Through nature reserve or around? Residents, nature groups stick to guns on Cross Island Line paths

KENNETH CHENG Today Online 4 Sep 19;

SINGAPORE — Residents who may have to live with construction work at their doorstep are not letting up in opposing the proposal for the future Cross Island Line to skirt the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Nature enthusiasts, for their part, are also sticking to their guns, repeating their objections to the MRT line passing underneath the nature reserve, saying that this could damage fragile ecosystems and harm wildlife.

These entrenched positions remain despite assurances this week that both alignment options being explored for Singapore’s eighth MRT line were feasible.

The latest assessment report found that the environmental impact of either tunnelling through the nature reserve or going around it could be “adequately managed” with comprehensive mitigating measures and monitoring plans.

On Monday (Sept 2), the authorities gazetted for public inspection and feedback the second stage of a report assessing the environmental impact of building the line. The Government has not decided on which option to take.

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Explainer: How 2 proposed tunnelling routes for Cross Island Line will affect wildlife, housing areas

KENNETH CHENG Today Online 2 Sep 19;

SINGAPORE — The authorities are inviting public feedback on two proposed construction choices for the future Cross Island Line. 

This is after the second stage of a report assessing the environmental impact of building Singapore’s eighth MRT line was gazetted on Monday (Sept 2). Gazetting allows public inspection of the report and feedback on its findings.

The Cross Island Line — which is set to run from Changi to Jurong and is expected to be opened in 2029 with 12 stations first — can either run directly under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve or go around it. It would take a longer route and be more costly to build if it skirts around the reserve.

However, both are feasible options when done with comprehensive mitigating measures and monitoring plans, the latest environmental-impact assessment found.

How will it affect the nature reserve or residents living around the train line? Here is a rundown of the key points to note.

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Parliament: Cross Island Line extension from Pasir Ris to Punggol being studied

Zhaki Abdullah Straits Times 11 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority is still studying whether the future Cross Island Line (CRL) can be extended from Pasir Ris to Punggol.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Monday (Feb 11) said in a written parliamentary reply that engineering studies are ongoing for this proposed stretch of the CRL MRT line.

Mr Gan Thiam Poh (Ang Mo Kio GRC), had asked if the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) could be extended to connect to Pasir Ris and Punggol, to provide greater connectivity for residents in these areas.

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First phase of Cross Island Line to be completed by 2029

FARIS MOKHTAR Today Online 25 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE – Construction of the first phase of the new Cross Island Line (CRL), which will have 12 MRT stations starting from the Aviation Park in Changi to Bright Hill in Bishan, is expected to begin next year and completed by 2029.

The 29km long line will benefit more than 100,000 households and cut travelling time by 50 to 70 minutes, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Friday (Jan 25).

The stations on the first phase of the CRL will be located at: Bright Hill, Teck Ghee, Ang Mo Kio, Tavistock, Serangoon North, Hougang, Defu, Tampines North, Pasir Ris, Pasir Ris East, Loyang and the Aviation Park.

To support this MRT line, Mr Khaw said that a new 57-hectare depot at Changi East will be constructed to provide stabling and maintenance facilities for up to 80 trains.

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Express train service on Cross Island Line off the table: Khaw Boon Wan

JANICE LIM Today Online 20 Nov 18;

SINGAPORE — An express MRT train service that would get commuters more quickly from one end of the future Cross Island Line (CRL) to the other will not materialise after all.

This is after the authorities projected that just less than 5 per cent of the rail line's users would see time savings of at least 15 minutes.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question by Mr Ong Teng Koon, Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan also said on Monday (Nov 19) that the benefits of significant time savings do not outweigh the cost.

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Farewell to Raffles Country Club, as SLA acquires land amid uncertainty over HSR project

FARIS MOKHTAR Today Online 1 Aug 18;

SINGAPORE – Despite lingering uncertainty over the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project, the Government on Wednesday (Aug 1) proceeded with its acquisition of the land that Raffles Country Club (RCC) sits on.

