SINGAPORE \u2013 A landmark national research initiative on marine science was officially launched on Sept 22, with a remit to help Singapore and the broader South-east Asian region deal with challenges ranging from coastal development to climate change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The $60 million National Institute for Marine and Ocean Sciences, dubbed NIMOS, was established by the National Parks Board (NParks) with the National University of Singapore (NUS).\u00a0<\/p>\n
This builds on two earlier marine research programmes, which were funded to the tune of $25 million each. The five-year programmes focused more on applying science to domestic challenges, such as identifying sustainable engineering measures and solutions to create new marine habitats.<\/p>\n
The launch event for NIMOS at the NUS University Hall Auditorium was attended by Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat, as well as some 150 other guests, including researchers, university representatives and government officials.<\/p>\n
NIMOS director Huang Danwei, a coral biologist, said the launch of the new institute comes as several changes are expected in Singapore\u2019s sea spaces. Regionally, too, the waters of South-east Asia are under stress from coastal development and climate change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Huang pointed to the recently announced plans for a new western island<\/span><\/a> in Singapore as an example of how partnerships between scientists and government agencies will be paramount for securing a sustainable sea space for the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had in August announced plans to merge several southern islands to reclaim a new western island for industry, energy and defence needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the same time, Singapore will soon welcome its second marine park at the nearby Lazarus-South Kusu reef.<\/span><\/a> This park was first announced in May 2024, but has not been officially gazetted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Said Huang: \u201cAs a small, highly urbanised island nation at the centre of one of the world\u2019s most intensively used marine regions, Singapore can serve as a living laboratory for the future of tropical coastal environments.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is therefore larger than understanding Singapore\u2019s seas. It is to develop the science and tools for sustaining marine ecosystems alongside economic development \u2013 solutions that Singapore can demonstrate locally and contribute to a rapidly changing South-east Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted that coastal cities in South-east Asia are expanding and becoming more urbanised, taking the path that Singapore took years earlier.<\/p>\n Huang added that the Republic has played a prominent role in the High Seas Treaty<\/span><\/a>, a hard-fought global deal that aims to protect the marine life of two-thirds of the ocean.<\/p>\n Speaking to the media at the launch event, Huang said he hopes NIMOS can help decision-makers weigh the value and services that ecosystems provide, especially for the upcoming Long Island and western island developments.<\/p>\n Long Island will be reclaimed off the East Coast shoreline to create new land while serving as a buffer to protect the country from rising sea levels.<\/p>\n NUS said in a statement that NIMOS will start by operating as a virtual institute while its longer-term facilities are being developed.<\/p>\n NIMOS\u2019 permanent home on the NUS campus is expected to be ready by 2028, and will include wet science laboratory facilities and collaborative office space for project teams.<\/p>\n Huang said NIMOS will not compete for limited funding and resources through competitive grant calls.<\/p>\n Instead, research teams will be assembled to take on projects co-developed by principal investigators, NIMOS and NParks.<\/p>\n NIMOS director Huang Danwei, a coral biologist, said the launch of the new institute comes as several changes are expected in Singapore\u2019s sea spaces.<\/p>\n PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Outlining the objectives of NIMOS for the years ahead, Huang said it will develop tools to enable marine ecosystems to withstand multiple stressors while continuing to provide the essential services on which Singapore relies, among other things.\u00a0Ecosystems provide natural benefits like improving water quality and supporting populations of marine life.<\/p>\n The objectives include understanding which organisms and processes are critical for maintaining ecosystem functions, and whether ecosystems are performing the functions society depends on.<\/p>\n Over the next decade, NUS and NIMOS will also offer 22 post-graduate research scholarships supporting the growth of local expertise and projects.<\/p>\n Addressing guests, Chee said NIMOS will help Singapore \u201cmake good decisions supported by science\u201d.<\/p>\n On the western island, he noted that it is important for the Republic to plan ahead for its future strategic national needs even as it recognises that the area is rich in biodiversity.<\/p>\n Said Chee: \u201cI think members of the marine research and conservation community would agree with me that this is something that we need to do our best, to preserve as much as possible to minimise the impact as far as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat (second from left) at the launch event for NIMOS at the NUS University Hall Auditorium on Sept 22.<\/p>\n PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n He added that NIMOS\u2019 work can deepen Singapore\u2019s understanding of the marine environment, assess the choices and trade-offs, and help make informed decisions about how its limited marine space is used.<\/p>\n NIMOS\u2019 approach will help the Republic better understand the cumulative effects of climate change, human activity and other pressures on Singapore\u2019s marine environment over time, he added.<\/p>\n He pointed out that the waters around Singapore have always been important to its development as a nation.<\/p>\n \u201cHow we understand, protect and manage them will become even more important in the decades ahead as the demands on our limited marine space continue to grow,\u201d said Chee.<\/p>\n \u201cOur investments in marine science today are therefore investments in Singapore\u2019s future. The better we understand our marine environment, the better equipped we will be to make sound decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n NIMOS\u2019 projects will be grounded on existing marine research projects, according to Huang.<\/p>\n These initiatives were funded by Singapore\u2019s previous research programmes and local universities. Several of them were showcased at the launch.<\/p>\n They include a project by NUS Assistant Professor Tang Hao which took stock of how much planet-warming carbon dioxide can be absorbed by Singapore\u2019s mangroves and seagrasses.<\/p>\n These habitats have been impacted by past land reclamation and coastal development works.<\/p>\n About 16 per cent of ecosystems lost between 1986 and 2005 have naturally recovered or been restored, he said, citing Pulau Semakau as an example of the successful replanting of mangroves to sequester carbon.<\/p>\n The island was also highlighted for harbouring one of the three largest seagrass meadows here by NTU research fellow Clarence Sim who is studying the resilience of such ecosystems.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we can look at Singapore from an optimistic point of view where we still have a bank of very resilient habitats… making it a hot spot for finding super-resilient seagrasses and corals,\u201d added the scientist, who was awarded a scholarship under the Marine Science Research and Development Programme.<\/p>\n Another project, led by biologist Zeehan Jaafar, found that Singapore\u2019s offshore islands in the Singapore Strait south of the mainland are important homes and feeding grounds for marine mammals, especially dugongs.<\/p>\n NParks\u2019 group director for the National Biodiversity Centre, Karenne Tun, said NIMOS will help translate science to management strategies, informing environmental impact assessments with the latest science.<\/p>\n She said \u201cOne of the biggest issues that we need to face moving forward is the way climate change is going to interact with (man-made) impacts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that research is showing that in about 25 years time, our waters are going to exceed some of the thermal tolerance limits… so we have about two decades to find solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 A landmark national research initiative on marine science was officially launched on Sept 22, with a remit to help Singapore and the broader…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=87105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/87106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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