He saw how reefs were damaged
By ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR CHOU LOKE MING
THE 48-year-old is one of the region’s experts in the study of coral, and has been involved in various projects to conserve the reefs since 1987.
The National University of Singapore zoology lecturer, who is also a member of the board of directors of the National Council on the Environment, said his love for marine life began when he started snorkeling. He was a young undergraduate then.
"But it was only after I learnt scuba diving in 1980 that I could begin any real work on studying coral reefs," explained the soft-spoken marine zoologist.
By then, he had obtained his PhD from Singapore University. His thesis was a study of the house lizard, but his interest in marine life propelled him to find out more about reefs around the country.
While learning about them, he saw how they were being damaged by man and decided to do something about it. Starting in 1987, he became involved in identifying reefs worth conserving.
He was one of the founding members of the Reef Conservation Project Committee. From 1987, it trained about 150 volunteer divers to recognize coral-reef life forms, and to carry out reef surveys.
The four reefs it identified were included in the Singapore Green Plan eventually.
The Nature Society of Singapore sought Prof Chou’s expertise earlier this year to help with the coral translocation project. He will be monitoring the translocation of those corals threatened by land reclamation to Sentosa.
And since September, he has been involved in a reef-education programme at the Singapore Science Centre, attended every Saturday by groups of secondary-school and junior-college students.
He is also involved in a project to install mooring buoys around reefs so that boats need not drop anchor on them and risk damaging the coral. Despite all the progress he has made, he still believes that more can be done — out of the water.
One area overdue for improvement is the law.
"Current legislation to control the reefs has not been changed for many years," he noted. But he is glad reef conservation has come so far, and is planning to do more.
Source : The Straits Times, November 21 1994
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