In January 2017, the Government announced that RCC would be the second club after Jurong Country Club to make way for the HSR's facilities. The site will also house the future Cross Island Line's (CRL) western depot.

The club, which opened in 1988 and is one of Singapore's oldest, was to hand over the land to the Singapore Land Authority on July 31 (Tuesday) – 10 years before its 30-year lease was due to expire in October 2028.

However, developments in Malaysia after the election of a new government led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad have left the fate of the HSR project in doubt. With Malaysia's national debt at RM$1 trillion (S$335 billion), Dr Mahathir said in July that his government would negotiate a deferment of the rail link to avoid paying compensation to Singapore if the project was scrapped.

Malaysian Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said this week that the meeting between both countries to discuss the project would likely take place in August.

Responding to TODAY's queries, a Singapore Land Authority (SLA) spokesperson confirmed that the Government "took site possession of Raffles Country Club's land on 1 August 2018".

However, the SLA spokesperson noted that a temporary license has been granted to the club from Aug 1 to January 31 next year so that RCC can use its existing clubhouse, golf buggy area, bin centre, maintenance complex and 24 carpark lots to "facilitate the winding down of its operations and disposal of assets".

RCC stated on its website that the club's "critical staff", including its general manager and finance manager, as well as employees dealing with membership and facilities would remain till January 2019.

It is unclear whether other employees such as frontline staff and cleaners will remain, or if they have received assistance in applying for jobs elsewhere. The club's General Committee president Paul Singh could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Club members expressed sadness over RCC's closure, and said they would miss its iconic lakeside golf course, which "could not be found anywhere else" in Singapore. But they were understanding, as they knew that the land was still needed for the Jurong Lake District development regardless of whether the HSR project went ahead.

Retiree Loh Yoke Peng, 53, who has been a member for 15 years, said the club's closure would not affect golfers as there are "too many golf courses" here.

She said: "It's not like the old days where golf memberships were exclusive. So, it's not difficult to play the sport now. The land can be better used."

Mr Patrick Kwek, a 69-year-old retiree who has been a member since the club's founding, noted that club was like a "second home" to him as he played golf there about two to three times a week.

He said that there have been more events in the weeks leading up to the club's closure such as reunion golf games and dinner parties. Mr Kwek and some members also organised a farewell lunch for some of the club's frontline staff at Indian restaurant Samy's Curry a few weeks ago, as he said "they have helped us a lot over the years and we share a bond".

With the Malaysian government yet to confirm its position on the HSR project, there had been calls from RCC members to review the club's acquisition.

When asked why SLA had proceeded with the acquisition despite the uncertainty, its spokesperson referred to National Development Minister Lawrence Wong's response in Parliament on July 9, where he noted that plans to develop the Jurong Lake District – including the land set aside for the construction of the HSR project – are still relevant.

Mr Wong had said that the plans include developing a commercial precinct, building up to 20,000 new homes, and setting up a major transport hub connecting existing and upcoming MRT lines.

Jurong Country Club's former site, which was acquired at the end of 2016, will be used for new mixed-use developments and community facilities, while the Raffles Country Club site is required for the Cross Island Line's western depot and other transport related uses.

Previously, the authorities said that RCC – over twice the size of Jurong Country Club – was deemed most suitable to run HSR tracks at ground level before it goes underground towards the Jurong East Terminus. Initially targeted for a Dec 31, 2026, opening, the HSR would take travellers from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in 90 minutes.

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LTA statement on soil works leaves some questions unanswered

Straits Times Forum 2 Jul 18;

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) recently released a statement on its environmental monitoring findings within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve as part of the Cross Island Line soil investigation works (LTA elaborates on impact of soil tests; June 29).

While it is heartening to hear that "similar animals were present in the areas before and after the works", LTA's claim that such findings "validated the mitigation measures developed" appears misleading.

