A view of Marina Bay in Singapore. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Singapore launched the Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI) on September 7 to find long-term solutions to protect it from the rise in sea levels from climate change that can put the country’s low-lying land at risk of inundation, according to Reuters.
The new institute aims to bring in expertise and innovation to head off what government officials describe as the “existential threat” posed by rising sea levels.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Environment Minister Grace Fu stressed that if the country does not handle the matter well, lives of Singaporeans are at stake, adding rising sea levels is increasing at a rate of around 3-4 milimetres a year.
Singapore has invested heavily to improve drainage and built flood prevention infrastructure, including seawalls, tidal gates, and revetments to protect against erosion. It also launched a 5 billion SGD (3.66 billion USD) coastal and flood protection fund in 2020.
CFI Singapore, a joint initiative by PUB, Singapore’s water agency, and the National University of Singapore, has already launched research projects looking at new engineering possibilities like flexible seawalls as well as nature-based solutions using mangroves or seagrass to protect coastlines.
Experts said the bottom line for Singapore is to ensure that none of the country’s land would be lost to rising sea levels. Future land reclamation projects would also be designed to protect against sea encroachment./.
