Nature-based flood management
Nature already has the tools to manage water, we just need to design with it.
Did you know?
Soil and plant roots can work together as a natural filter, helping to clean stormwater before it reaches our waterways.
Cities have long tried to control water with concrete: drains, pipes, embankments. But soil, roots, and wetlands can do a lot of that work too: slowing runoff, filtering pollutants, and absorbing floodwater before it becomes a problem. Rain gardens, bioswales, and restored wetlands are examples of this "soft" infrastructure already being tested in cities around the world.
At EOS, researchers study how these natural systems perform under real conditions across Southeast Asia. From mangroves buffering coastal floods to forests reducing landslide and flood risk inland, nature-based solutions can be designed with real evidence, not just good intentions.
*EOS: Earth Observatory of Singapore
Explore more below if you’re interested.
Extended content
Nature-Based Climate Policy
Watch the full version of this video on how nature is factored into Singapore's climate policy.
Climate Risk & Financing
Watch the full version of this video to learn about nature-positive tools for managing and financing climate risk.
Averted Disaster Award
Good disaster risk management is often invisible, not because nothing happened, but because years of preparation helped prevent greater harm. The Averted Disaster Award (ADA) cofounded by ASE Prof Lallemant rewards disaster risk management efforts that quietly prevent crises before they happen.
Try it yourself
How much rain stays here?
It starts raining on three different locations. Each gets 10 mm over a 1-hectare site, about the same as 10 tanker trucks of water. Slide to guess how much is retained here instead of running off as stormwater.
Location 1 of 3
Forest
Trees, roots and soft soil cover the ground here. How much of the rain do you think stays here, absorbed by the soil and plants, instead of running off?
50%
About 5 of 10 tanker trucks
The game is based on 10 mm of rain over 1 hectare, about 100,000 litres or 100 tonnes of water, shown as 10 tanker trucks of about 10,000 litres each. Retention is 100% minus runoff. The shares are simplified for play, adapted from U.S. EPA (2000) illustrations of pre-urbanization, urbanization, and urbanization with Water Sensitive Urban Design.