While it is undoubtedly important to determine if the number of animal species remains unchanged following the soil investigation works, such an analysis provides little useful information for assessing the effectiveness of mitigation measures, and overlooks the possibility that animal population sizes, spatial distributions, as well as individual health could have been negatively affected by the soil investigation works.

Studies have shown, for instance, that noise pollution resulting from heavy machinery may drive animals further away from affected areas as well as reduce their reproductive success and lifespan.

The information released by LTA thus far neglects to address these additional factors.

Furthermore, LTA's claim that it will work "to further analyse the data collected" indicates that the data analysis is far from complete, and suggests that its conclusions about the validity of the mitigation measures may be premature.

I strongly recommend that LTA release the raw environmental monitoring data so that its conclusions can be independently verified, and more sophisticated analyses can be applied.

David Tan Jian Xiong

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Nature group seeks more information on impact of Cross Island Line site investigations

NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 28 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE – Hoping for more details on the outcome of drilling works in the Macritchie forest for the future Cross Island MRT line, a group of nature enthusiasts is inviting the public to submit questions for the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

Issuing the invitation on its website and social media last Friday (June 22), the volunteers from the Love Our Macritchie Forest group said the public could either submit the questions through them, or write directly to the LTA.

Questions compiled by the group will be submitted to the LTA on July 1.

Nine parties – including five who are not affiliated with nature groups – have submitted responses to the group so far, said Ms Chloe Tan, project manager of Love Our Macritchie Forest.

Questions include whether the LTA would make the full results of its monitoring programme available to the public.

Earlier this month, the LTA said findings were encouraging. Camera traps had picked up the presence of animals such as the lesser mousedeer and the critically endangered Sunda pangolin after site investigation works were completed. These sightings validated measures it took to reduce the impact of site investigation works in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, the authority said.

In response to media queries, the LTA said on Thursday (June 28) that it monitored the animals in the nature reserve from end-2016 to end-2017. In general, monitoring began three to six months before works began at each location, and ended about four to six months after the works were completed.

The site investigation works involved the drilling of 16 boreholes to determine soil and rock conditions. This will aid the authorities in eventually deciding which of two alignments to take for the Cross Island Line. One option is to tunnel under the nature reserve, while the other will skirt around it.

About 90 camera traps were placed "within the areas where site investigation works were conducted", said the LTA.

"Our findings suggested that similar fauna were present in the areas before and after the site investigation works, with various animal groups such as mammals, reptiles and birds captured by the camera traps," said a spokesperson.

The authority did not provide details on the number or frequency of animal sightings before and after the works. But it said the common palm civet, a nocturnal animal, was another species sighted.

An environmental impact assessment, done before site investigation works, had projected "mainly moderate" impact if mitigation measures were taken. Asked if this was indeed the outcome, the LTA did not comment.

Nevertheless, the spokesperson said: "LTA continues to work with the relevant stakeholders to further analyse the data collected to deepen our understanding of the site investigation works on fauna activities in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve."

On why the volunteers decided to compile questions for the LTA, Ms Tan, 29, said the lack of details to support the conclusion about the effectiveness of mitigation measures led to some concern how the monitoring was conducted.

"We are hoping that LTA can address our concerns and provide assurance that environmental impacts of Cross Island Line-related works have been/will be treated with utmost rigour," said Ms Tan, who is assisted by National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate Liang Lei and NUS research assistant Rachel Lee.

In its public invitation, Love Our Macritchie Forest — which was set up in 2013 when news of the Cross Island Line's possible alignment first came up — said the impact on wildlife cannot simply be determined by their presence after site investigation works. It said details on monitoring methods and their results are needed.

A second phase of environmental impact assessment is ongoing, to project the impact of constructing and operating the MRT line for both alignment options. It will be completed later this year. TODAY understands the assessment will be gazetted and available for public inspection, as was the case for the first phase of the report.

