Abstract

The successful implementation of coastal eco-engineering strategies, such as retrofitting biodiversity enhancement units onto seawalls, requires scientific, economic, and social inputs. It is important to involve various agencies and local communities to gauge the level of public support, especially when local coastal areas function as public amenities. Social surveys are an essential tool in collecting empirical data that can help inform decisions regarding location, visibility, and potential interactivity with eco-engineered solutions. To assess public perceptions of coastal eco-engineering interventions on publicly accessible shorelines in Singapore, we disseminated questionnaires both online and face-to-face in various residential and coastal areas. The majority of the 536 respondents supported eco-engineering efforts and were keen to see local seawall enhancement designs installed at visible and accessible areas of the coastline. Respondents also showed interest in interacting with these enhancements if appropriate management protocols are established. We found no evidence that having prior knowledge of the environment or interest in nature-based activities affected their opinions. Collectively, our findings indicate strong public support for coastal habitat enhancements in Singapore. We present an overview of the general public’s perception on local marine ecosystem function and services, and when informed, how their opinions can provide a supportive space for local eco-engineering projects. This paper also provides useful data, such as movement of the public to accessible shorelines and understanding what the public want from usable nature spaces, to support future coastal management decisions. We hope to highlight from this study the importance of including the local public in management decisions so that these projects can have the greatest chance for success.

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