Environmental issues in Singapore include air,

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, so that it negatively affects its uses. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water ...

, and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. The government established the

Singapore Green Plan The Singapore Green Plan (SGP) was created in 1992 to ensure that the economic growth model of Singapore does not compromise the environment. The SGP sets out the strategies, programs and targets for Singapore to maintain a quality living envir ...

in 1992 to help with environmental issues.

Deforestation

Since the founding of Singapore in 1819, more than 95% of its estimated 590 square km of vegetation has been cleared. At first for short-term cash crops and later because of

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

and

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

. 61 of its original 91 bird species has been lost leading to many native forest plants not being able to reproduce because of loss of seed dispersal and pollination. Since 1980, development and increased pressure for land usage has led to Singapore losing 90% of its forests, 67% of its birds, 40% of its mammals and 5% of its amphibians and reptiles. Singapore had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.11/10, ranking it 165th globally out of 172 countries.

Land reclamation

As a result of the nation’s ambitious land reclamation, environmental impacts extend beyond its shores too. Singapore’s shores have expanded by 22% since its independence and Singapore has become one of the largest importers of sand in the world, importing 517 million tonnes in the last 20 years alone. Most of this sand was sourced from Indonesia and Malaysia until both countries imposed a ban due to the environmental impact – Indonesia saw 24 islands disappear.

Sand dredging Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in concret ...

in Cambodia has also threatened its coastal environments, endangered species and destroying the livelihoods of fishing villages.

Air pollution

In 1984, there were health concerns with the great number of pig farms in Singapore. They were deemed to have contributed to the pollution of the country, namely to the air. This problem was solved by reducing the number of such farms. of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

were emitted in the country in 1996, ranking among the highest emission levels in the world. Air polluters in Singapore are mostly, but not only, vehicles for transport, despite the country's tough regulations. The country had been blanketed in

haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification ...

for a period of time, which was contributed by smoke from Indonesian fires.

Water pollution

Singapore is a country with limited water resources, and it is essential for its water quality to be carefully regulated. Water in Singapore is polluted by unwanted materials contributed by industrial facilities, coupled by oil from both incoming and outgoing trading vessels. Corrective measures are taken, and affected water is taken for treatment at specialised centres. Plants such as

NEWater NEWater is the brand name given to highly treated reclaimed wastewater produced by Singapore's Public Utilities Board. NEWater is produced by further purifying conventionally treated wastewater through microfiltration, reverse osmosis and ul ...

treat unwanted water into drinkable water. One major water body in Singapore which used to be polluted is the Singapore River.

Mitigation

To combat the country's environmental problems the Singaporean government first made the

in 1992 and a new edition of it in 2012 to continue it. The plan has since been superseded by the

Singapore Green Plan 2030 The ''Singapore Green Plan 2030'' is a plan released by the Government of Singapore on 10 February 2021 that sets targets for sustainability in Singapore by 2030. The plan is spearheaded by five Ministries, being the Ministry of Education, Minist ...

in 2021. The plan aims to keep tabs on the unstable populations of

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

and

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

, to place new nature parks and to connect existing parks. It was announced on 3 June 2013 that the government will begin recording the amount of carbon emitted in the country and how much of it is absorbed by the country's flora. Though some scholars have called Singapore an "environmental oasis," others have accused it of "

greenwashing Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on "whitewash"), also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aims ...

," citing the nation's attention to aesthetic greenery and high

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

Education

Education is increasingly seen as playing a key role in shaping environmental attitudes. Currently, Singapore has no policy documents to spell out what environmental topics should be taught in public schools, or how environmental education should be included within the curriculum. Some have argued that while Singapore's educational system trains students to perform well on standardized tests, it fails to teach young people environmental values. This is supported by an analysis of the environmental values portrayed in Singapore's secondary school history textbooks, which found that these textbooks "represent narrowly utilitarian, negativistic, and dominionistic perspectives of thinking about and relating to the nonhuman environment. In contrast, aesthetic, humanistic, moralistic, and ecologistic-scientific interactions with the nonhuman environment are either entirely absent or infrequently portrayed in textbook narratives."

Criticisms

Singapore's rapid development into an urban nation has neglected the natural environment, according to a report published by the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

, which ranked the country as the "worst environmental offender among 179 countries". The government called the ranking unfair, claiming that Singapore is unique due to its "limited land size" and consequent "high intensity of land use".

References

{{Asia in topic, Environmental issues in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Environment of Singapore