Inaugural Singapore Water Association – South East Asia Symposium on Coastal Protection
Navigating Rising Tides: Southeast Asia’s Pathways to Coastal Protection and Adaptation
Date: TUESDAY, 24th June 2025
Time: 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Venue: Singapore Expo Meeting Rooms, ROOM 5, ROOM 10
Convenor: Singapore Water Association (SWA) Coastal Protection Chapter
Convened by the Singapore Water Association, the symposium, with a focus on South East Asia, centres on implementation of innovative solutions and collaborations between industry stakeholders to address the challenge of coastal protection in the region. Working with partners, this symposium aims to bring together experts, practitioners, engineers and industry partners as well as international organisations to share and discuss real-life case studies on implementation and collaborations to bring about solutioning for coastal protection in South East Asia. The session also aims to bring about solutioning and networking between industry stakeholders to uplift the capability and capacity of the industry to support the new focus area.
Objectives of the Symposium-
Promote Regional Collaboration
Facilitate knowledge sharing and strategic partnerships among stakeholders across Southeast Asia to address shared coastal protection challenges -
Showcase Innovative Coastal Protection Solutions
Highlight successful real-life case studies and technical solutions—especially nature-based and engineering approaches—to inspire regional adoption. -
Enhance Industry Capability and Capacity
Strengthen the region’s ability to address coastal threats through professional development, collaborative research, and policy alignment. -
Encourage Multilateral Support and Financing
Promote opportunities for financial and technical assistance from institutions like the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. -
Bridge Policy and Practice
Drive actionable dialogue between policymakers, practitioners, and private-sector players to integrate coastal resilience into planning and implementation. -
Support Singapore’s Works in Coastal Protection
Position Singapore in climate adaptation and coastal infrastructure development.
- Government Agencies & Policymakers
- International Development and Financing Institutions
- Engineering, Environmental & Urban Planning Professionals
- Academia & Research Institutions
- Private Sector & Industry Practitioners
- NGOs & Community-Based Organizations
- Professional Associations & Think Tanks
Programme Schedule
| 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM | Registration & Networking |
| Opening | |
| 1:30 PM – 1:40 PM | Welcome Remarks • Singapore Water Association (SWA) President, Mr Chew Men Leong Opening Keynote • PUB, Singapore National Water Agency, Deputy CE, Mr Chua Soon Guan |
| Segment 1: Regional Perspectives and Case Studies | |
| 1:40 PM – 2:00 PM | Coastal Resilience as a Regional Imperative • Speaker: Representative, CP Member (tbc) |
| 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM | Financing Coastal Adaptation in South East Asia • Speaker: Representative, Asian Development Bank (ADB) (tbc) |
| 2:20 PM – 2:40 PM | Engineering Resilient Shorelines in Vietnam and Indonesia • Speaker: Pritha Hariram, Head of APAC, Water Infrastructure and Climate Adaptation, Ramboll |
| 2:40 PM – 3:00 PM | Nature-Based Coastal Defence: Philippines & Bangladesh Case Studies • Speaker: Regional Director, RHV (Royal HaskoningDHV) (tbc) |
| 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Networking Break |
| Segment 2: Local Projects and Regional Collaboration | |
| 3:30 PM – 3:50 PM | Building a Resilient Coastline: Singapore’s Coastal Protection Roadmap • Speaker: Hazel Khoo, Director of Coastal Protection Department, PUB (tbc) |
| 3:50 PM – 4:10 PM | Perspective on Future Cities and Climate Adaptation • Speaker:Mr James Lam, CP Chapter Chair and Engineering Director of Surbana Jurong (tbc) |
| 4:10 PM – 4:30 PM | Scaling Coastal Resilience through Collaboration, Innovation and Research • Speaker: Executive Director, Prof Adrian Law, CFIsg (tbc) • Speaker: Representative, FCCA (tbc) |
| 4:30 PM – 5:00 PM | Panel Discussion: Coastal Protection for the Region – Enabling Policy and Practice • Panellists:
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| 5:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Closing Remarks by Singapore Water Association (SWA) VP (General Affairs), CP Chapter Advisor, Mr Charles Quek |