image: This is the front and back covers of "Private Lives: An Expose of Singapore's Rainforests," a book launched by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at NUS Faculty of Science. view more
Credit: Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, NUS
Singapore, 4 July 2012 – The Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Science today launched a new book titled "Private Lives: An Exposé of Singapore's Rainforests" that reveals the precious biodiversity found in Singapore's rainforests and the efforts that have been carried out to conserve them. RMBR also introduced the "Digital Nature Archive of Singapore" (DNA), the first portal that connects all historical and current records on the nation's flora, fauna and natural habitats in a free, searchable online database.
Both the book and the online archive database were launched by Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts in the presence of about 120 key stakeholders of environment conservation in Singapore.
"Private Lives: An Exposé of Singapore's Rainforests", comprising 19 chapters and 298 pages in total, is written by 19 scientists and naturalists and carries a foreword by Professor Tommy Koh, Rector of the Tembusu College at NUS and Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The book is a collection of short stories and anecdotes about the life and times of the various organisms in Singapore's tropical rainforests. This is the fourth book in the "Private Lives" series that is sponsored by ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd.
The DNA website, which consolidates more than 100 years of research in natural history by past and present NUS faculty members and naturalists, complements national efforts by the National Parks Board and the National Library Board to build up national inventories on biodiversity related publications.
The book will be available at NUS libraries. It will also be on sale at RMBR, NUS Co-op, Nature's Niches, Select Bookstore and the Library Shop at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, at a recommended retail price of S$22 (US$17.40) for the paperback version and S$35 (US$27.69) for the hardcover version (prices inclusive of prevailing Goods and Service Tax). All proceeds from the sale of the books go towards more nature publications and biodiversity projects. More information about the book can be found in the Annex.
For more information on the "Digital Nature Archive of Singapore" (DNA), visit http://rmbr.nus.edyu.sg/dna.
Annex
PRIVATE LIVES: AN EXPOSÉ OF SINGAPORE'S RAINFORESTS
The "Private Lives" series of natural history books has been one of the most successful books in the stable of publications by the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Science.
Three books have already been published on seashores, mangroves and freshwater respectively; and this fourth book of the series focuses on another key habitat – rainforests. The book documents the rich biodiversity of Singapore's extant rainforest that safeguards a natural heritage completely disproportionate with its small size. It showcases what precious diversity we still have and the many efforts that have been made to conserve it.
This new book is especially timely, after 20 years of the Rio Summit, and reflects well on Singapore, the pioneer of internationally accepted Cities Biodiversity Index.
This book contains 19 chapters by scientists and naturalists, all are experts in their field, with a foreword by Professor Tommy Koh, Rector of the Tembusu College at NUS and Ambassador-At-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one of the architects of the original Rio Convention. It is edited by four well-known biologists – Assistant Professor Darren Yeo, Mr Kelvin Lim and Ms Wang Luan Keng from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, as well as Dr Shawn Lum from the Nanyang Technological University.
As with the other books in the series, the many interesting facts inside are presented in a lively, easy-to-read fashion for the general public and students, and augmented with some 600 colour photographs.
One chapter that is especially noteworthy is appropriately named "Taking Stock, Taking Care". It highlights some of the surprises that have been discovered in recent years, including some fairly large animals. It also discusses some of the management issues and conflicts of conserving biodiversity faced by government agencies and local research organisations on a small and highly urbanised island, from monkeys to wild boars.
Another interesting chapter appropriately titled "Jungle Grocery" gives examples of various natural products from our forests - from the aphrodisiac Tongkat Ali to delicious durians. These showcase the importance of the rainforest as a vital store of medicine and food.
The chapter on "Night Life" is an unusual one as for the first time, some of the unique plants and animals that most people do not have a chance to see due to their nocturnal habits are featured. It shows that the forest, far from sleeping, actually comes alive at night. Animals and plants treated range from luminous fungi to bats and owls.
The book will be available at NUS libraries. It will also be on sale at RMBR, NUS Co-op, Nature's Niches, Select Bookstore and the Library Shop at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, at a recommended retail price of S$22 (US$17.40) for the paperback version and S$35 (US$27.69) for the hardcover version (inclusive of prevailing Goods and Service Tax). All proceeds from the sale of the books go towards more nature publications and biodiversity projects.
About the National University of Singapore
A leading global university centred in Asia, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore's flagship university which offers a global approach to education and research, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise.
NUS has 16 faculties and schools across three campus locations in Singapore – Kent Ridge, Bukit Timah and Outram. Its transformative education includes a broad-based curriculum underscored by multi-disciplinary courses and cross-faculty enrichment, as well as special programmes which allow students to realise their potential.
NUS has three Research Centres of Excellence (RCE) and 22 university-level research institutes and centres. It is also a partner for Singapore's 5th RCE. The University shares a close affiliation with 16 national-level research institutes and centres. Research activities are strategic and robust, and NUS is well-known for its research strengths in engineering, life sciences and biomedicine, social sciences and natural sciences. It also strives to create a supportive and innovative environment to promote creative enterprise within its community.