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CUGE Seminar Series: Towards ecological guidelines for pond systems in Singapore (28 September 2011)
Workshop Material (PDF - 90.1 MB)

Survey Methods for Ecological Assessment of Ponds in Singapore CUGE-ECO-3502 (19 March 2014, Conference Room, Tropical Marine Science Institute, NUS.   Workshop Material (PDF – 31.8 MB)

Ecological Designs for Pond Construction and Restoration in Singapore CUGE-ECO-3503 (20 March 2014, Conference Room, Tropical Marine Science Institute, NUS.   Workshop Material (PDF –20.1 MB)

SEE ALSO:

Guidelines on Water Quality Monitoring for Tropical Ponds CS CC01: 2013

Guidelines on Water Quality Assessment and Management for Tropical Ponds CS CC02: 2013

A Guide to Freshwater Fauna of Ponds in Singapore

INTRODUCTION

Water is an integral feature of the park landscape, with many parks now centred around aquatic habitats such as artificial or natural ponds, fountains and wetland areas. Over 60 pond systems currently exist in parks across Singapore, many of which have been developed to enhance the social and intrinsic values of the park environment. Aquatic systems with good ecological status can support aesthetic and ecological values as well as safeguard the health of recreational users. In 2011, CUGE, NUS and Deltares set out to improve understanding of the ecological status of ponds in Singapore and establish a framework for the development and implementation of ecological guidelines for these aquatic systems.

Ecological guidelines and standards are utilised in the monitoring and management of water resources and aquatic habitats. They define target conditions against which changes in ecological, biodiversity and water quality status can be monitored and assessed as well as providing goals for restorative management. In Singapore, the development of ecological guidelines for aquatic systems managed by NParks enables the classification and assessment of the ecological and water quality status of individual water bodies in a national context. This provides a starting point for setting relevant and obtainable ecological objectives to steer ecological management and conservation objectives. Further, the implementation of ecological guidelines and standards for water quality will provides pond managers with a framework for routine assessment, problem identification and mitigation of local ponds as well as evaluation of the status of these aquatic resources at a national level.

RESEARCH PROJECT & MATERIALS

In the collaborative effort to improve the knowledge and expertise in management of pond water quality and ecology in Singapore, The National Parks Board, acting through the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE), Tropical Marine Science Institute (EMID), National University of Singapore and Delft, The Netherlands, embarked on a series of projects entitled the “Development of Ecological Guidelines for Aquatic Systems in Singapore”.

Phase 1 (2011-2012) provided a three-part definition study to evaluate the feasibility of implementing water quality guidelines and ecological standards across aquatic pond systems currently managed by NParks in Singapore.

    Part 1: Ecological guidelines assessment and roadmap

    Part 2: Pond water quality and ecology assessment

    Part 3: Water quality guidelines, monitoring and mitigation

One of the direct outcomes of the study was a proposed framework for the ongoing development and implementation of ecological guidelines for Singapore’s ponds. This was first introduced in CUGE Seminar Series: Towards ecological guidelines for pond systems in Singapore (28 September 2011, Ridley Hall, Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Garden).

Phase 2 of the project (2013-2015) aims to establish target (reference) conditions appropriate for the types of ponds found in Singapore and develop ecological indicators for use in ecological monitoring and assessment. Two one-day workshops were held in March 2014 to introduce survey methodologies for ecological assessment and ecological design guidelines for Singapore’s ponds:

    Survey Methods for Ecological Assessment of Ponds in Singapore CUGE-ECO-3502 (19 March 2014, Conference Room, Tropical Marine Science Institute, NUS)

    Ecological Designs for Pond Construction and Restoration in Singapore CUGE-ECO-3503 (20 March 2014, Conference Room, Tropical Marine Science Institute, NUS)

The first workshop introduced commonly used ecological assessment methods to the participants, with emphasis on protocols developed for assessing the ecological status of ponds, specifically on standardised collection, quantification and identification methods for pond biota (fishes and macroinvertebrates) and rapid habitat survey. A brainstorm session was also be held to evaluate the feasibility of implementing these methodologies for future pond ecological assessment in Singapore.

The second workshop introdued the optimal design and restoration potentials for ponds in Singapore. In an interactive session, participants focused on the practical applications of this knowledge to a selection of case studies.

PROJECT TEAM

The current project team consists of specialists from knowledge partners of Deltares (The Netherlands) and TMSI (EMID):

     Esther Clews (NUS, TMSI) – Principal Investigator

    Ellis Penning (Deltares, The Netherlands) – Co-Principal Investigator

    Adam Quek (NUS, TMSI) – Research Associate

    Harm Duel (Delares, The Netherlands) – Consultant

    Clara Chrzanowski (Deltares, The Netherlands) – Aquatic Ecologist

    Tan Li Yun (NUS, TMSI) – Research Assistant

Past project team member:

    David Burger (DairyNZ, Hamilton) – Water Quality Specialist

Disclaimer, Limitations & Terms of Use

These workshop material has been prepared by NUS, Deltares and partners for Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (“CUGE”) as part of a series of projects entitled “Development for Ecological Guidelines for Aquatic Systems in Singapore”. National University of Singapore (“NUS”), Stichting Deltares (“Deltares”) and National Parks Board (“NParks”) jointly own the copyright to the presentations contained in these materials unless otherwise stated.

Please note that you are not authorized to distribute, copy, reproduce or display these workshop material, any other pages within this workshop material, or any section thereof, in any form or manner, for commercial gain or otherwise, and you may only use the information for your educational purposes. You are forbidden from collecting information from these materials and incorporating them into your own database, products or documents. If you undertake any of these prohibited activities, we put you on notice that you are breaching our and our licensors’ intellectual property rights in the report and we reserve the right to take action against you to uphold our rights, which may involve pursuing injunctive proceedings.

Parts of the information contained in these material is preliminary and has yet to be subjected to detailed analysis. No warranty, express or implied, is given that the information is complete or accurate nor that it is fit for a particular purpose. All such warranties are expressly disclaimed and excluded.