“It’s difficult for freshwater crabs to swim across the sea to Malaysia or Indonesia, so they are stuck here,” said NSS President Dr Yeo Seng Beng.
As the species does not exist anywhere else, it is also critically endangered globally and hence could easily go extinct.
“History won’t be kind to Singapore if we allow endemic species which only exist here to disappear,” he added.
Losing these habitats also puts other wildlife at risk of losing shorelines to breed, nest and feed, including the endangered hawksbill turtles that come in on the tides.
Migratory birds flying in for the summer, which make up about half of all birds found in Singapore, will also be affected.
They include the Eurasian Whimbrel, the Common Redshank and the Pacific Golden Plover, which are common visitors to the nation’s mudflats and coastal areas.