THE SINGAPORE APPROACH TOWARDS 'SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT'

Abstract

The concept sustainable development was mentioned as early as 1992 at the Earth in Rio De Janerio. It was seen as a solution to the fast depleting global resources. The Singapore government has always been a firm supporter towards environmental initiatives. However, the way to achieve sustainable development does not lie solely with the government. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the roles of three sectors, i.e. public, private and people, and to suggest how each sector can contribute towards realizing the status of sustainable development. Environmental conservation requires a concerted effort from the 3Ps and this can be noted from the various successful examples of collaborations in Germany, Australia and Bayer AG as mentioned in this study. However results of the surveys show that environmental conservation is not a top priority in the general population's life despite their high level of environmental awareness. Nevertheless, through interviews with the National Environment Agency, it was found that the Singapore government is still keen in endorsing and optimistic in developing such a concept. Much plans and events to encourage joint collaboration are underway, thus given a suitable period of time, maybe 10 years from now, perhaps it would be possible by then to undertake the 21st century challenge of achieving sustainable development.