IJESD 2017 Vol.8(8): 576-580 ISSN: 2010-0264
doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2017.8.8.1018
doi: 10.18178/ijesd.2017.8.8.1018
Effectiveness of Reef Restoration in Singapore’s Rapidly Urbanizing Coastal Environment
Loke Ming Chou, Tai Chong Toh, and Chin Soon Lionel Ng
Abstract—Singapore’s accelerated coastal urbanization since
the 1960s resulted in 65% of its coral reef habitat lost to land
reclamation. Increased sedimentation reduced underwater
visibility from 10m then to less than 2m today. Under these
conditions, reef restoration to increase coral cover of degraded
reefs and initiate colonization of non-reef areas remains viable
considering the precise mass spawning events, active settlement
and vigorous growth of coral larvae. The restoration techniques
employed should withstand the high suspended sediment and
destabilized reef substrate. Coral fragments were translocated
from a reef close to impending port development to reefs
further away in a 4-year project aimed at assessing whether 1)
restoration can assist recovery of degraded reefs and 2)
non-reef areas can be transformed into new reefs. Within the
first three years, over 1200 fragments from 22 genera were
transferred to in-situ nurseries at the recipient sites, of which
almost 900 were subsequently transplanted to a degraded reef
site and a non-reef site with an overall survival rate of over 80%.
The project’s results will help to establish protocols to support
management decisions on coral relocation and restoration in a
rapidly urbanizing coastal environment.
Index Terms—Coastal urbanization, reef restoration, Singapore.
The authors are with the Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, 18 Kent Ridge Road, Singapore (e-mail: tmsclm@nus.edu.sg, taichong.toh@nus.edu.sg, lionel.ng@u.nus.edu).
Index Terms—Coastal urbanization, reef restoration, Singapore.
The authors are with the Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, 18 Kent Ridge Road, Singapore (e-mail: tmsclm@nus.edu.sg, taichong.toh@nus.edu.sg, lionel.ng@u.nus.edu).
Cite: Loke Ming Chou, Tai Chong Toh, and Chin Soon Lionel Ng, "Effectiveness of Reef Restoration in Singapore’s Rapidly Urbanizing Coastal Environment," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 8, no. 8, pp. 576-580, 2017.
General Information
- ISSN: 2010-0264 (Print); 2972-3698 (Online)
- Abbreviated Title: Int. J. Environ. Sci. Dev.
- Frequency: Bimonthly
- DOI: 10.18178/IJESD
- Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Richard Haynes
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- Indexing: Scopus (CiteScore 2022: 1.4), Google Scholar, CNKI, ProQuest, EBSCO, etc.
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