Photo Credit: Nimbus Eco
Tragedy of the commons is attributed as the underlying consequence of population growth and all of the resource depletion problems that the world is facing today, such as global warming, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. Likewise, the Singapore government’s development plans to sustain a growing population would also result in a tragedy of the commons of the resources in Singapore.
A research study published in 2010, ‘Evaluating the Relative Environmental Impact of Countries‘, revealed that “Singapore’s rapid development in the last 30 years has seen it lose 90% of its forest, 67% of its birds, about 40% of its mammals and 5% of its amphibians and reptiles.” Singapore’s plans to further develop Singapore in order to sustain a growing population would only aggravate the loss of its forest and the loss of biodiversity as well as result in other environmental problems, such as resource-depletion, pollution and global warming.
As available land (e.g. forests and golf courses) are being cleared to make way for development of housing, facilities and amenities, many plant species would be wiped out and the survival of many animal species are being threatened as they lose their natural habitats. In addition, the Singapore government’s plans to carry out land reclamation will also further contribute to the loss of biodiversity in Singapore.
An increase in population meant that there would be an increase in the amount and rate of consumption of resources (e.g. consumption of food, water and energy). The increasing rate of resource consumption would only worsen the existing environmental problems that not only Singapore, but the rest of the world is also facing. Singapore’s population growth can thus result in increased depletion of natural resources, greater pollution and global warming.