ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION IN SINGAPORE: BALANCING REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS AND THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The inherent and ongoing tension between the vast issues surrounding environmental concerns such as economically driven real estate development needs and preserving the natural environment is an issue of concern. With the longstanding threat of a depletion of the earth's natural resources, solutions to alleviate this ever growing problem is much sought after. This paper hopes to give a discussion of the possibilities and complexities of doing so. Essentially, the key questions would be where do we draw the line and to what extent does legislation play a part and is justified for both ends of the spectrum? Specifically done in Singapore's context, the paper studies existing participation initiatives and the level of awareness of the general public. The youth were given special attention, to determine if there were differing responses with regards to their stance on environmental/conservation issues based on a theory that their views could be potentially different (i.e. socially constructed views of the environment) from other age groups. The paper begins by providing a literature review of possible reasons for conflict between the environment and development needs as well as complications in existing legislation. Consequently, the scope was narrowed down to Singapore's development history, its strengths, weaknesses and possibilities as well as a summary of the concept of effective public participation. Following which, an analysis was done at three different levels (the youth, middle aged and elderly) to highlight possible variances. Incorporating these findings with interviews conducted, certain core ideas were discovered: that is, mindsets and core values have to be altered and the socio-political environment has to act as a stimulus to encourage greater environmentally conscious citizens. The paper concludes by proposing measures that hopefully will act as an impetus to achieve this.