Over the years, the environmental civil society groups had many strife with the Singapore government. These battles have shaped how many of the environmental civil society groups operate currently in Singapore. Here is a brief summary of some of the battles they had with the government.

Sungei Buloh (1986)

The Sungei Buloh area was schedules for development as an agro-technology park. The Malayan Nature Society – Singapore Branch (MNS-S), which is currently known Nature Society Singapore (NSS). MNS-S put in a conservation proposal, which described the area high in biodiversity, pointing out its educational value and also provided elaborate suggestions on how the area can be managed. They were also able to communicate effectively with personal touch. Then President Wee Kim Wee, Deputy Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, and Minister of National Development Mr S Dhanabalan were all impressed. Eventually, the area was conserved as Sungei Buloh Nature Park.

Marina South (1992)

The area was reclaimed from the sea and overgrown with vegetation. This habitat naturally attracted wildlife. NSS wanted the area to be a bird sanctuary but the government did not responded to their request. Subsequently, media wars and heated debate led to the government to decide and go ahead with the development of the area. The area has undergone many development project and is currently the area we know as Marina Bay.

Lower Peirce Reservoir (1992)

The area was a nature reserve and a forest, consisted of mature secondary growth. The government wanted it to be a golf course. During that period of time, golf courses were popular places of attraction to pull wealthy tourists from other countries to Singapore. NSS made an environmental impact assessment of the area. Campaigns were also organized with thousands of sign ups. This led to an increasing public support against the construction of the golf course. Eventually, the government decided to shelve the project.

Senoko (1994)

The area was rich in bird life due to varying habitats and the absence of major human activity. The government earmarked the area for housing. NSS wanted it to be set aside as a wildlife sanctuary. There were many heated debates and clashes in the media during the saga. In the end, the government decided to develop the area to become the Sembawang New Town

Chek Jawa (2001)

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) first announced that Pulau Ubin was going to be reclaimed then. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research was asked to do a salvage collection. They realized that there was an impressive amount of biodiversity there, including 6 distinct habitats such as the coastal forest, mangrove, sandy beach, sand and mud flats, and coral rubble. Inputs from sources such as the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute also suggest that Chek Jawa was indeed unique. Activists such as Joseph Lai, Ria Tan and N. Sivasothi, along with many volunteers, worked together to bring attention to this situation. They submitted a report on Chek Jawa and organized many educational field trips to Chek Jawa to allow the public to see it for the last time. These engagement led to many public appeals to the government to ask for the deferment of the reclamation. Policy makers involved in the reclamation also personally went down to one of the field trips. In the end, the government decided to acceded to these request and agreed to leave the Chek Jawa area untouched.

Green Corridor Movement (2010)

The space occupied by the Malayan Railway Track was given back to Singapore and the Government is now able to overhaul the area. The NSS proposed to preserve the railway land as a Green Corridor. It currently already connects to many green spaces such as Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Mandai Mangrove and Mudflats. Conserving it as a green space not only helps to create a better link between the different green spaces, but also preserve the history of the place. The outcome in the URA’s Land Use Plan 2013 showed that not all of the corridor would be conserved but the Green Corridor would be providing routes for joggers and cyclist for recreational use.

Bukit Brown (2013)

The government wanted to develop a carriageway to ease traffic congestion in the area. Doing so would require some of the graves to be exhumed. Civil society groups such as SOS Bukit Brown were then formed, with the aim of preserving the place. The area had a cultural and historical value for some of the citizens. However, the government did not want the place to be preserved. They were rather dismissive to the group, saying that their intention of the engagement session was simply to inform these groups about their plans. Many of the groups were disappointed.

Pasir Ris Green Belt  (2013)

Decision by the Government to build an international school in a woodland at Pasir Ris. There were petitions and committee formed to save that patch of land at Pasir Ris. The government argued that although it has a good variety of birds, the area has never been a reserve or a park. Furthermore, it is only a secondary forest and that there are no rare species of plants found in that area.

Cross Island Line – CRL (2013)

The government wanted to develop an MRT line that provides commuters with alternative to the current East-West line and also act as a “key transfer line” linking to other MRT line. The initial proposed route cuts across the Central Catchment Nature Reserve area, beneath the MacRitchie area. Although there will be no physical structure on the surface level, according to the environmental impact assessment report, the development of the line would cause “moderate” impact on nature reserve if mitigating measures are effectively carried out. However, many environmental civil society and experts pointed out that it would be difficult to prevent the negative effects from spreading to other parts of the reserve. NSS specifically mentioned that the impact on animals is high and remained high even after mitigation. They also mentioned that the nature reserves have been gazetted for the conservation of fauna and flora and it should not be treated as a vacant state land for the development of transport infrastructure or other purposes. The alternative route for the CRL was to skirt around the Central Catchment Nature Reserve area, ensuring the damage to the area kept to a minimum. However it is about 7km longer in length and it disrupts homes and businesses. As of the published date of the blog, no decision has been made regarding the two route proposed.

Many of these conservation battles fought by the environmental civil societies requires the support of the people. After all, the decision by the government is largely based on the opinion of the public backed up with evidences that support the development of the nation. As a result, many of the environmental civil society groups engage in activities, trying to get the public to care more about the nature and know more about these issues.