Committee: UNCTAD

Country: Singapore
Topic: Agricultural Use of Water

The issue of evenly distributing the Earth’s scarce amount of freshwater among people is
an established and famous problem, that is conservatively being addressed; the issue of even
distribution also applies to the agricultural use of water. This extensive issue affects many
nations in areas stretching from economic to population. The freshwater scarcity level will
continue to worsen along with the increasing supply and demand of agriculture that is needed to
sustain the sharply growing population. Few actions have been taken to decrease personal water
demand, like water conservation policies and water curfews, but more needs to be done to
prevent stronger and more extensive food and water insecurities. The high levels in food and
water insecurities forces nations to trade with others for food and water, risking higher tariffs and
political disputes.

Singapore is at risk of falling victim to higher trade tariffs because of water and food
imports. 1Singapore has spent 30 years implementing reliable and successful water sources that
are called the “4 National Taps” which include: water from local catchment, imported water,
newater, and desalinated water. The country says that the “jewel” of its water stability is the
ability of recycling used water and being able to desalinate water. The highly urbanized country
of 5,888,926 citizens relies on these 4 taps for their personal water use. 2Singapore and Malaysia
have signed multiple agreements on the importation of Malaysia’s water. The most recent
agreement, signed in 1990, states that Singapore could construct a dam on the Johor River for
water extraction. It also states that Singapore is to be self sufficient by 2061. 3Singapore relies on
trading with other countries for food since only 1% of the country’s total land use is for
agricultural purposes. Singapore’s dependency on other countries for 90% of their food and
water ties into the broad issue of the scarcity of freshwater for agricultural purposes. Singapore
has limited access to fresh water because of their geography, having no lakes or aquifers and
being surrounded by ocean. 4On a global scale, the Republic of Singapore has one of the most
reliable and successful water strategys, but will suffer great consequences if they can not acquire
agricultural products from other countries around the globe.

1
"gov.sg | Every Drop Counts." 14 Feb. 2018, https://www.gov.sg/microsites/everydropcounts. Accessed
15 Apr. 2018.
2
"Singapore-Malaysia water agreements | Infopedia - NLB eResources."
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1533_2009-06-23.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2018.
3
"The World Factbook — Central Intelligence ...." https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/sn.html. Accessed 15 Apr. 2018.
4
"Singapore Has No Natural Water Supply, but the Country ... - TakePart." 5 Nov. 2015,
http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/11/05/singapores-solution-water-crisis. Accessed 15 Apr. 2018.
 Singapore highly suggests to implement water sources, like our own, in water scarce
countries and in developed countries. With implementation of water sources that are similar in
structure as our “4 taps,” more water could be used for agriculture and more water could go to
the citizens. The implementation is costly, that’s why Singapore would recommend for a NGO to
raise money and research technology that would be most efficient for the country it is intended
to. The main goal would be to recycle most water used by citizens to reduce the waste of
freshwater, and for the, little, remaining freshwater to be more easily, and evenly, distributed
through agriculture and through the citizens of the globe.