‘Engineering solutions won't help Singapore's flood problem’
Flash floods are going be the norm for Singapore and "no amount of brilliant engineering can resolve that problem," said Dr Chris Hails, chairman of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore.
Hails said that the flash floods are here to stay due to climate changes happening around the world.
"If the (rain) is coming down too fast and the sea is rising, the water's got nowhere to go," said Hails, who was environment advisor to the Ministry of National Development (MND) in the 80s.
Hails was speaking on Monday at the launch of a new map showing the physical impacts in Southeast Asia if climate change leads to a temperature rise of 4 degree Celsius.
The possible impacts of climate change that Singapore is going to face includes increased frequency of flash floods, urban heat island effect and a greater risk of pollution-related health problems. These climate change consequences are non-exclusive and problems such as forest fires in Borneo and threatened rice yields in Thailand could very well affect Singapore drastically.
There is also a possibility of some parts of Singapore may be submerged by 2100, as sea-levels are predicted to rise by a knee-high 65 centimetres, added Hails.
“Major issues are the change in the weather -- it's going to be warmer and wetter. Singapore is very close to sea level and as the planet warms, sea levels are going to rise due to the thermal expansion of sea water, also as polar ice caps melt,” he said.
“So you imagine, it's going to rain more, sea levels are going to rise and it's going to get hotter and it is squeezing Singapore,” he added.
One way of improving the situation is to change how Singaporeans consume resources. Based on a WWF study, humans are consuming Earth's resources at the rate of 1.5 Earths. Singaporeans are at 3 Earths.
In terms of ecological footprint, a measure of human’s demand on nature, the footprint of an average Singaporean equates to 33 Africans.
On Monday, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) announced that it will carry out a $750-million plan to mitigate the flood problems. Over the next five years, the board plans to improve drainage capacity of six major canals and introduce a polymer lining to smoothen canal walls.
The government is also planning to build a 15 kilometre-long stretch of beach to fight rising sea levels and high tides, reported Reuters last Friday.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan told Reuters that the government is keen to do its part in any global fight against climate change and that pushing for greater energy efficiency made sense anyway in a country with virtually no natural resources.
Balakrishnan added that, “What we want is a level playing field and unilateral moves are not feasible, not possible, for a small, tiny island state that actually is not going to make a real difference at a global level to greenhouse gases.”
While Singapore is a small island and could have little effect on improving the situation, Hails believes that Singapore could play an important diplomatic role there in brokering those deals on a global basis because it is going to impact Singapore.
