A brief modern history of environmentalism in Singapore

Over the many years since the conception of Singapore, looking at the rate in which we level down hills, clear forested area and reclaimed our coral reefs, one could be forgiven for thinking that the government values economic development over environmental conservation. Reading articles by the Nature Society when it tries to halt the loss of habitats and the often times bleak news about the state of the environment in the newspaper, further strengthens this view.

However, I have a new view of the government as I sit amongst books, proposals, survey findings etc. about the governments many efforts to promote environmentalism in Singapore, here in the library. They were interested to measure Singaporean's understanding and attitudes about environmentalism and to educate the general public about green issues. Though the emphasis on brown issues is considerably smaller, they are still there in black and white on these manuscripts.

Here on my lap are survey findings about the Environment Protection Campaign. The Ministry of Environment had commissioned these consultancies to test whether Singaporeans are aware of the Clean and Green campaign, whether there has been any effect on their attitudes and behaviour, whether they were aware of the main environmental issues. These were done in the early 1900s, probably an age I was too young to remember the details, though I remember the cute frog picture on the dustbin telling me to use it.

I recently read an old article about how the NUS marine biology lab was asked to survey the waters off Bedok river, to test if the release of affluent from sewage negatively affected the water quality and the diversity and abundance of the sea creatures living there. And there was an Interfaculty Conference On Environmental Issues In Development and Conservation organised by the School of Building and Estate Management in NUS in 1993. In this conference, many professors from different faculties such as School of Architecture, Department of Geography, Department of Botany shared their opinions about development and conservation in Singapore. I am also very impressed that Dr. Ho Hua Chew, the head of the Nature Society's conservation committee was from the Department of Philosophy.

The Green Plan is actually very impressive to me, that our leaders had the forsight to develop Singapore into an "environment city" despite the many constraints a small city like ours might have. The new Singapore Green Plan 2012 has a new slogan as well: Beyond Clean and Green, towards Environmental Sustainability.

Even more amazing I believe are the many many individuals ranging from professors to the common man who could appreciate the beauty and the treasure trove of wildlife that we have here in Singapore. These are the unsung heroes who spearheaded nature conservation in Singapore. Their legacy lives on in many books, many proposals for conservation, many societies that were formed and most significantly in the lives of the people now who continue this passionate act of love for nature now. Whether one has the influence to write a journal article to impact many at once from far, or the influence to educate fellow Singapores about the biodiversity hidden in many areas of our concrete jungle at close proximity, it does not matter. I wish to salute you all for the work that you have done and are doing.

This is a very brief glimpse into a very recent past. It's very incomplete (due to time constraints), but very interesting, isn't it?