Coastal environmental profile of Singapore

Unfortunately, increasing population pressures and associated economic activities have seriously degraded these ecosystems over the last two decades. This environmental profile represents a first step in the formulation of an area management plan for the densely populated coastal zone of the island nation of Singapore, a key trading link within the Southeast Asian region and between the region and the rest of the world. Based on a multidisciplinary approach and substantially revised from a prototype version produced as background material for A.I.D."s Coastal Resources Management Project in Southeast Asia, the profile presents descriptive information on: (1) Singapore"s population and development background; (2) the natural characteristics (e.g., climate, landforms, flora and fauna) of the coastal land and offshore islands; (3) the seabeds and waters surrounding Singapore; (4) Singapore"s economic and noneconomic resources; (5) the use and development of coastal resources in terms of port and shipping services, manufacturing industries, power generation, fisheries and aquaculture, retail businesses, residential uses, recreation and tourism, and use of the offshore islands: (6) the nature and extent of coastal pollution and attempts to control it; and (7) the planning and institutional frameworks for coastal area management. Includes references.