Singapore

The National Parks Board of Singapore, co-organized with the Raffles Museum for Biodiversity Research (RMBR) of the National University of Singapore, “The Biodiversity of Singapore Symposium II: Celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity and the Linnaeus Tercentenary.” The half-day symposium was held at the Botany Centre of the Singapore Botanical Gardens.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Ng Lang, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Parks Board, noted that people are often surprised that Singapore has such a rich biodiversity, and that Singapore is continuing to discover new species. The guest of honour at the event was Ambassador Tommy Koh, a distinguished diplomat who received UNEP’s “Champions of the Earth” award last year. The Swedish Ambassador Pär Ahlberger, who was also in attendance, provided some insights on Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy and systematics.

The event featured two key talks: (1) Climate Change and Biodiversity in Singapore, by Dr, Geoffrey Davison from the National Parks Board, and (2) Reflections on Linnaeus: Taxonomy and Biodiversity in Singapore, by Professor Peter Ng from RMBR.