Chek Jawa - On Pulau Ubin

Chek Jawa the “ Jade” of Singapore as I would describe it given this is the very last piece of “ green “ to be kept away from urbanisation. It was gazetted for  reclamation in 1992 for the purpose of expanding  Pulau Ubin for  housing and recreational purpose .

Chek Jawa set at the South Eastern tip of Pulau Ubin was once a undiscovered treasure until a civil servant, Joseph Lai   from the National Parks Board highlighted the rich biodiversity of Chek Jawa to the attention of the media, public and government ministries during a public forum . This forum awoken many nature lovers and citysiders to support the preservation of Chek Jawa . All this happened in the year 2000.

Miraculously , the Government took heed of the feedback and granted a 10 year deferment to the reclamation of Chek Jawa and the adjoining coast line in December 2001. Chek Jawa is technically safe till Year 2012 and it is within this time frame, one of the main driving force for this website to exist is to bring about increase awareness of both locals and international visitors of Chek Jawa’s   precious ecosystems and its natural habitat , which we hope that the Government would recognise the need to perpetuate Chek Jawa’s current existence for the sake of its current and future generation of Singaporeans.

Chek Jawa is made up of  6  interdependent  ecosystems – namely , its Coastal Hill Forest,  the Mangrove Forest, its  Rocky Shore, the Sandy Shore and Sand Bar , the Seagrass in the Lagoon and the Coral Rubble . Within each of the above ecosystems there is  an abundance of natural living creatures   and  rare plants   and  birds  -  local and migratory birds  .These have attracted photographs enthusiasts and nature lovers , student groups and  civil / social groups  to visit Chek Jawa  and   documenting   their visit by way of  photos  capture.   Many are posted at their respective blogs / websites, sharing their visitation experiences and encounters.

The  notable Government effort is seen with the conversation of a dysfunctional  colonial bungalow which housed the Chief Surveyor of early colonial Singapore into a  Visitors Centre for Chek Jawa . The Government also  built  viewing jetty  fronting the Visitors Centre , the  1.1 kilometre boardwalk above the mangrove area and running  along the  land between – the  intertidal  zone at Chek Jawa was another spectacular effort to protect the natural habitat and allowing visitation render harmless to those living creatures of the ecosystems. To add to the highlight, a 20 metre viewing tower – called the Jejawi Tower was included in the concerted effort of the Government to protect the delicate environment while promoting  visitation,  Bicycle Parking Kiosk,  Rest Huts and  paved bicycle tracks are improvement  made in recent years.

The National Park Board known as NParks in short, is the management authority of Chek Jawa and they provides rangers and guides for organised tours to Chek Jawa’s delicate habitat.

Chek Jawa is opened from 8.30 am till 6pm daily . From the Ubin Ferry Point , one could  walk to Chek Jawa ( about 40 minutes ) ,  rent a bicycle or be a passenger  on one of those vans awaiting for their customers next to the information kiosk ( near the Ubin Ferry Point ). 

A visit to Chek Jawa, one should  be sun protected  from the hot sun  and mosquito  - a hat and mosquito repellent and a bottle of water are the basics preparation , aside from arming yourself with a camera for an eye opening experience.

Chek Jawa, the area itself makes a great natural outdoor classroom!