II.

Land and Resources

The total area of Singapore, including the main island and all the islets, is 685.4 sq km 264.6 sq mi). The larger islets, which all have small fishing villages, include Tekong, Ubin, and Sentosa. Singapore Island is low-lying with no prominent relief features. A central area of hills rises to a maximum elevation of 176 m (577 ft) at Bukit Timah. Numerous short streams, including the Singapore River, drain the island. Soils are relatively infertile, and clays and sand are the only mineral resources.

Because Singapore lies just north of the equator, the wet tropical climate has no clearly defined seasons. The average annual temperature is 27°C (81°F) and the average annual rainfall is 2,400 mm (95 in). Although rainfall is abundant throughout the year, November through January are the wettest months.

More than 85 percent of Singapore Island is built up for residential, commercial, and industrial use. Jungles and swamps once covered the island, but today only a small area of the central hills retains its natural jungle cover. One of the island’s largest remaining tracts of undisturbed rain forest is protected in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. This reserve, which includes the country’s highest point, Bukit Timah, covers an area of 164 hectares (405 acres). Since the early 1960s, land reclamation projects have been replacing Singapore’s once expansive coastal mangrove forests with developed areas. One example is Jurong, an industrial complex that lies on reclaimed land to the west of Singapore’s central business district. Coral reefs fringing the main island and offshore islands have also been lost to land reclamation in some areas. The reclamation projects have added about 17 percent of new land to the nation’s total area.

Many of Singapore’s wild animal species are endangered due to loss of habitat. The leopard, banded leaf monkey, slow loris, and giant squirrel were once common in the rain forests but are now nearly extinct. Animals that remain common include the macaque, colugo (also known as flying lemur), wild pig, and palm civet. Many types of reptiles and amphibians inhabit the islands. Birds are numerous and varied in Singapore. The Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve on the northwest coast of Singapore Island provides an important habitat for migratory birds.

Although Singapore has numerous short streams and several reservoirs, the country lacks sufficient fresh water. About half its water must be imported from Malaysia through an aqueduct that runs under the causeway linking Singapore and Johor Baharu. Rapid economic and industrial growth and the rapid rise in vehicle ownership have increased air and water pollution. Closely regulated government controls on emissions, effluents, and other wastes have done much to alleviate these problems, however.