ECOLOGICAL NETWORKS: THEIR APPLICATION FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN AN URBANIZED ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

THE CONCEPT OF ECOLOGICAL NETWORKS IS NOT NEW IN THE FIELD OF ECOLOGICAL SCIENCE. HOWEVER, THE TRANSLATION OF ITS CONCEPTS INTO REALITY HAS MAINLY BEEN CARRIED OUT BY EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN CITIES WHOSE CLIMATE IS LARGELY TEMPERATE, AND WHOSE URBAN FORM ARE PREDOMINANTLY LOW DENSITY AND SPRAWLING. THE UNIQUE SITUATION OF SINGAPORE BEING BOTH A CITY-STATE AND HAVING A RICH TROPICAL BIODIVERSITY WARRANTS LOOKING AT THIS CONCEPT FURTHER, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO THE PLANNING OF LANDSCAPES AND ECOSYSTEMS EMBEDDED WITHIN A HIGH-RISE AND HIGH-DENSITY CITY CONTEXT WITH A COMPACT URBAN FORM, EXACERBATED BY THE CONFLICTING NEEDS OF MIXED LAND USES WITHIN A LIMITED LAND AREA.

THE AIM OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A POTENTIAL URBAN ECOLOGICAL NETWORK FOR URBANISED AREAS SUCH AS SINGAPORE, THROUGH AN INTEGRATION OF THE SPATIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SINGAPORE?S GREEN AREAS, APPLYING AN EXISTING ECOLOGICAL NETWORK FRAMEWORK TO FORMULATE AN ECOLOGICAL NETWORK, AND LAND USE CONSIDERATIONS. THE RE