Enhancing Marine Biodiversity in Singapore’s Urbanizing Coastal Environment

Loke Ming Chou

doi:10.18178/ijesd.2020.11.11.1301

Abstract

Urbanization of coastal cities has resulted in extensive physical modification of the coast that is commonly accompanied by habitat destruction or degradation, marine biodiversity loss and ecosystem services decline. Conversion of the natural environment to a human-modified one is often permanent, and it is important that development considerations take into account biodiversity enhancement of the ‘new’ environment. Development of biological communities in the modified environment takes time and is unlikely to return to levels once supported by the original habitats, but efforts can be made to facilitate the establishment of biodiversity that is suited to the new environmental conditions. Active interventions such as water quality management and ecological restoration can help to transform the urbanized coastal environment into a suitable biodiversity support zone. Observations of marine biodiversity in marinas and restoration of corals on artificial structures in Singapore support this prospect. Assessment of the biodiversity in three marinas indicated that they can function as marine biodiversity refugia, especially with their relatively high artificial structural complexity and when designed with basic ecological considerations to enhance marine biodiversity. Separately, reef restoration projects give rise to the possibility of colonizing seawalls with corals and other reef-associated species, as well as improving degraded reefs and creating reef communities in areas originally devoid of corals due to the heavy sediment load of urbanized coastal waters. Maintaining marine biodiversity in challenging environmental conditions resulting from urbanization can help to ensure continued provision of some level of ecosystem services.

Highlights

The island nation of Singapore has undergone decades of rapid urbanization especially since the 1960s
Singapore’s coastal environment is defined by drastic physical change over the last five decades and this is likely to continue well into the future. What impacts have these changed conditions had on marine biodiversity, and should biodiversity enhancement and management measures be considered? This paper discusses Singapore’s coastal urbanization impacts on marine biodiversity and examines biodiversity in permanently changed habitats such as marinas, as well as reef restoration approaches to enhance degraded reefs and create reef communities in new urbanized habitats
Urbanization has transformed much of Singapore’s coastal environment [7] and an obvious change is the reduction of sea space arising from land reclamation

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The island nation of Singapore has undergone decades of rapid urbanization especially since the 1960s. Singapore’s coastal environment is defined by drastic physical change over the last five decades and this is likely to continue well into the future. What impacts have these changed conditions had on marine biodiversity, and should biodiversity enhancement and management measures be considered? This paper discusses Singapore’s coastal urbanization impacts on marine biodiversity and examines biodiversity in permanently changed habitats such as marinas, as well as reef restoration approaches to enhance degraded reefs and create reef communities in new urbanized habitats What impacts have these changed conditions had on marine biodiversity, and should biodiversity enhancement and management measures be considered? This paper discusses Singapore’s coastal urbanization impacts on marine biodiversity and examines biodiversity in permanently changed habitats such as marinas, as well as reef restoration approaches to enhance degraded reefs and create reef communities in new urbanized habitats

THE CHANGING COASTAL ENVIRONMENT

REEF RESTORATION

Findings

CONCLUSIONS