Monitor lizards can sometimes inspire quite a bit of respect. So does this specimen, which lies across the path and makes no attempt to move. This happens on the trails through the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Not an easy situation for inexperienced tourists: do they actually bite? Can you just walk around it? Luckily, the last question can be answered with a yes – with a blink, the dachshund-sized lizard follows the unsteady steps of the hikers, but stays at a distance and finally crawls back into the dark undergrowth.
You quickly become aware of how surreal the situation actually is: on the one hand you are standing in a real rainforest, on the other hand you are in the middle of a metropolis with 5.4 million inhabitants, just a bus ride away from the lively center with its skyscrapers.
Bukit Timah is one of four nature reserves that are under Singapore’s National Parks Board with around 400 parks. Its task: to manage – and expand – the urban ecosystems of the “City in Nature”, as Singapore proudly calls itself. The already green city wants to become even greener.
The monitor lizard along the way is just one of many animal encounters that await in this urban rainforest. They are accompanied by a grandiose jungle concert: Tropical cicadas and birds chirp and whistle, horn and chirp, louder and faster – then abrupt silence.
As an inexperienced visitor, one immediately asks oneself: Why? Is a tiger approaching? Or another danger? If there is a rustling in the undergrowth, it is quite reassuring to see housing developments flashing through the trees on the horizon. Also reassuring (though sad for the tigers) is the note in the travel guide that the last wild specimen was sighted in Singapore in 1930.
After all, the predator, together with a lion, adorns the national coat of arms. But even without tigers, the 164-hectare nature reserve is a real jungle, one of the last in the city. As late as 1819, at the beginning of British settlement, Singapore was almost completely covered with rainforest. Around 1900 there were just ten percent left.
Today it’s still about five percent primary forest, but they’re tough. The diversity of species should be preserved under strict nature protection. And it’s amazingly big. There are more plant species in the Bukit Timah jungle alone than on the entire North American continent. And of course animals. In addition to numerous lizards, pangolins, anteaters, deer piglets, lorises, monkeys and bug-eyed lemurs live here, to name just a few of the public’s favourites.
Those who enjoy jungle tours can extend the adventure over several days. Right next door is the Central Catchment Nature Reserve with the MacRitchie Trail, a good 2000 hectares of dense tropical greenery around various reservoirs. Even in broad daylight it is quite dark here – no wonder, since five floors of rainforest let in little light. It smells damp and musty and of unknown plants.
Was it a good idea to trek here alone? In any case, various joggers are a reassuring sign that you can do this without any worries. Fortunately, the potential dangers are not particularly numerous on the MacRitchie Trail. Yes, there are meter-long pythons and cobras in the tropical rainforest, but very few people have seen them (and it’s not because they can’t tell more, but because these animals are shy).
On the other hand, it is relatively common for chickens to race out of the bushes cackling and startle unsuspecting tourists. Wilder are the macaques, who hang around in groups at the side of the road like rowdy hooligans. They’re after the wanderer’s provisions. “Pack everything away well, don’t feed it,” warns again and again. You should also not stare directly at them, as this is understood as a provocation in monkey circles.
For even more thrills, head to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in northern Singapore. Not only do flocks of migratory birds and large lizards live in the mangrove groves in the swamp area, here and there saltwater crocodiles sunbathe with open mouths on the bank or – reason for a generous detour – they take a nap in the middle of the path.
Singapore’s nature reserves may only make up five percent of the city-state’s area, but they are surrounded by more than 20 so-called nature parks that protect the reserves, as well as hundreds of other green spaces. Overall, a good half of the city is green – and the proportion is set to increase significantly. There are enough reasons for this, from climate and environmental protection to species protection and of course because of the quality of life. But how can an already densely populated island create more space for green?
With the Green Plan 2030, the city defined ambitious goals in 2021 that are not just limited to the horizontal. With facade and roof greening, new green spaces can also be created vertically. There are already around 143 hectares of planted high-rise areas, the so-called Skyrise Greenery, and by 2030 there will be 200 hectares. The best-known example of such greenery is the Parkroyal on Pickering hotel near Chinatown. Over 15,000 square meters of tropical plants grow on and around the hotel.
