Ethos Issue 7, Jan 2010
Sustainable Development:
Challenges and Opportunities
Tan Yong Soon
Singapore should continue to invest in sustainable development
to ensure dynamic growth and a liveable environment
for the future, argues the Permanent Secretary for the Environment
and Water Resources.
Given our inherent land
and resource constraints,
few might have expected
Singapore to successfully support the
population and economy we have today,
much less sustain a city that is modern
in infrastructure and function, yet
clean and green in character. That we
have been able to do so is the outcome
of deliberate and forward-looking
policies and the adoption of sustainable
development principles from the very
start of our development.
BALANCING GROWTH AND
THE ENVIRONMENT1
Although economic development was a
key national priority during Singapore’s
early post-independence years, it was
never a case of pursuing growth at all
costs and cleaning up afterwards.
We realised at the same time that development should not come at the
expense of the environment, which
is also integral to our quality of life.
Despite competing demands for funding,
Singapore made early investments
in environmental infrastructure—even
borrowing US$25 million from the
World Bank to build its first incineration
plant in 1973. We adopted a long-term
horizon for planning and integrated
environmental considerations upfront
into our development and building
control processes.
Singapore has also been prepared to
make hard policy decisions to uphold
environmental standards, sometimes
even risking foreign direct investment.
When the former Head of the Civil
Service, Mr Lee Ek Tieng, was head of
the Anti-Pollution Unit (APU), there
was a case where a large multinational
corporation (MNC) wanted to build a
petrochemical facility in Singapore, but
was not prepared to pay for a ground
furnace to reduce pollution. The MNC
appealed to the Economic Development
Board against APU’s policy, but the
Prime Minister concurred with APU that
preventive measures were better than
cleaning up retroactively. The appeal
was rejected and the company had to
install the ground furnace.
Singapore’s environmental achievements
would also not have been possible
without a search for innovative solutions
to stay ahead of fresh challenges. Our
first water reclamation pilot plant, built
in 1974, established that high-quality
drinking water could be produced from
treating used water. As membrane
technologies were in the early stages
of development, the pilot plant
was subsequently decommissioned.
Nevertheless, the Environment Ministry
and the Public Utilities Board continued
to keep tabs on the technology, and
this paved the way for the launch of
the successful NEWater demonstration
plant in 2000.
Our commitment to environmental
protection extends to the shared global
environment. Since 1989, Singapore
has been a party to the 1987 Montreal
Protocol, which aims to protect the ozone
layer by eliminating the production
and use of ozone-depleting substances
(ODS). We acceded to the Protocol
despite significant trade implications
on our economy (which was dependent
on chemical industries—relatively
large users of ODS), even though our
geographical location meant we would
not have been directly impacted by the
ozone problem.2
Reaping the Benefits
We have reaped the benefits of our
early actions and consistent efforts.
Today, Singapore is ranked Asia’s most
competitive economy3 and the most
liveable city in Asia,4 an example of a city
that is both economically vibrant and
environmentally liveable. We continue
to harvest more gains from foresighted
long-term environmental investments
in the past. Singapore’s S$300 million,
10-year programme in 1977 to clean
up the polluted Singapore River has
led to a vibrant, revitalised waterfront,
which laid the foundations for the
development of the Marina Barrage and
an urban reservoir.
We have also been able to share our
environmental expertise with others.
For instance, China is now collaborating
with Singapore to build an Eco-city in
Tianjin, China, which aims to be a model
of sustainable development for other
cities in China. The goal is to transform
an otherwise sterile site into a thriving
and vibrant city, where ecological
rehabilitation is sensitively balanced with
urban development. Singapore’s proven
successes in water management and
recycling will allow us to contribute to
devising water solutions for the Eco-city.5
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