Coastal Community in the Kingdomof Cambodia (A Case Study on <strong>Mangrove</strong> Management)Ouk Vibol96 <strong>Making</strong> <strong>Mangrove</strong> Eco-Museums<strong>Making</strong> <strong>Mangrove</strong> Eco-Museums 97
Koh Lee Chew,Lim Han She and Shawn LumWater Culture andthe Community –RaisingEnvironmentalAwarenessKoh Lee Chew (Ngee Ann Polytechnic),Lim Han She (National University of Singapore), andShawn Lum (National Institute of Education)I n the presentation, ‘Water Culture and the Community– Raising Environmental Awareness’, Singapore’sdelegates discussed the efforts to increase awarenessof environmental issues in Singapore (full presentationon page 103-118).To start the presentation, the speakers cited thatas a city-state, Singapore is an island nation of almost700 km 2 sandwiched between Johor, Malaysia, andRiau, Indonesia. Serving as an important transport,shipping, trading, and manufacturing hub, the city-stateis economically vibrant. It is also known for its cleanlinessand celebrated for its efficiency.As an island nation, Singapore has importantconnections with water. Historical and present-day waterconnections include:• Raffles landing spot• Port and associated industries• Fishing and coastal communities• Love for seafood (and famous for suchrestaurants)• Rivers/estuaries with transport and entertainmentutilities• Domestic and industrial use of water• Land reclamation as a result of landfill for waste.Top: Koh Lee Chew;Middle: Lim HanShe;Bottom: Shawn LumDespite such close and multivariate connectionswith water, the speakers remarked that Singapore doesnot have a self-sufficient supply of water. It has variouswater bodies, including canals (7,000 km), reservoirs(14), rivers (32), and the coastline. Its main reservoirsinclude the MacRitchie – the first central reservoir – andthe Upper Seletar reservoir. Additional reservoirs alsoexist, which have been formed by damming estuaries.Still other connections with water can be found.The Labrador Nature Reserve is a coastal nature area,and at the Sg Buloh Wetlands Reserve, mangroves stillexist. Moreover, Bishan Park combines natural scenerywith lakes, while in the busy centre of the island state,Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Reservoir canbe found. At Sentosa, Singapore’s island resort,Underwater World offers a marine environment in a funand educational way.What are Singapore’s efforts at raising an awarenessof water?“National Policy and Implementation” includesthe “Four Taps of Singapore”. These are wastewaterreclamation, desalination of seawater, import fromMalaysia, and reservoirs. Many other projects andactivities have also been put into effect, including nolittering, a Save Water Campaign, Grassroots (an ABCWaters programme), educational programmes, andpassion to preserve the environment.ABC Waters stands for Active, Beautiful, CleanWaters. Tan Nguan Sen, the director in charge of thisproject, has explained its purpose as follows: “In the lasttwo years, we have been trying to bring people nearerto water through the introduction of water activities atreservoirs, such as kayaking, rowing, fishing and so on.Under the ABC Waters programme we will bring thewater to the people by exploring the potential of ourwater bodies throughout the island”. This ABC schemealso involves:<strong>Making</strong> <strong>Mangrove</strong> Eco-Museums 99