In conjunction with Singapore's 50th birthday in August 2015, 50 Years of Environment: Singapore's Journey Towards Environmental Sustainability takes the reader through Singapore's environmental journey over the past 50 years, to its present day challenges and solutions, and seeks to explore what lies ahead for Singapore's environmental future. This book is divided into three parts. The first, drawn largely from the book Clean, Green and Blue: Singapore's Journey Towards Environmental and Water Sustainability, will explore the historical developments in Singapore's environmental journey and the development of NEWater. The second part will be a collection of essays that examine the present environmental challenges that Singapore faces and the ways in which it is addressing those issues through community engagement, international engagement, research and technology, and industry solutions in order to develop sustainable strategies and solutions. Part Three will bring the book to a close by tying the historical and contemporary threads together and discusses the future challenges for Singapore's environment.
Sample Chapter(s)
Chapter 1: Reflections on Singapore's Environmental Journey (161 KB)
Contents:
- Endorsements
- Preface
- About the Editor
- About the Contributors
- Appreciation
- Journey to the Present:
- Reflections on Singapore's Environmental Journey (Tan Yong Soon, Lee Tung Jean and Karen Tan)
- Cleaning the Land and Rivers (Tan Yong Soon, Lee Tung Jean and Karen Tan)
- Applying Economic Principles to Environmental Policy (Tan Yong Soon, Lee Tung Jean and Karen Tan)
- The Search for NEWater: The Singapore Water Story (Lee Ek Tieng)
- Environmental Planning For Sustainable Development (Tan Yong Soon)
- Present Challenges:
- Frontier Research in Environment and Water: Integrated Research Approach for Sustainable Solutions (Lee Lai Yoke and Ong Choon Nam)
- Energy Transitions — Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Challenges in the Tropics (Nilesh Y Jadhav, Subodh Mhaisalkar and Hans B (Teddy) Püttgen)
- Developing a Vibrant Sustainable Energy Industry (Edwin Khew, Christophe Inglin, Sanjay Kuttan and Low Kian Beng)
- Community Engagement to Promote Environmental Ownership and Secure Our Future (Chew Gek Khim)
- Island in the World: Singapore's Environment and the International Dimensions (Simon Tay and Cheong Poh Kwan)
- Moving into the Future:
- Environmental Sustainability and Sustainable Development (Tan Yong Soon and Kwek Leng Joo)
Readership: General readers who are interested in learning more about Singapore's environmental journey, present day developments, and the potential environmental challenges in the future.
"Singapore's transformation from an impoverished and polluted island to the world's beacon of environmental progress has been nothing short of miraculous. Miracles, however, are hard to repeat elsewhere, therefore, we are very fortunate that Singapore's environmental transformation was not at all a miracle. Instead, it happened thanks to clever and consistent strategies and brilliant execution. Over the last 30 years, as I got to gradually know the Singapore miracle workers and their methods, I often prayed that other jurisdictions would learn the steps involved. This book about the Singapore miracle provides an opportunity for environmental leaders everywhere to extract the policies and procedures they need to bring about progress in their own jurisdiction."
Dr Andrew Benedek
Founder, Chairman and CEO of ZENON Environmental Inc. and Anaergia Inc.
Winner of the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize in 2008
"For a seriously resource-constrained nation, Singapore has come a long way since its independence in 1965. Very few people, if any, 50 years ago would have predicted that this city-state would become the envy of the world by 2015. While everyone knows and admires the remarkable progress of the past half century, not many people are familiar with the achievements in the field of environment and the enabling conditions that made this possible. One of the very few serious studies that is available is Tan Yong Soon's earlier book Clean, Green and Blue: Singapore's Journey Towards Environmental and Water Sustainability. The present text is a worthy complement that adds to the in-depth analysis of this important journey. The book is strongly recommended."
