Establishment of new marine science research centre of excellence

The National Parks Board (NParks), in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) as the Host Institution (HI), will establish a new marine science research centre of excellence under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 Plan (RIE2030). Further details regarding the $60 million research programme conducted at the centre will be released later this year.

Singapore's marine environment supports diverse coastal and marine habitats that provide essential ecological services including coastal protection, fisheries support, and carbon sequestration, forming an integral part of the nation's natural heritage. However, as a small island nation, Singapore faces escalating pressures from intensifying human activities, climate change, and resource requirements. Better understanding of these dynamics and developing appropriate management responses will support sustainable growth within our marine environment. An integrated research approach for interdisciplinary topics and sustained commitment to deepen and retain local capabilities in this field will be needed to effectively manage our marine ecosystems, which we will achieve through a newly established a marine science research centre of excellence.

The centre will consolidate capabilities to better leverage expertise across research institutes, universities and the industry to sustain research momentum to accelerate the growth of the marine science ecosystem. To ensure that Singapore has local capabilities with familiarity of the specialised local marine science context and environment, the centre will develop a robust pipeline of local talent that can help build capabilities across academia, industry, and government. The centre would also serve as a conduit for regional collaboration, facilitating data sharing and comparative assessments of marine health across Southeast Asia, and collective understanding of our connected waters.

The Centre will consolidate and build on existing efforts under the Marine Climate Change Science Research Programme and its predecessor, Marine Science Research & Development Programme. The centre aims to develop targeted and effective management and conservation strategies that enable marine ecosystems to withstand multiple stressors while continuing to provide essential ecosystem services. It will also deliver inter- and transdisciplinary solutions to support economic productivity with ecological resilience, ensuring that our marine and coastal resources can scale and sustain our blue economy without overexploitation or degradation.

Research efforts under the new marine science research centre of excellence will focus on three key areas, supported by technology:

Figure 1: Key areas of research efforts

• Key Area 1: Biodiversity and Nature: The centre will focus on developing a comprehensive understanding of our marine environment. It will comprise foundational research that aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of species, species functions and interactions, to inform conservation, management and policy. This research will form the basis for further and more complex research, which will in turn allow the development of solutions to emerging challenges in the longer-term.

• Key Area 2: Environment and Climate: Research to understand climate change and other anthropogenic stressors will be instrumental in developing evidence-backed approach towards development to support sustainable stewardship of Singapore's marine environment, including the curation of risk management plans for specific anthropogenic stressors that enable informed decision-making for sea space management.

• Key Area 3: Ecosystem Resilience: The centre will explore how resilience can be built on an ecosystem level to withstand future challenges, and spearhead the development of novel conservation and management strategies. While taxa-specific restoration techniques have been researched and implemented over the years for individual habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves, there is a critical need to expand this approach to include whole-of-ecosystem restoration strategies that consider future resilience against the compounding threats of temperature rise, sea level rise, and coastal development. By developing predictive models for ecosystem tipping points and creating adaptive management frameworks, this work will ensure that marine environments can withstand multiple stressors while continuing to deliver essential ecosystem services.

• Harnessing Technology: The centre will leverage cutting-edge technology that allows for more affordable and efficient data gathering and analysis through innovative monitoring, sensing and assessment systems tailored to Singapore's unique marine environment, supporting objectives in the three key areas. The enhanced monitoring systems will enable better-informed decision-making (e.g., in management of our sea-space, conservation and coastal protection, etc.) and efficient mitigation of environmental impacts.