The government plays one of the most crucial roles in ensuring the conservation of forested areas. Singapore has implemented a lot of urban greenery programs, green policies, recovery programs, and educational programs which have transformed the city-state into an environmentally proactive and vibrant global city. Below are some major programs that the government has implemented in recent years to improving the forested areas and making a more liveable atmosphere for her citizens.
Implementation of Urban Greenery
Green Covers: Singapore has been able to increase its green cover around roads, bridges, walkways and buildings. From 1986-2007, despite the population and infrastructure growth, she was able to increase the green cover from 35 to 47%. Currently, close to 10% of the total land area is set aside for parks and nature reserves. The green space in the city-state is further enhanced by integrating natural ecosystems into parks, clustering parks with complementary ecosystems and activities, and connecting them into an island-wide network of green links.
Green Policies:
- Protection of Nature Reserves
Singapore has adopted the policy to legally protect representatives of key indigenous ecosystems within the Nature Reserves: Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (lowland dipterocarp forest), the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (including freshwater swamp forest), Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (mangroves) and Labrador Nature Reserve (coastal hill forest).
These are protected areas that are shielded by government policies and come with heavy fines for anyone who breaks the law. Together, the four nature reserves cover around 4.5% of Singapore’s land area.
- Fight for MacRitchie
However, despite the government’s effort to protect nature reserves. It becomes a difficult task when urban development is placed priority to the environment. Most recently the government has began constructing a Cross Island Line (CRL) that is showed to pass through a 1km stretch of primary and secondary forest near the MacRitchie Reservoir. This passage through the Central Catchment Nature Reserve passes through some of the most pristine ecosystems in Singapore, including old regrowth forest, two primary forest patches and four natural stream systems.
Perhaps one solution to this issue is to take an alternate route. The Nature Society has recommended such a route that is built around the nature reserve, which compromises on urban development. Below is a picture of a map from LoveMacritchie, a movement to stop this MRT line, which depicts the alternate route.
- Park Connectors
The government, specifically NParks, has also began plans to create a network of green space, parks and park connectors, comprising of an addition 5% land area in order to support these Nature Reserves and parks.
I think this is a good strategy and it serves as an important step in expanding our Singapore greenery.
- Protection of our Atmosphere: The Haze Pollution Law
In August this year, due to Indonesia’s failure to tackle the haze problem which has affected many businesses and residents in Singapore, the government has enforced a haze pollution law to punish polluters who contribute to the haze in Singapore even if the source of the pollution originates from another country. Companies will be fined for each day that they contribute to “unhealthy” haze. Unhealthy haze is defined in the new law as air quality having a Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) of 101 or greater for 24 hours or more. Polluting companies may be fined up to $100,000 a day, up to a maximum of $2 million. The cap on fines was first set at $300,000 when the law was drafted earlier this year. The penalty was raised following public consultation. This law also lets people or companies sue polluters with no limit set on the amount of damages they can ask for.
This legislation marks Singapore’s first legal move against polluters but enforcement might be difficult as large palm-oil companies based in Indonesia are the main contributors to trans-boundary haze in Singapore. It is difficult to nab firms based outside of Singapore without infringing on the sovereignty of another country. The drafting of this law is a first step towards finding a solution to curb with the haze that pollutes the air in Singapore from a neighbouring country. In Indonesia, burning to clear land has already been prohibited since 2009 with extreme fines and prison terms. Therefore, enforcement has been difficult because of a host of reasons. The gathering of concrete evidence can be a challenge. Local officials, due to corruption, are not willing to cooperate with the authorities is another hindrance. However, green policies like this haze pollution bill is one major step that the government has taken to combat this deforestation threat.
Recovery & Rehabilitation Programs
- Plant-A-Tree Campaign
The government has created several recovery programs that have proved successful. One of the most well-known programs is the Plant-A-Tree campaign. This serves as a platform for organizations and individuals to actively participate in creating a Garden City. In most recent years, tree-planting activities in Singapore has been done to cater for groups and organizations. But the government has shifted it’s focus to enabling individuals to plant one or more trees in the designated parks or nature reserves every month or on special occassions such as World Environmental Day or Earth Day. I think this program is beneficial because it provides an avenue for residents to contribute back to the environment. It also serves as an educational tool for them. For more information, please visit The Garden City Fund.
- Singapore Green Plan
Another program that the government has created is is the Singapore Green Plan, which is Singapore’s environmental blueprint for the future. Its objective is to ensure that while Singapore achieve economic development that meets the needs of future generations, it doesn’t compromise the environment. The first Singapore Green Plan was released in 1990s and is the longest active plan to date. There have been milestones reached from this program. Below are several accomplishments outlined here.
Progress so far
- The opening of the fourth NEWater plant in 2007 allowed Singapore to meet 25% of its water demand through non-conventional sources. The fifth plant, which was officially opened in May 2010, has allowed NEWater (which is water reclaimed from treated used water) to meet 30% of Singapore’s water demand.
- Domestic water consumption per capita declined from 165 litres a day in 1999 to 155 litres a day in 2009.
- The overall waste-recycling rate rose from 40% in 2000 to 56% in 2008.
- The total land area covered by greenery rose from 36% in 1986 to 47% in 2007.
- The National Biodiversity Reference Centre (now called National Biodiversity Centre) was set up in 2006.
- The incidence of food-borne diseases has remained low, with the number of food outlet-related food poisoning outbreaks averaging just 2.8 cases per 1,000 food outlets between 2006 and 2008.
- Several high-profile environmental conferences have been held in Singapore. In June 2008, for example, Singapore hosted the World Cities Summit, which focused on the sustainable development of cities.
Recovery programs have been seen as successful and produce quantitative results.
Educational Programs
The government needs to expand their focus in the upbringing of the next generation. The government has encouraged several programs in schools, like NTU and NUS which offer degrees in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Studies, but isn’t enough. More environmental educational programs needs to be created which targets the next generation. In the past, the government has placed it’s focus on solely public workshops and seminars, conducted by organizations such as NParks, in order to reach out to the local community. But sometimes these workshops do not have the full-attention of the public and it doesn’t lead to a sustainable long-term change in everyone’s mindsets, attitudes, and values. But most recently, the ministry of education has implemented one program known as the Eco-Schools Programme which caters to the next generation. The Eco-Schools programme is an international environmental education and certification programme that is opened to pre-school, primary, and secondary school children. Thus, programs like this can be able to build strong foundations of awareness which can help contribute to a society’s long-term eco-friendly mindset.
In essence, the government plays one of the most crucial roles in the fight for biodiversity as it covers a wide spectrum of influence from policies to outreach programs. However, one of the most important things to take note is not to rely on the government to solve all of our problems. It takes a combination of all three stakeholders for these policies and programs to work.