It is apparent that many of the natural coastal habitats in
Singapore face similar fates, viz. (1) shrinking area, (2) increasing
fragmentation, and (3) encroachment by urban expansion. These
processes commonly degrade ecosystems found within or near
highly urbanised areas (Chapman and Underwood, 2011). The results
of our study show that mangrove forest areas increased between
1993 and 2011, due to improved environmental protection
and various reforestation efforts (Yee et al., 2010). However, if the
2008 Master Plan is fully executed, more mangrove patches will be
reclaimed to create land for development, reversing this positive
trend and causing the mangroves to be further fragmented. This
may interfere with propagule import and export, and eventually
lead to genetic isolation. Disturbance from industrial areas in the
north of Singapore near many of the mangrove patches could
further compound the negative effects of fragmentation (Friess
et al., 2012).