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Environmental issues in Singapore includeair pollution,water pollution, anddeforestation. The government established theSingapore Green Plan in 1992 to help with environmental issues.
Since thefounding of Singapore in 1819, more than 95% of its estimated 540 square km of vegetation has been cleared. At first forshort-term cash crops and later because ofurbanization andindustrialization. 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.[1]
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.[2] In 2011, vegetation covered 56% of Singapore's total land area, including 29%spontaneous and 27% artificially managed forest.[3]
Singapore had a 2018Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.11/10, ranking it 165th globally out of 172 countries.[4]
Land reclamationmain article: Land reclamation in SingaporeAs a result of the nation’s ambitious land reclamation, environmental impacts extend beyond its shores too. Singapore’s shores have expanded by 22% sinceits independence and Singapore has become one of the largest importers ofsand in the world, importing 517 million tonnes in the last 20 years alone. Most of this sand was sourced fromIndonesia andMalaysia until both countries imposed a ban due to the environmental impact—Indonesia saw 24 islands disappear.Sand dredging inCambodia has also threatened its coastal environments, endangered species and the livelihoods of fishing villages.
In 1984, there were health concerns with the great number ofpig 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.[5] 65.8 metric tons (64.8 long tons; 72.5 short tons) ofcarbon dioxide 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.[6] The country had been blanketed inhaze for a period of time, which was contributed by smoke from Indonesian fires.[7]
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.[8] Corrective measures are taken, and affected water is taken for treatment at specialised centres.[6] Plants such asNEWater treat unwanted water into drinkable water.[9] One major water body in Singapore which used to be polluted is theSingapore River.[10][11]
To combat the country's environmental problems, the Singaporean government first made theSingapore Green Plan in 1992 and a new edition of it in 2012 to continue it. The plan has since been superseded by theSingapore Green Plan 2030 in 2021.[12][13] The plan aims to keep tabs on the unstable populations offauna andflora, to place new nature parks and to connect existing parks.[14] 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.[15] Though some scholars have called Singapore an "environmental oasis,"[16] others have accused it of "greenwashing," citing the nation's attention to aesthetic greenery and highcarbon footprint.[17]
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.[18] Some have argued that whileSingapore's educational system trains students to perform well on standardized tests, it fails to teach young people environmental values.[19] 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."[20]
Singapore's rapid development into an urban nation has neglected the natural environment, according to a report published by theNational University of Singapore, 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".[21]
