Ecosystem services considered?
Both the coastal protection and flood risk mitigation plans appear to rely primarily on hard engineering. There is no mention of "working with nature" in these shoreline and waterways issues. Working with natural marine ecosystems like mangroves, seagrass meadows, coral reefs can both enhance terrestrial experiences (instead of bare seawalls) and provide more dynamic and effective mitigation. Such natural systems are already settling on our artificial marine structures. My thoughts on this was outlined my response to the Draft Master Plan 2013, which was also carried as an opinion piece in the Straits Times Sep 2015.
In contrast, combating urban thermal effects includes the plan "to increase vegetation cover by setting aside land for parks and nature areas, incorporating roadside planting, as well as requiring new developments in high footfall areas to incorporate minimum greenery replacement areas."
Role of reclamation?
Under "Creating Spaces for Our Growing Needs", reclamation is the last strategy discussed, after Underground Space Use, Co-Location and Adaptive Lifecycle Planning.
The description of reclamation suggests its continued importance, but with reduced sand requirements: "Through land reclamation, we have created space for new areas like Changi Airport, Jurong Island and Tuas Port. To reduce the amount of fill materials needed for reclamation, we are also piloting alternate methods like empoldering which helps us save on upfront construction costs."
Energy
Under "Closing our Resource Loops" , the Plan is to move towards cleaner and less energy use, by reducing energy use, increasing energy efficiency, and moving towards renewables and cleaner fuel.
Zero Waste and Recycling
The Plan towards Zero Waste includes raising recycling "to divert waste away from the landfill." There is a nod towards Reduce: "By adopting a circular approach, resources can be recovered and reused at the end of a product's life, thus reducing the consumption of resources and generation of waste." And mention of food waste.
What is the Master Plan about?
My layman understanding is that the Master Plan, done by the URA, outlines the uses of Singapore's land* to "guide Singapore’s development needs over the next 10 to 15 years". Various Ministries and government agencies are responsible for actual details of how the use is applied. The Master Plan seems to be updated every 5 years or so. Here's the full technical explanation of what the Master Plan is about.
*The URA Master Plan does not outline uses of sea areas (except for reclamation profiles). The need for integrated marine spatial planning is covered under Recommendation 1 of the Singapore Blue Plan 2018: "Establish formal management systems for marine environments. A marine spatial planning regime should be established within the integrated urban coastal management framework". With more details in the section on "Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning" under the Chapter on Legislative Support for The Blue Plan 2018
In addition to browsing through the URA 2019 Draft Master Plan website, I highly recommend visiting the URA's exhibition to get a better feel of the Plan.
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| At the exhibition, in addition to informative panels, there is also a show over the large map of Singapore that effectively illustrates the key aspects of the Plan. |
What can one person do about the Draft Master Plan?
Speak up for what you love!
URA is actively seeking YOUR feedback (that's why a Draft is presented first). Send in your ideas and feedback by 25 Apr 2019.
Don't take our shores for granted!
Visit our shores before they are gone. Join nature activities on our shores. Share what you've seen.
To find our more, check out Celebrating Singapore shores
- Connect with our shores by joining shore activities.
- Respect our shores by learning more.
- Protect our shores by volunteering.
Related links to the 2019 Draft Master Plan
- Climate change in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
- Pulau Ubin and northern shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
- Kranji and Mandai shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
- Eastern shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan
- Southern shores in the 2019 Draft Master Plan