Response by Minister Desmond Lee, at the 14th Parliament of Singapore, to Mr Louis Ng's Motion for Adjournment on 'Protecting Our Marine Spaces and Southern Islands' on 20[...]

Response by Minister Desmond Lee, at the 14th Parliament of Singapore, to Mr Louis Ng's Motion for Adjournment on "Protecting Our Marine Spaces and Southern Islands" on 20 March 2023

Mar 20, 2023

Introduction

1. I thank Mr Louis Ng and Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin for championing the protection of our marine environment and our Southern Islands.

2. As a small city-state, Singapore has always had to balance nature conservation with our developmental needs. The pressures on our sea spaces are no less intense than on land.

a. We are home to a rich array of marine biodiversity, from hard corals and seagrasses, to turtles and dugongs.

b. The Port of Singapore is also a busy global transhipment hub, playing a key role in supporting our economy and the continued flow of global supply chains.

c. Our coastal and marine areas are also used for many important activities, including offshore industries, tourism, recreation, and to meet our defence needs.

d. As we balance the stark trade-offs across these competing demands, we recognise that our marine ecosystems are an invaluable aspect of our natural capital, and agree with Members that we must take collective action to conserve them.

Part 1: Conserving our Marine Biodiversity

3. Through our Marine Conservation Action Plan, we seek to conserve our rich marine biodiversity. This comprehensive, science-based approach is part of our broader Nature Conservation Masterplan, which sets out conservation strategies for green and blue spaces.

4. Over the years, NParks has been partnering experts, researchers and the marine community to study and monitor the biodiversity in our waters.

a. With the use of advanced modelling tools, as well as efforts such as the Comprehensive Marine Biodiversity Survey and the more recent Southern Islands Biodiversity Survey, we continuously update and deepen our knowledge base.

5. This helps us to identify key marine habitats for protection. In 2014, we established the Sisters' Islands Marine Park, in view of the area's important ecological functions and variety of marine life.

a. The Marine Park is protected under the Parks and Trees Act, which prohibits the removal of biodiversity, and restricts activities such as fishing, the collection of corals, and the mooring of boats.

b. I would like to assure Mr Ng that, just like for nature reserves, the boundaries of the Marine Park are set out in the Schedule to the Act, and any changes would have to be presented to Parliament.

6. In addition to protecting our key marine ecosystems, we are also actively enhancing them, in close partnership with the community.

a. For example, together with JTC and NUS, we are supporting the introduction of artificial reefs at the Marine Park, to promote the restoration of its coral habitats.

b. We also work closely with the multi-stakeholder Friends of Marine Park, as well as volunteers, to conserve and study native turtle species at the turtle hatchery on Small Sister's Island.

c. Beyond the Marine Park, we also make use of science and data to prioritise threatened species for our recovery programmes. Today, our efforts cover the Neptune's cup sponge, over 14 species of corals, and more.

7. We will do even more to protect our natural marine heritage.

a. At this year's Committee of Supply debate, we announced our enhanced commitment to restore and enhance 80 hectares of habitats by 2030, up from 30 hectares previously. These efforts will include coastal and marine habitats.

b. Like Mr Ng, we recognise the importance of our seagrass meadows as carbon sinks and habitats for marine fauna. We have been partnering the marine community on a long-term survey of our species-rich seagrass meadows, and are currently developing a restoration programme for these habitats.

c. And, we are planning to expand our Plant-A-Coral, Seed-A-Reef programme, to rally more of the community around our efforts to establish and restore thriving reef habitats.

8. We will also continue to ramp up our outreach and education efforts, together with partners such as the Nature Society (Singapore) and the Waterways Watch Society.

a. Through initiatives such as guided intertidal walks and citizen science programmes, including yearly Biodiversity Beach Patrols, we will encourage even more Singaporeans to join us in celebrating and stewarding our amazing marine biodiversity.

9. Across the board, our marine conservation efforts are underpinned by strong and active partnerships. One example of how ground-up efforts can make a meaningful difference is the Singapore Blue Plan, which Mr Ng mentioned.

a. I had the opportunity to attend the launch of the Blue Plan in 2018, and was encouraged by the passion and dedication of the diverse stakeholders who contributed to it. Many of our actions to better understand and conserve our marine spaces are indeed aligned with the recommendations of the Blue Plan.

b. For instance, we are stepping up funding for marine research. Through the Marine Climate Change Science programme, we are investing $25 million to develop solutions that address the impacts of climate change on our marine ecosystems. We have recently started to award grants for the first two projects, and we look forward to catalysing further advancements in this field.

c. To strengthen the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, we are piloting the centralisation of EIA consultants under NParks. This will ensure the rigour of EIAs, including for coastal and marine areas.

d. And, to facilitate collaboration among Government, industry, and academia in areas including marine conservation, MPA launched the GeoSpace-Sea portal in 2019. This publicly accessible database harnesses and integrates marine and coastal geospatial data from various sources, and can help parties work off a common set of information.

Part 2: Coordinating Development in the Southern Islands

10. This also ties in with Ms Nadia's call for greater coordination across agencies to ensure that our Southern Islands are developed sensitively.

11. We agree that proper coordination is important to ensure that we develop Singapore sustainably. Today, we already take a Whole-of-Government approach to coordinate our plans, from planning to implementation.

a. Upstream in the planning process, environmental considerations are taken into account in our land use plans.

i) URA regularly reviews our long-term plans with agencies and studies alternatives and trade-offs, to optimise our land use plans.

ii) This includes working with developing agencies such as the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to evaluate proposals for ecotourism projects and fish farms.

b. Our plans are also guided by science. As part of the Long-Term Plan Review, NParks conducted an Ecological Profiling Exercise (EPE) to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Singapore's island-wide ecosystem and ecological connectivity.

i) Based on the findings, NParks will work with agencies to study how development can be undertaken sensitively, taking into consideration the various habitats. For example, the marine EPE will help to guide future developments such as the placement of sea-based farms.

c. When development plans are more firm, developing agencies undergo an in-depth consultation process and work closely with technical agencies to minimise the environmental impact for developments near or in an ecologically sensitive area.

i) In the context of Lazarus Island, this also involves consulting technical agencies and SLA, the agency managing the island, to develop visitor management measures that ensure public safety and sustainable practices.

d. Throughout the planning process, we engage nature groups and other stakeholders, so that their input can be considered in the review of our plans.

12. We have also developed an Integrated Urban Coastal Management (IUCM) framework that guides the planning and management of our coastal and marine habitats.

a. The framework is put together by an inter-agency committee including NParks, SFA, NEA, MPA, and PUB, and seeks to promote the sustainable development of our coastal and marine areas.

b. Agencies will continue to work together closely, for example to monitor and coordinate responses to oil spill incidents as part of the IUCM framework.

Conclusion: Development for the betterment of all

13. We are committed to being responsible stewards of our coastal and marine spaces, including our Southern Islands. As we push on with these efforts, we encourage everyone to join us, share with us their views and ideas, to ensure that our precious marine biodiversity is conserved for many more generations to come.

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