Liyana Othman Channel NewsAsia 31 Oct 15;
SINGAPORE: Eco-friendly homes and an extensive cycling network are some examples of the progress made since the launch of the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint (SSB) last year.
Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli presented the SSB's 1-year report card at the launch of the Clean and Green SG50 Carnival on Saturday (Oct 31), saying the SSB is on track to achieve its vision, but that it is too early to claim a victory.
"This is a journey, it is not a destination. In just one year, we cannot claim any victory at all," said Mr Masagos. He added that as the nation progresses, so too must the citizens' love and care for the environment.
"Therefore we then set the standard for anyone who comes to work here, who comes to visit here, this is how we live and this is how we want our environment to be,” he said.
Part of the blueprint is the aim to build "eco-smart" living spaces, and work is underway to embed smart technologies and eco-friendly features in towns and homes. For example, Punggol Northshore will be the first public housing estate to test-bed smart technologies when construction is completed in 2020. One of its features is a Pneumatic Waste Conveyance System.
The ministry is also making efforts to bring people closer to water. Four projects have been launched - Rochor Canal, Sungei Api Api, Sungei Tampines and Kallang River - and two more at Siglap Canal were completed this year.
In line with the SSB’s vision of a "Car-Lite" Singapore, enhancements have been made to rail and bus networks. By the end of this year, 750 buses will be added through the Bus Service Enhancement Programme.
Cycling paths too have been lengthened, from 233km in 2013, to 345km this year. The target is to build a network spanning 700km by 2030.
Efforts to build a Green Economy – a key thrust of the blueprint – have also seen results, with 30 per cent of all buildings in Singapore achieving the BCA Green Mark standards, up from 22 per cent in 2013. There are also moves to encourage the adoption of solar power.
And to promote an active and gracious society, enhancements to community spaces like the 24km Rail Corridor and the Ubin Project have been undertaken.
RECYCLING RATES DOWN
The SSB is also working towards a “zero waste” nation, which includes initiatives to improve the management of food waste. Singapore generated nearly 800,000 tonnes of food waste in Singapore, but only 13 per cent was recycled. Upcoming pilots like on-site recycling at Tiong Bahru and Ang Mo Kio hawker centers will be launched this year to boost this figure.
However, recycling rates dipped in 2014, compared with 2013.
"The one (aspect of recycling) that has contributed to the lower rate of recycling has been construction waste, and that is also largely because construction waste itself has reduced,” said Mr Masagos.
He called this reduction a good thing, but added that more can be done among citizens.
- CNA/av
All citizens have a part to play for a clean and green Singapore: PM Lee
"We plant these trees ... to encourage every one of us to play our part to make this a clean and green Singapore, and to build a better Singapore for our children": Mr Lee at the launch of the Clean and Green SG50 Carnival.
Liyana Othman Channel NewsAsia 31 Oct 15;
SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called on citizens to play their part and work together to build a clean and green Singapore.
He was speaking at the official launch of the Clean and Green SG50 Carnival on Saturday (Oct 31), which is jointly organised by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, National Environment Agency (NEA), North East CDC, PUB and the National Parks Board.
At the event, Mr Lee got his hands dirty planting a jelutong tree at Punggol Waterway Park. He was joined by some 600 residents, who planted around 200 trees as part of the Mass Tree Planting initiative launched in August.
By the end of this year, more than 5,000 trees will be planted across the island.
"We plant these trees not just because it makes a big difference to our living environment. But it's a symbolic act to remind us of our goal, to encourage every one of us to play our part to make this a clean and green Singapore, and to build a better Singapore for our children," said Mr Lee.
For the first time, the carnival has invited non-governmental organisations and community groups to get the crowd to sign up as volunteers with them, to maintain Singapore's reputation as one of the cleanest and most liveable cities in Asia. Organisers also hope this will build a common culture among citizens, where caring for the environment is second nature.
This year's event is also a tribute to Singapore's founding father, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who started the vision of a clean and green Singapore through rigorous developments in areas such as waterways and sanitation.
The carnival will be held till Nov 1 at Punggol Eco Town, which is said to symbolise the future of Singapore's public housing. It will be home to Punggol Northshore, which will be Singapore's first public housing estate with smart technologies when it's built in 2020.
And in a bid to become an even more sustainable district, the North East CDC has enhanced its sustainability plan to build a clean and green environment. Now known as the Sustainable North East District Blueprint, the 10-year masterplan will include existing and new programmes. It will also serve to advocate the community on issues like public health and environmental protection.
- CNA/av
PM Lee plants tree, launches SG50 Clean and Green Carnival in Punggol
Walter Sim, Straits Times AsiaOne 1 Nov 15;
SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday (Oct 31) joined some 600 residents from the North East District at Punggol Waterway Park to do their part for nature.
The 200 trees they planted will go some way towards achieving the target of more than 5,000 trees to be planted by more than 15,000 people from August to December as part of a mass tree planting exercise.