There are already green floors and office towers with roof gardens and facades everywhere in the city – not just in places that are popular with the public – where veritable jungles proliferate. At the same time, all existing and planned buildings are assessed and certified according to a special greening program by the building authority.
In the meantime, various hotels have also achieved the highest platinum award of the Green Mark Scheme, including the “Marina Bay Sands” with its striking roof garden, which connects the three 55-storey hotel towers at a height of 191 meters – the modern landmark of the city.
Even ten green-roof buses, whose roofs were planted to improve air quality, were on the road in Singapore as a test. It remains to be seen whether other mobile gardens will follow, green roofs on utility buildings such as bus depots or schools already exist en masse.
Not everything that is greened is openly visible. Green roofs, for example, do not have to accommodate a conspicuous jungle, often there are “only” ground cover plants that contribute quite unspectacularly to a good building climate. Other projects such as City Sprouts (city sprouts) rely on urban farming projects, such as kitchen gardens in schools or in public spaces. This also increases the proportion of green spaces.
It should be made easy for citizens to make the city even greener. Anyone who wants to be part of it symbolically, for example, plants one of the one million trees that are to decorate the city by 2030 in the One Million Trees Movement.
In addition, existing parks and nature reserves are connected by so-called park connectors, which are green spaces that make it possible to walk seamlessly from one green area to the next. By 2030, every Singaporean should live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Of course, tourists also benefit from this.
Even above the clouds, Singapore is striving to be more environmentally friendly. For example, the state-owned airline Singapore Airlines has committed itself to becoming CO2-neutral by 2050, for example through comprehensive fleet renewal with fuel-efficient aircraft, through optimized flight routes, the development of sustainable aviation fuels and greenhouse gas compensation.
When it comes to urban greening, Singapore also treads very unusual paths. For example in Gardens by the Bay, which opened in 2014 and is probably the most futuristic park in the world. Vertical gardens with tropical climbing plants and ferns soar into the sky on 18 “super trees” that are up to 50 meters high.
The green concrete and steel constructions not only look impressive, they also collect rainwater and generate solar energy. For example for the two greenhouses and for the lighting of the park – and for the “Garden Rhapsody” light show, which bathes the trees in colorful lights every evening.
Singapore has even implemented green visions at the airport. Before departing, it is worth checking out The Jewel Shopping Mall, located between Terminals 1, 2 and 3 of Changi Airport.
However, to describe it as a mere shopping center would be a gross understatement: Under a gigantic glass dome, not dissimilar to a spaceship that has just landed, a tropical forest of 2,500 trees and around 100,000 bushes was planted on five floors, in the middle falls from a height of 40 meters with a loud roar the largest indoor waterfall in the world. This attraction is also colorfully illuminated, which obviously has to be the case in Singapore. Actually, only one thing is missing: monitor lizards along the way.
Arrival: For example with Singapore Airlines or Lufthansa from Frankfurt or Munich non-stop to Singapore.
Accommodation: “Parkroyal on Pickering”, four-star hotel with opulent facade greening and eco-interior concept, double rooms from 315 euros, (panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pr-collection-pickering.html); “Marina Bay Sands”, five-star hotel with a gigantic infinity pool and green area on the roof, double rooms from 455 euros (marinabaysands.com); “Ibis budget Singapore Clarke Quay”, centrally located three-star hotel, rooms from 120 euros (all.accor.com/hotel/B6J9/index.de.shtml).
Experience urban nature: Nature reserves and parks: Information is available from the National Parks Board (nparks.gov.sg), which also has free maps for individual hikes on the Nature Trails (nparks.gov.sg/activities/walks-and-tours/going -on-a-diy-walk) and free books in PDF format for identifying local wildlife (nparks.gov.sg/florafaunaweb/resource/field-guides). Guided Tours: A selection can be found at Visit Singapore (visitsingapore.com/editorials/top-green-tours-in-singapore).
For more information: visitsingapore.com
Participation in the trip was supported by Singapore Airlines and the hotel “Marina Bay Sands”. You can find our standards of transparency and journalistic independence at axelspringer.com/de/Werte/downloads.
