{
  "id": 8642127,
  "title": "In the 90s, divers spent over 10,000 hours to save corals before Jurong Island reclamation. What about the new Western island?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/in-the-90s-divers-spent-over-10-000-hours-to-save-corals-before",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-19T18:36:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mothership",
    "slug": "mothership",
    "url": "https://mothership.sg/2026/09/coral-reef-rescue-western-island-singapore/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2026, Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced plans to create a new Western island by combining Semakau, Sudong, Bukom, and several smaller islands. The island would be used for advanced manufacturing facilities or power generation infrastructure. However, the marine community expressed concern over the loss of vibrant reefs, which are as old as 8,000 years and provide essential environmental functions like food source. PM Wong highlighted the inspiration for the Western Island concept in the transformation of Jurong Island, which emerged from marshlands into Singapore's economic center during the 1960s. The island's development involved reclamation of land from several islands, including Pulau Ayer Chawan, Ayer Merbau, Merlimau, and Seraya. This resulted in a significant expansion of the Jurong Island's land area, from less than 1,000 hectares to about 3,000 hectares. However, the creation of Jurong Island raised concerns about the loss of marine habitats. In response, the Marine Conservation Group of the Nature Society of Singapore initiated the Reef Rescue project to conserve 10 square kilometers of coral cover surrounding the original islands. The project involved a significant effort by volunteer divers, who spent a total of 10,000 hours underwater over a period of two years. Despite mixed results, the translocated corals from Reef Rescue 2 had a low survival rate due to the unsuitable site conditions. The reef rescue story raises questions about the balance between development and conservation, and whether a similar effort should be undertaken for the newly proposed Western Island.",
  "summary": "How did the mitigation effort ahead of land reclamation fare?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}