A view of Marina Bay in Singapore. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Singapore launched the CoastalProtection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI) on September 7 to findlong-term solutions to protect it from the rise in sea levels from climatechange that can put the country’s low-lying land at risk of inundation, according to Reuters.
Thenew institute aims to bring in expertise and innovation to head off whatgovernment officials describe as the “existential threat” posed by rising sealevels.
Speakingat the opening ceremony, Environment Minister Grace Fu stressedthat if the country does not handle the matter well, lives of Singaporeans areat stake, adding rising sealevels is increasing at a rate of around 3-4 milimetres a year.
Singaporehas invested heavily to improve drainage and built flood preventioninfrastructure, including seawalls, tidal gates, and revetments to protectagainst erosion. It also launched a 5 billion SGD (3.66 billion USD) coastaland flood protection fund in 2020.
CFISingapore, a joint initiative by PUB, Singapore’s water agency, and theNational University of Singapore, has already launched research projectslooking at new engineering possibilities like flexible seawalls as well asnature-based solutions using mangroves or seagrass to protect coastlines.
Experts said the bottom line for Singapore isto 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./.
