Known as the most visible and enduring figure in the Singapore biodiversity community, Prof. Leo Tan Wee Hin is an outstanding science educator and passionate advocate for environment, in particular biodiversity conservation.

Prof. Leo is a marine biologist by training. He championed the protection of Labrador Beach and Park – Singapore’s only remaining rocky shore, which the Government gazetted as Labrador Nature Reserve in 2002. During his stint as Director and CEO of Singapore Science Centre (1982-1991), he supported the publication of tropical guide/ reference books on local flora and fauna under the series on “Natural History of Singapore”. There are now more than 45 titles under the series.

At the National University of Singapore (NUS), he was also involved in two major research projects. One was Singapore’s first landfill at Semakau research survey (2008-2012) on the biodiversity of the mangroves and intertidal zone. The work was spearheaded by the then Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (RMBR) of NUS. Prof. Leo also played an instrumental role in the green development of the Semakau landfill as a co-consultant for its mangrove regeneration programme. He was also involved in a comprehensive marine biodiversity survey of Singapore’s coastal environment from 2010 to 2015. More than a 100 new/ unrecorded species were found. The latter project was conducted in collaboration with the National Parks Board (NParks).

Between 2008 and 2011, Prof. Leo was the Chair of the Editorial Advisory Board for the seminal publication by NUS on “Singapore Biodiversity – An Encyclopaedia of the Natural Environment and Sustainable Development”. He also championed the restoration of the 160-year old RMBR into a new museum renamed as the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in 2015. Prof Leo was instrumental in raising SGD 56 million within a short period of about 6 months for the museum.

Prof. Leo has mentored many students during his career, one of his distinguished student is Professor Peter Ng who is a renowned expert on the classification, conservation and ecology of freshwater crabs, and is currently the head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.

“His primary impact has been his achievements in transforming teacher education in general and science education, at both the school and tertiary levels, and in nurturing engagement in science among the public. The depth and breadth of his contribution is not limited to transforming what students learn and the way they learn, it has also impacted ordinary Singaporeans by improving their living environments, biodiversity, and by securing a sustainable future for our City in a Garden,” said Prof. Ng.

For Dr. Shawn Lum, president of Nature Society (Singapore), Prof. Leo’s entire career has been about enabling and empowering others. “Professor Tan volunteers his time for the cause of biodiversity conservation and youth empowerment, and has done so for decades. His love for and deep knowledge of nature invokes wonder in everyone he speaks to. His influence is beyond what Professor Tan can imagine, and I know this because I was greatly influenced by him without him ever realising it,” he said.

While Prof. Leo was the Chairman of the National Parks Board from 1997 to 2008, he championed the iconic development of Gardens by the Bay, a national garden and premier horticultural attraction.

Prof. Leo continues to serve the National Parks Board as Chairman of the Singapore Garden City Fund, a fund that is set up to realise Singapore’s vision of a City in a Garden which includes supporting projects on urban biodiversity.

Prof. Leo received the 2007 President’s Award for Environment, the “highest accolade for individuals, educational institutions and organisations that have made outstanding contributions towards environmental and water resource sustainability in Singapore”.

To say that Professor Chou Loke Ming is an unrelenting champion of marine protection and conservation is an understatement. His potent call to action, “If the corals have not given up, neither should we,” is held close to heart by marine conservationists who have followed his footsteps.

For more than 40 years, Prof. Chou has been a respected and recognized pioneer of marine conservation not only in Singapore, but also within the region and around the world. Of all his valuable contributions that have created a lifelong impact on biodiversity conservation in the country, the most inspiring testament to his success is the different generations of marine scientists, academics, and researchers that he has mentored.

As a former professor at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Department of Biological Sciences, he has supervised over 50 students who have earned their doctorate and master’s degrees, countless undergraduate research students, as well as visiting scholars from various universities. Through his leadership, guidance and influence, Prof. Chou has enabled marine conservation in Singapore to progress in leaps and bounds over the past decades. His legacy is also evident in the unity which the coral reef research community exhibits in their efforts to continue the good work that he has started.

Prof. Chou, who was awarded an Emeritus Professorship by the NUS in July 2019, continues to communicate his passion and optimism for the marine environment through invited lectures, public seminars, media interviews and grassroots initiatives that involve the general public and more importantly, the youth.

In addition to shaping the minds of Singapore’s marine biodiversity champions, Prof. Chou has dedicated his time and efforts in studying coral reef biology, coastal management, and reef restoration in Southeast Asia and beyond. He has published over a thousand academic papers, books, book chapters, and articles of popular nature. Many of his research works have provided key baseline knowledge on the state of marine biodiversity of Singapore and Southeast Asia, and against which current research and conservation principles are designed and developed. Through the citations of these papers, he has attained an impressive Hirsch-index – the metric for evaluating the cumulative impact of an author’s scholarly output and performance – of over 50.

Prof. Chou is recognized for his leadership in the periodic compilation of Southeast Asia’s coral reef condition for the global reef status reports published by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) from 1998 to 2008.

He was also the co-leader of the ASEANAREAN EXPEDITION SERIES, a private voluntary initiative which commenced in 1997 to document the marine parks of the ASEAN region. This was a major undertaking aimed at strengthening networking and developing research collaboration with marine science institutes, local communities and interested sectors throughout the region. The first expedition to Thailand resulted in the publication of the book “The Marine Parks of Thailand” in 1998, while the second expedition to Indonesia led to publication of “Marine Parks of Indonesia” in 2013.

Above all these, Prof. Chou’s undeniable expertise in marine biodiversity and conservation has directly resulted in the formulation of policies and designing of management strategies, leading to better institutional research capability, stewardship and governance of the marine environment. 

Throughout his career, he has served in an advisory capacity in many governing bodies and institutions of Singapore including the National Parks Board, Maritime and Port Authority, and the National Environment Agency. Equally, he has provided expert advisories in international fora including the United Nations Environment Programme, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and International Centre for Living Aquatic Resource Management.

Closer to home, Prof. Chou was instrumental in the setting up of the Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) in Singapore. The institute has since evolved to support national capacity as part of the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory, which backs many high-level multi-disciplinary research projects on marine ecosystems in Singapore that address biodiversity loss, conservation and restoration of habitats. He has also championed various coral translocation projects for reef restoration, and was involved in the various editions of the Singapore Blue Plan that contributed to the development of policies and management measures for marine biodiversity conservation in Singapore, including the establishment of the city-state’s first marine park in 2015—the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park.

For all his contributions to marine research, education and conservation in Singapore and beyond, Prof. Chou was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Biology in 2009 and a Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science in 2011. He was also selected to be part of Asian Scientist’s non-commercial book, “Singapore’s Scientific Pioneers,” published in 2015, where he was described as “a tireless crusader for protecting Singapore’s coral reefs.”

An important icon of marine diversity and conservation, Prof. Chou has largely contributed to the milestones that shaped the marine diversity and conservation landscape of Singapore’s recent history. 

The park includes Bukit Timah Hill, Singapore’s highest at 163 meters. Many visit the cool summit of Bukit Timah to escape from the sweltering heat in the lowlands.