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Istanbul, Mar 23, 2009 - (ACN Newswire) - Singapore Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim is in Istanbul from 19 to 22 March for the 5th World Water Forum, and to attend the Ministerial Conference and Asia Pacific Water Forum's Regional Session of the World Water Forum.
Today, at the Ministerial Conference, Dr. Ibrahim spoke on behalf of Asia about the Millennium Development Goal Targets, Asias vulnerability to water-related disaster and challenges and how to effectively address Asias water challenges.
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Targets
The report found that the Asia-Pacific region has generally performed well in improving access to and management of water. An example which is familiar to many here is the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority. The utility improved access to safe drinking water for the city's residents, from 40 percent in 1993 to about 90 percent now. Over in the Punjab province of Pakistan, safe drinking water was extended to about 800,000 people in rural communities through an ADB supported project. On the sanitation front, progress in the region was found to be less satisfactory, with coverage for improved sanitation lagging behind the rate needed to attain the MDG target. More than 1 billion people in the region still do not have access to improved sanitation.
Achieving the goal will not be easy. In Singapore, despite the relative advantage of being a small island state of about 700 square kilometers (less than half the size of the city of Istanbul), extending modern sanitation to 100% of the population took years of commitment and careful planning. Upon independence in 1965, proper sanitation was available to only 45% of the population, and the sewerage treatment system then was fast becoming overloaded with rapid population growth and industrialization. A Sewerage Master Plan was conceived in the late 60s to guide the development of used water facilities alongside unfolding land use developments. Only in the 90s was 100% of Singapore served by a modern sanitation system, following decades of disciplined and significant investment programmes.
The willingness to undertake these hefty investments, even when Singapore was a poor fledgling nation, reflected the high priority Singapore placed on ensuring that development was not at the expense of our environment. This commitment continues into the future. Working together with business and community leaders, and with feedback from the public, the government has recently updated the vision for a sustainable Singapore and charted a blueprint on how we intend to keep Singapore economically and environmentally sustainable for future generations. We will focus on improving resource efficiency, enhancing our environment, building capabilities as well as fostering community ownership and action. Our blueprint should be ready for release next month. Through our search for solutions, we also hope to contribute to global efforts to promote sustainable development.
Water-Related Disasters & Climate Change
The APWF report highlighted Asias vulnerability to water-related disasters, with more than half a million fatalities and accounting for some 90% people affected by water-related disasters. This will likely be exacerbated by the increased uncertainty over the effects of climate change, and Asian monsoon countries where rainfalls are concentrated into seasons are particularly exposed. For countries depending on glacial melt for water supplies, freshwater resources could also be affected by retreating glaciers. Although projections of the extent of climate change vary, it is expected that the frequency of extreme events like droughts and floods will increase.
As a relatively low-lying, densely populated island in the tropics, Singapore is vulnerable to such climate change effects. Singapore is also relatively water scarce, with limited land for catchments to collect and store rainwater and absence of groundwater. These challenges had necessitated environmental and developmental planning all along, which resulted in some existing measures helpful to addressing the potential climate change impacts. For instance, since almost 20 years ago, new reclamation projects had to be built to a level of 125 cm above the highest recorded tide level.
Water scarcity drove us to adopt an integrated approach to the management of the entire water loop from the collection of rainwater to the supply of potable water, collection and treatment of used water, water reclamation and the desalination of seawater. This has also added to resilience against climate change uncertainties. An illustration of this approach is that in ensuring an adequate supply of water, Singapore has added desalination and water reclamation to our inventory of sources. Leveraging on breakthroughs in membrane technology, used water is purified to drinking standards, which we call NEWater. Beyond meeting long-term water demand needs, both sources also have the advantage of being independent of fluctuations in rainfall.
Capability Development
To effectively address Asias water challenges, a critical issue identified was capability development at the local, regional and national levels. Knowledge and skills in sustainable water service delivery and integrated water resources management needed further improvements.
Water authorities have no lack of new issues to wrestle with. An arising issue which Singapore faces is the water and energy nexus, and I am glad to note that this is the topic for one of the roundtable sessions of this Ministerial Conference. Although Singapores newer sources of desalinated water and NEWater have afforded enhanced water security, they are more energy intensive then conventional water sources. Energy consumption in desalination and reclamation technologies has to be reduced to ease the trade-off between water and energy.
To improve energy efficiency, Singapore is exploring various alternatives such as membrane distillation and a variable salinity plant which can treat either freshwater or seawater. We also challenged the international research community to come up with innovations to desalinate seawater which is at least 50% more energy efficient than current technologies. The Challenge Call for proposals was won by Siemens Water Technologies. Siemens received about US$2.7 million worth of R&D funds to investigate and test-bed the novel desalination concept in Singapore. We have also piloted a study to look into the use of the Upflow Anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB in short) technology in wastewater treatment at our plants. UASB technology, which potentially uses 30 to 40 per cent less energy than conventional aerobic treatment systems, is pioneered by Prof Gatze Lettinga who recently became the second recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize. If successfully implemented, these R&D efforts would benefit not only Singapore but also other countries.
It is in this spirit of sharing knowledge to address common challenges that the APWFs KnowledgeHubs initiative was launched in 2008. To-date, there are 13 knowledge hubs in the Asia-Pacific Region, including two located in Singapore. Each hub is committed to improving water security in the region by promoting knowledge sharing and championing feasible solutions in its specialist domain. They cover a diverse range of water concerns, from Sri Lanka's International Water Management Institute which focuses on irrigation management, to Malaysia's National Hydraulic Research Institute on climate change adaptation, to Singapore's Waterhub on urban water management.
Similarly, platforms for experience sharing and networking, such as the WWF, multiply the wealth of knowledge in the region. In hosting the annual Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), we bring participants from around the world to Asia to find practical solutions to water-related problems, discuss business, technology and policies. Building on the success of the inaugural SIWW last year, which saw some 8,500 delegates and trade visitors from 79 countries gathering in Singapore, SIWW this year will also include a subtheme of Sustainable Cities Infrastructure and Technologies for Water and feature the co-location of the Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Ministerial Forum and the International Water Association's Leading Edge Technology (LET) Conference. I hope that many of you will find the SIWW to be a beneficial platform for your work too.
Conclusion
In brief, Asia has made significant steps towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation services. As the APWF report has highlighted, major challenges remain and they will not be easy. However, I am pleased to also note that the region features a strong corps of committed organisations and individuals working on realizing the goals, and that Singapore is proud to both contribute to and benefit from this work.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Lee Ling Ling
Consultant
DID: +65 6372 3561
HP: +65 9647 8917
Email: lingling@bang.com.sg
Louann Wong
Associate
DID: +65 6372 3565
HP: +65 9728 8771
Email: louann@bang.com.sg
For further information, contact (Singapore International Water Week):
Wong Mai Yun, Wong_Mai_Yun@pub.gov.sg
Sally Toh, Sally_Toh@pub.gov.sg
Teo Yin Yin, Teo_Yin_Yin@pub.gov.sg
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