NIMOS is a new marine research centre of excellence under Singapore’s RIE2030 plan, led by the National Parks Board and hosted in NUS. It integrates expertise to strengthen marine ecosystem management and supports regional collaboration through shared data and marine health assessments across connected waters of Southeast Asia.
Singapore's commitment to marine science research spans many years, with sustained investments through the Marine Science Research & Development Programme (MSRDP) and its successor, the Marine Climate Change Science Programme (MCCS).
Building on this strong foundation, NRF commissioned NUS in 2024 to develop a Foundational Research Capabilities Small Study Report on Marine Science and Oceanography, which provided important insights into the existing research landscape and identified opportunities for greater national coordination.
The National Institute for Marine and Ocean Sciences (NIMOS) represents the natural culmination of these efforts.
View the press release here.
Implementing Agency
Host Institution
Research efforts under the new marine science research centre of excellence will focus on three key areas, supported by technology. Click on each research area to find out more.
The centre will focus on developing a comprehensive understanding of our marine environment. It will comprise foundational research that aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of species, species functions and interactions, to inform conservation, management and policy. This research will form the basis for further and more complex research, which will in turn allow the development of solutions to emerging challenges in the longer-term.
Research to understand climate change and other anthropogenic stressors will be instrumental in developing evidence-backed approach towards development to support sustainable stewardship of Singapore's marine environment, including the curation of risk management plans for specific anthropogenic stressors that enable informed decision-making for sea space management.
The centre will explore how resilience can be built on an ecosystem level to withstand future challenges, and spearhead the development of novel conservation and management strategies. While taxa-specific restoration techniques have been researched and implemented over the years for individual habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves, there is a critical need to expand this approach to include whole-of-ecosystem restoration strategies that consider future resilience against the compounding threats of temperature rise, sea level rise, and coastal development. By developing predictive models for ecosystem tipping points and creating adaptive management frameworks, this work will ensure that marine environments can withstand multiple stressors while continuing to deliver essential ecosystem services.
The centre will leverage cutting-edge technology that allows for more affordable and efficient data gathering and analysis through innovative monitoring, sensing and assessment systems tailored to Singapore's unique marine environment, supporting objectives in the three key areas. The enhanced monitoring systems will enable better-informed decision-making (e.g. in management of our sea-space, conservation and coastal protection, etc.) and efficient mitigation of environmental impacts.