Professor Asit K Biswas
Distinguished Visiting Professor
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore
and Co-founder, Third World Centre for Water Management, Mexico
"This book charts a 50-year visionary journey that began on the right foot, with recognition that sustainable economic growth and a clean environment are mutually reinforcing goals. Over these decades, Singapore has moved from cleaning up the land and rivers, through controlling pollution and meeting water needs, to the current use of cutting-edge research and technology to build clean and renewable energy for the future. With the city-state now ranking near the top of the world in terms of environmental standards, the book offers many lessons for other countries looking for ways to meet the growing demand for water and energy while preserving a health-promoting environment."
Dr Margaret Chan
Director-General, World Health Organization
"Singapore celebrates its 50th anniversary of nationhood in a milestone year as countries of the world come together to agree a climate-safe path to sustainable development. Since its establishment, Singapore has sought to leverage sound environmental stewardship and social engagement into prosperity and growth. Singapore has been remarkably successful. The 50 Years of Environment publication demonstrates how progressive policy such as ecologically sound natural resource management, incentives to innovate and emphasis on clean development are at the heart of this vibrant modern economy. This is a welcome addition to the global dialogue on development as a powerful case study for what is possible. As governments move towards a set of Sustainable Development Goals and a new, universal climate change agreement in Paris this year, the knowledge and experiences in this book showcase real world policy success and inspire the world."
Ms Christiana Figueres
Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
"Singapore's success in becoming a developed country and, at the sametime, taking good care of its environment, is a vindication of what we were trying to achieve at the 1992 Earth Summit. This important book explains how Singapore did it and outlines present and future challenges as Singapore continues its journey into environmental sustainability and sustainable development."
Professor Tommy Koh
Chairman, Preparatory Committee and Chairman, Main Committee
UN Conference on Environment and Development
2006 Champion of the Earth, awarded by UNEP
2006 President's Award for the Environment, Singapore
"Singapore is well known globally for its brilliant economic success story. It deserves to be equally well-known for its environmental success story. It is truly remarkable that unlike other successful economies, Singapore did not sacrifice its environment in pursuit of economic growth. This is why this book edited by Tan Yong Soon could not be more timely. The world can learn a lot of lessons from this volume."
Professor Kishore Mahbubani
Dean, LKY School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and
author of The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World
"With a population density of around 7,500 people to the square kilometre, Singapore is one of the most densely populated countries on Earth. This book of essays by some of those most closely involved shows how the country evolved through half a century of commitment and foresight into one of the world's most liveable cities with green spaces and fresh water and how it is addressing present environmental challenges to develop sustainable strategies and solutions. Others take notice and follow!"
Lord Ronald Oxburgh
Former Rector of Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine (1993–2000)
Former Chairman of the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology (2000–2004)
Honorary President of the Carbon Capture and Storage Association
Tan Yong Soon was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources from January 2004 to 2010, during which he oversaw many major programmes, such as the opening of Singapore's first desalination plant in 2005, the development of NEWater plants and the completion of the Marina Barrage in 2008. He also played an important role in enhancing Singapore's living environment, growing the water and environment industry and raising Singapore's international profile in the environmental arena. He co-chaired the Executive Committee for Environment and Water Technology, and the Exco supporting the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development that produced the first Sustainable Singapore Blueprint in 2009.
In 2010, he was appointed the first Permanent Secretary in the newly established National Climate Change Secretariat in the Prime Minister's Office, where he built new capabilities to understand and address the challenges posed by climate change and was instrumental in developing Singapore's national climate change strategy and capabilities. He retired from the Public Service in October 2012.
He has also served as Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, Deputy Secretary (Policy) in the Ministry of Defence, Deputy Secretary (Revenue) and Deputy Secretary (Policy) in the Ministry of Finance, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
He holds a BA(Hons) and MA in Engineering from Cambridge University, an MBA from the National University of Singapore and an MPA from Harvard University.
He is the author of Living the Singapore Dream, a reflection on his life experiences and those of his childhood friends, which expounds the values that made Singapore — and these individuals — successful, and co-author of Clean, Green and Blue: Singapore's Journey Towards Environmental and Water Sustainability.
