Bedok Reservoir Park: DPSIR
So we know that the functionality of the park varies widely.
Its first off a water runoff catchment area for the Bedok New Town area; a
nature park that doubles as a recreational sports facility; an events stage and
lastly a fishing hot spot. In light of all these uses, the park will naturally
come under increased pressure that may disrupt its sustainability.
In this post and the next, we shall examine the
sustainability of the park using the DPSIR framework to examine the various
pressures that are exerted on the parks natural resources. After which we shall
look at how the governance aspect helps to mitigate these pressures to ensure
such a complex socio-ecological system is kept in balance whilst ensuring some
stakeholder goals are met.
Pressures
Let’s first identify the various pressures that are exerted
on the park based on its current uses.
|
|
Activity
|
Pressure
|
|
1
|
Water Catchment/Pumping Facility
|
The water in the reservoir could be overdrawn if Singapore were to
face water shortages.
|
|
2
|
Recreational Exercise- Running/Cycling/Skating
|
Increased demand for exercise space could reduce green spaces in the
park.
|
|
3
|
Water Sports
|
Possible pollution of reservoir due to the usage of motorized water
transport.
|
|
4
|
Hosting large scale events
|
Littering, damage to flora due to large amounts of human movement or
set up
|
|
5
|
Fishing
|
Overfishing could deplete natural stocks of aquatic life
|
|
6
|
Forest Adventure
|
Damage trees when conducting treetop activities
|
The park is indubitably under some pressure due to the
variety of uses that it has. However, not all of the uses are equally draining
on the park at this current time. For example, it is unlikely that Singapore
will face significant shortages of water at this point in time due to its water
agreement with Malaysia expiring in 2061[1].
Whilst the % of water being re-exported has increased in recent times due to a
drought in Malaysia, the other two key sources of water (NEwater &
Desalination) in Singapore seem to be able to overcome this shortfall.
Recreational exercise shouldn’t be a problem because it is
mostly limited to the existing facilities tied to the activity. The facilities
have not changed much since I was a secondary school student 10 years ago thus it
seems that demand for such facilities have stagnated.
Water sports are a mixed bag. On the one hand we have non-motorised
sports such as dragon boating which should have minimal impact on the water
quality if properly monitored. On the other hand, the park also has a boat ski
segment which could possibly be polluting due to the need for a motorized boat
to pull the skiers. Thus the pressure exerted by motorized vehicles could
possibly cause a change in the state of the water condition.
Fishing in Bedok Reservoir Park doesn’t really seem to be
highly regulated. There are some general guidelines that encourage catch and
release fishing[2]
but besides that fishermen generally are allowed to consume the fish they
catch. Which creates a real risk of overfishing if the park authorities do not
have means to monitor the fish stocks in the reservoir. Which in terms of the
DPSIR framework means that fishing could exert pressure to change the state of aquatic
life in the ecosystem.
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