Tree planting has historical significance in greening Singapore, with the country's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew launching a tree planting campaign in 1963.
PM Lee said on Saturday: "We plant trees not just because it makes a big difference to our living environment.
"It's a symbolic act - it reminds us of our goal and encourages every one of us to play our part to build a clean and green Singapore, and to build a better Singapore for our children."
The late Mr Lee also started the Keep Singapore Clean campaign in 1968, which became Clean and Green Week in 1990, and then Clean and Green Singapore in 2007.
On Saturday morning, Mr Lee, too, launched the Clean and Green SG50 Carnival at the open field next to Punggol MRT station.
The two-day event, held in celebration of Singapore's Golden Jubilee, features an exhibition which traces Singapore's environment journey over the last 50 years such as the development of clean waterways and proper sanitation.
Besides archived photos, it also showcases a collection of 5,000 stories gathered through the Singapore Environment Story initiative.
With the theme "Cherishing Our Home, Safeguarding Our Future", the campaign aims to cultivate environment practices as second nature in Singaporeans.
It has also roped in non-government organisations and community groups, with the hope that visitors to the carnival will sign up as volunteers.
Mr Lee urged Singaporeans to each play their part, and work together to make the country cleaner and greener for each other.
He said: "If we nurture our trees, tend our gardens and protect our environment year after year, the trees and gardens will grow, blossom and bear fruit. We can enjoy the shade and their beauty. This place will be even more beautiful."
Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, said it was heartening that many Singaporeans have indicated they would like to contribute to a cleaner and greener environment.
He added: "Ultimately we must aim for caring for the environment and for each other to become second nature to us - to become our way of life."
The event also celebrated grassroots organisations and members of the public who have done their bid for the environment, including "Community In Bloom Ambassadors" who rally the community and help others to enjoy gardening.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) also said in a statement on Saturday that two community challenges that began in last year's carnival has seen progress.
There are more than 520 "Bright Spots", which are public areas where the public takes ownership of the cleanliness through activities such as litter picking. This is above the target of 500.
And the "No Waste Days" challenge, which aimed to gather pledges from members of the public to achieve 50,000 days of reduced or zero waste, garnered pledges from more than 15,500 people amounting to 850,000 "No Waste Days".
In Tampines, the tree-planting this year was a tribute to the late Mr Lee, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said in a Facebook post.
Volunteers planted five of Mr Lee's favourite trees last Sunday - the rain tree, jelutong, kapok tree, tembusu and madagascar almond. Mr Heng added that over the next five years, about 2,000 trees and shrubs will be planted in Tampines.
Singapore's green goals 'on track to being met by 2030'
Walter Sim AsiaOne 1 Nov 15;
Mr Masagos Zulkifli (in white), Minister for Environment and Water Resources, planting the tembusu tree, with Tampines residents as part of the Clean and Green Campaign on 25 October 2015. The town aims to plant close to 2,000 trees and shrubs over the next five years. When fully grown, these trees will provide shade for pedestrians walking to the train station.
Much progress has been made under the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint 2015, which contains a series of environmental goals that the country ought to work towards over the next 15 years, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli said yesterday.
These achievements, he said, "can be credited to the collective interests of Singaporeans in caring for our environment".
Giving an update on the work that has been done to meet targets under the blueprint, which was launched last November, Mr Masagos said most of the targets that were set are on track to being met by 2030.
He was speaking to reporters at the Clean and Green SG50 Carnival in Punggol, launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Mr Masagos noted that the length of nature ways - green corridors with biodiversity in urban areas - increased from 21km in 2013 to 61km as of Sept 30 this year. The target is 180km by 2030.
Also, the length of park connector networks increased from 216km in 2013 to 300km as of Sept 30. The target is 400km by 2030.
And to foster a society that is less reliant on cars, enhancements are being made to existing rail and bus networks. More cycling paths have also been built - there were 345km of cycling paths as of Sept 30, up from 233km in 2013. The goal is more than 700km by 2030.
Meanwhile, a pilot bicycle-sharing scheme will be launched in Jurong Lake District, Tampines, Pasir Ris and Marina Bay progressively from 2017.
Plans are also under way to raise the adoption of solar power, with the first solar leasing tender called in June.
"It is important that everyone gets involved," Mr Masagos said.
"This is not just a government effort - a large part of it is how members of the public buy in to a Singapore they are very proud of. If you don't do anything, a city like Singapore will become brown and grey."
The only blemish on the record was recycling rates, which dipped by one percentage point between 2013 and last year.
Non-domestic recycling went from 77 per cent in 2013 to 76 per cent last year. Domestic recycling fell from 20 per cent to 19 per cent. The respective targets are 81 per cent and 30 per cent by 2030.
Mr Masagos said that as Singapore progresses further, so should "our attitude, love and care for our environment".
