Approach to Governance and Planning of Sea Spaces

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Minister for National Development (a) what procedures and safeguards are being put in place before Temporary Occupation Licences are granted over sea spaces; and (b) what is the long-term plan for the governance and planning of sea spaces by URA.

Mdm Deputy Speaker, under the Foreshores Act, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) may grant Temporary Occupation Licences (TOLs) for the temporary occupation of the foreshore and seabed in Singapore for any period not exceeding one year.

If there are development works intended in the TOL area, the applicant will need to carry out in-depth consultation with agencies, such as the National Parks Board (NParks), National Environmental Agency (NEA), Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Singapore Food Agency (SFA). Through the consultation, agencies will consider the impact of the development, determine if an environmental study needs to be conducted and require the necessary mitigation measures to be put in place. SLA will only issue the TOL after the necessary clearances from the technical agencies and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) have been obtained.

As part of the planning process, URA works closely with agencies to coordinate our plans in our sea spaces, such as through the Long-Term Plan Review. In the long term, most of the sea space within our port limits will continue to be used by the maritime industry and for port activities, which are important enablers of our economy.

URA will continue to work with MPA and other relevant agencies, such as NParks, SFA and SportSG, to plan for other important uses and activities within our sea space, such as aquaculture, industries, utilities and recreation, and ensure that these uses are carried out in an environmentally sensitive manner to minimise any impact on the marine ecosystem and biodiversity.

During the Adjournment Motion on protecting our marine spaces and Southern Islands earlier this year, the Minister for National Development also shared how agencies coordinate our plans from planning to implementation and engage nature groups and other stakeholders, so that their inputs can be considered. URA, MPA and the relevant agencies will continue to engage the community on plans for our sea spaces.

Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker. I thank the Ministry for the efforts in blue conservation. I understand that environmental impact assessments (EIAs) will only be conducted if the technical agencies consider that the impact may be significant. Could the Senior Minister of State please elaborate on what is the threshold of impact or some of the criteria that are considered significant? And what is the required frequency of ongoing environmental monitoring which is in place for such sea spaces?

Madam, the broad strategies for the use of sea space can be found in the Long-Term Plan Review. The specific use will be guided by more detailed plans worked out by the respective agencies with URA and those plans will have to consider the environmental impact. And as shared by the Member Ms Nadia Samdin, we are guided by the ecological profiling exercise (EPE), which is an ongoing, iterative effort to look at the impact on the environment, the marine ecosystem, biodiversity. In fact, we just completed a major one for the marine and sea spaces. It is a continual process.

For example, the EPE, from when we last completed it, had given us inputs for the Long-Term Plan Review. Those assessments will guide the agencies in the use of sea space.

Earlier in the session, we had a discussion on the use of sea spaces for aquaculture and fish farming where Senior Minister of State Koh Poh Koon had given answers to Ms Nadia Samdin and Mr Louis Ng. So, this is a real-life example of how we use the EPE and how the agencies use the EPE to guide some of the environmental impact assessments for the use of those spaces. So, it will be case-by-case, for the specific use.