September 16, 2014

In this paper, Alan Ziegler (Geography) argues that the development of groundwater and the reduction in evaporative losses in open water bodies represent two internal avenues to address vulnerability to water stress, including droughts, in light of the prolonged dry spell in Singapore in early 2014. Yet, reduction in lingering vulnerability to linked hazards such as haze will require external solutions. To date, there has been little progress in regulating burning in regional hotspots in Indonesia and Peninsular Malaysia. Hence, Singapore’s leadership in water technology might, however, provide an incentive. Assisting neighbours to become more resilient to drought in the future may foster cooperation in reducing uncontrolled burning that occurs in their jurisdictions. This type of cooperation would be mutually beneficial to
all countries in the region.

Read the paper here: Ziegler, Alan. “Increasing Singapore’s Resilience to Drought”, Hydrological Processes, Volume 28, Issue 15, pages 4543–4548, 15 July 2014