Singapore and Malaysia agreed to continue sharing information to conserve the Johor Straits marine biodiversity, and continue joint efforts in water quality monitoring there.
The annual meeting between the environment ministries this year, focused on pressure on the Johor Strait ecosystem from aquaculture farms and land reclamation.
SINGAPORE - The Johor Strait, the narrow body of water between Singapore and Malaysia, is under growing pressure from many sources, including aquaculture farms and land reclamation.
In the face of these threats, both countries on Nov 27 agreed to continue sharing information on the ecology of the area to conserve the marine biodiversity there, as well as to continue joint efforts in water quality monitoring in the strait.
Along the strait, the flushing of water is limited, and the water is rich in nutrients and lower in oxygen.
This comes as Singapore on Nov 19 announced a sweeping plan to overhaul its flagging aquaculture sector with the aim of boosting fish production while safeguarding the marine environment.
Under the new plan, the environmental impact of a farm will be assessed based on the amount of nutrients such as nitrates and sulphates it releases into the water to prevent algae blooms, for instance.
Both countries have fish farms along the Johor Strait. Unsustainable farming practices such as overfeeding or the release of too many nutrients into the sea can harm the strait’s water quality and sea life.
At the invitation of Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu, Mr Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Malaysia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, visited Singapore on Nov 26 and 27 for the Malaysia-Singapore Annual Exchange of Visits between the environment ministries.
Since 1979, this annual meeting has facilitated closer ties and cooperation between the two ministries in environment-related matters, said both ministries in a joint statement.
Ms Fu and Mr Nik Nazmi noted that both countries had exchanged information on and discussed land reclamation works affecting the environment in the Johor Strait and the works’ potential adverse transboundary impact.
Over the years, there have been concerns about cross-border impacts on both countries caused by reclamation.
In 2014, the Singapore Government raised concerns about a project that involved extending the Johor Bahru shoreline closer to Singapore. This was for the Princess Cove high-rise luxury home project, which involved two land reclamations on both sides of the Causeway.
In 2015, Malaysia gave its go-ahead for the project. The following year, Singapore said that reclamation work for some Malaysian projects in the Johor Strait had begun without the needed studies on potential environmental impact.
On Nov 27, both ministers agreed that it is important for Singapore and Malaysia to continue to fulfil their respective obligations under international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2005 Settlement Agreement.
This Settlement Agreement served as a resolution on a 2003 dispute regarding land reclamation projects by Singapore, namely at Pulau Tekong and Tuas View Extension. The projects were alleged to be infringing Malaysia’s rights in the area, and Malaysia initiated international arbitration against the Republic.
Under the Agreement, both countries must monitor their environments in the Johor Strait, share information and address any adverse impacts.
Both ministers also pointed out that the two countries have good collaboration in responding to oil spills, minimising the impact on the environment and biodiversity.
The Pasir Panjang oil spill in June, which caused 400 tonnes of oil to leak into the sea, is a recent example. The incident was Singapore’s largest oil spill in over a decade, and it reached Johor’s shorelines.
On June 18, four days after the spill, the National Environment Agency alerted the Johor Environment Department about the spill and sent across information.
In July, more than 43 tonnes of oil-contaminated waste were collected by Malaysian agencies from the Johor coastline, with some sludge left at the mangrove and rocky areas.
At the Nov 27 meeting, Ms Fu and Mr Nik Nazmi noted the efforts by both countries to enhance policies to reduce vehicular emissions and improve fuel standards to minimise air pollution. They agreed to continue to exchange information on such policies regularly.
They also welcomed a chemical spill exercise conducted in July 2023 at the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link, and highlighted that such joint exercises were important for both sides to have swift and efficient responses to chemical spill incidents. Singapore will be hosting the next exercise in 2025, the 14th of its kind.
Both ministers commended the collaboration between the Singapore Environment Institute and the Environment Institute of Malaysia in training opportunities and exchanging resources. They urged the institutes to work together in areas such as the circular economy and climate resilience.
