that’s really prescient and very insightful of you to say there. I think that’s incredibly useful to learn. What would you say, I mean, ’cause we’ve talked about a lot of the things that Singapore has done really well and there’s many, what does Singapore still struggle with in terms of its urban wildlife interface or just the infrastructure?

Anuj: Now through the greening initiatives in Singapore, it’s attracted a lot of species, many of which actually had declined before some even had gone extinct, or locally extinct, shall we say. Examples would be the otters that have made a great comeback. And in fact their populations have increased in recent times because the waterways are clean and the water story that we talked about integrating water through nature-based solutions really, really helped them. Also for animals like the oriental pine ponds, which have adapted to city life, utilizing parks and gardens effectively. So it’s really positive to see all these species, adapt. But we must realize that a lot of diversity in the tropics is actually not adaptable. Animals are…plants and animals over time have evolved to dark and shaded tropical environments, which have little disturbance. So, while a few species adapt, many don’t. So, Singapore still has a growing list of threatened species, that mirrors what we see in many other tropical cities and countries. So that’s a big challenge. How do we continue to urbanize yet create green spaces that are buffered from urban impacts that are quite, that are dense, that are core areas that are undisturbed large enough that create undisturbed spaces. And I think there’s no easy answer. It’s really about designated larger swaths of land that are less disturbed. But also creating corridors that allow these fragmented spaces to connect, mindfully, such that these corridors are created for species that are able to use it.

Mike: And when you say ‘urban impacts,’ are you talking about like just the impact of this infrastructure itself or are you referring to the human wildlife coexistence or conflict that can occur, or is it a combo of both?

Anuj: It’s definitely a combo of both. Direct human impacts would be things like a hotter microclimate, which you know, can impact species as well, creating more edge effects. But also direct conflicts, monkeys coming into conflict with urban estates, food centers. Wild boars coming in contact with people, perhaps walking and cycling. And while it’s great to have these green spaces, they have to be mindfully planned. Then how does this conflict work potentially?

Mike: Do you think that there is, and because this is a conversation that happens in a lot of different nations, like where I’m from in the United States—it’s definitely a conversation that happens when we talk about wolves and bears. But do you think that there is a larger cultural shift needed to learn to live with wildlife that could help mitigate some of the issues that we’re experiencing right now in Singapore?

Anuj: Absolutely. it’s as much a mindset issue as it’s about planning, and I’ll give an example that everyone can relate to. During COVID times when many of us were in lockdown working from homes and the streets were empty, many cities globally saw wildlife returning. And same for my friends as well. They suddenly saw wildflowers blooming in the neighborhood because, the landscape maintenance guys were not working as often as they would.  So, oh my God, we are seeing butterflies in the city in my neighborhood for the first time. I…”why did I not see that before?” And I think that was a realization for people that actually, you know, this butterfly was right in my backyard and it’s so rich and thriving. Just that we were not letting it thrive as much as it could. So, it’s equally about managing. Maybe we should manage cities less often, and that means pruning things less, having them being sprayed with pesticides less often, and letting wild spaces thrive. And I forgot to mention New York. I think there are many good examples in New York as well where they’ve been creating these poly inter friendly spaces, including the Highline, very well-known examples, that are really doing a good job in setting the stage at managing cities and wild spaces in cities more carefully.

Mike: I want to end with a bit of an image, if you could, what is like some of the most underappreciated wildlife in Singapore that you want people to know about, particularly people who have never been to Singapore before? Never seen it. What is something that you think just takes your breath away?

Anuj: Hmm. It will definitely be the insects. In a tropical climate there are millions of insects and going back to when Sir Alfred Russell Wallace was in Singapore, many centuries ago, discovering and exploring Southeast Asia, he spent a lot of time in one of our richest nature reserves, BIMA, where we discovered, many, many new species of beetles. So, for our visitors of Singapore, they’ll be fascinated by the huge diversity of beetles that we have, and many other insects. Through a different spin to this, we’ve also been doing a lot of work on building integrated greenery. And we’ve done a lot of assessments, in fact, on skyrise greening, vertical greening, rooftop gardens and it was really, really surprising just how many insects there can be in these spaces.

Mike: I saw that, I saw that, public housing has to have, some sort of greenery incorporated into it, and I thought that was. A very good idea. it, I, it really, I, I found it to be incredibly, heartwarming. Anuj, where can people go to learn more about you or your work?

Anuj: Well, feel free to connect to me via social media, or through our website, which is www.biosea.sg drop me a message via LinkedIn or Facebook, and I’ll be happy to connect.

Mike: Well, Anuj, it has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Anuj: Thank you, Mike. It’s been a pleasure as well.

Mike: If you want to learn more about Anuj Jain and his work, or Singapore’s re-greening efforts, please find links in the show notes. As always, if you’re enjoying the Mongabay newscast or any of our podcast content and you wanna help us out, we do encourage you to spread the word about the work that we’re doing that. By telling a friend and leaving a review, word of mouth is the best way to help expand our reach. But you can also support us by becoming a monthly sponsor at our Patreon page at patreon.com/Mongabay. Mongabay is a nonprofit news outlet, so even pledging a dollar per month makes a really big difference, and it helps us offset production costs. So if you’re a fan of our audio reports from Nature’s Frontline, go to patreon.com/Mongabay to learn more. And support the Mongabay newscast. But you can also read our news and inspiration from nature’s frontline at mongabay.com. Or you can follow us on social media, find Mongabay on LinkedIn at Mongabay News, and on Instagram Threads, bluesky Mastodon, Facebook, and TikTok, where our handle is @Mongabay or on YouTube @MongabayTV. Thanks as always for listening.