Submit your questions by 30 June 2018 at http://tinyurl.com/lomf-30jun2018

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LTA clarifies how it concluded that measures to protect wildlife from tests for Cross Island Line were a success

Audrey Tan Straits Times 28 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE - The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has elaborated on how it had earlier concluded that measures to reduce the negative impact of works for the Cross Island MRT line on the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) have been successful.

On Thursday (June 28), in response to Straits Times queries, it gave details of how it had monitored animals in the area and noted that similar animals were found before and after the start of soil tests for the upcoming MRT line.

The tests are done to see if a train tunnel can be built under Singapore's largest nature reserve for the 50km Cross Island Line, the building of which is feared to have a negative impact on the area's wildlife. Nature lovers have been watching developments closely, and asked how LTA had concluded that the measures were successful.

On Thursday, LTA clarified in an e-mail reply that fauna monitoring works using about 90 camera traps started about three to six months before the soil works started. When the works ended, monitoring lasted about four to six months.

The authority said its findings "suggested that similar animals were present in the areas before and after the works, with various animal groups such as mammals, reptiles and birds captured by the camera traps".

Other than the Sunda pangolin and lesser mousedeer, which it mentioned in its earlier June 8 statement, LTA said another animal recorded by the camera traps was the common palm civet.

It did not respond to ST's query on the number of animals of each species spotted before and after the works.

Added the spokesman: "LTA continues to work with the relevant stakeholders to further analyse the data collected to deepen our understanding of the SI works on fauna activities in the CCNR."

In its statement on June 8, LTA said camera traps have picked up the presence of animals such as the critically endangered Sunda pangolin and the lesser mousedeer at the work sites after the completion of the soil tests. This, according to LTA's director of civil design and land, Dr Goh Kok Hun, "validated the mitigation measures developed".

Measures include reducing the number of boreholes required from 72 to 16, locating the boreholes on existing trails and clearings to minimise the impact on existing flora, and requiring the use of enclosures to reduce engine noise, and tanks to collect discharge.

While the measures were initially welcomed by nature groups, they told The Straits Times that more data, and better analysis of the data, was required before a conclusion about the success of mitigation measures is reached.

Nature groups are watching this closely as the debate over the Cross Island Line and whether it will eventually tunnel under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve would set a precedent for where Singapore draws the line between development and conservation.

When the line was first announced by the Government in 2013, preliminary plans showing it cutting through forests in the nature reserve alarmed the nature groups, leading them to propose an alternative alignment skirting the reserve instead.

The authorities are now considering both alignments - a 4km route, half of which would be under the nature reserve near MacRitchie Reservoir, and a skirting alignment that would take a 9km route around it. No decision has been made yet.

Separately, another study is ongoing to assess the environmental impact that would arise from the construction and operation of the MRT line for both routes.

The Straits Times reported in March this year that this study started last year and is expected to be completed later this year.



More clarity needed on how soil works for Cross Island Line affected animals in reserve: Nature groups
Audrey Tan Straits Times 28 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE - Nature groups and experts are calling for more information on how soil investigation works at the Central Catchment Nature Reserve affected native animals.

Without more transparency, it is impossible to tell if or how the animals were impacted, they said in response to a claim made by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) that findings on its measures to reduce the environmental impact of soil works "were encouraging and validated the mitigation measures developed".

The tests, which involved boring holes up to 70m underground to extract soil samples, were done to explore if the train tunnel for the Cross Island Line can be built under Singapore's largest nature reserve.

The LTA had put in place camera traps and done ground surveys to monitor wildlife for the first part of the tests. There is another ongoing environmental study.

The authorities are considering two alignments for the MRT line, a 4km route, half of which would be under the nature reserve near MacRitchie Reservoir, and a skirting alignment that would take a 9km route around it.

Earlier this month, LTA said that camera traps picked up the presence of animals. Its statement also included two camera trap photographs of pangolins.

On Thursday (June 28), an LTA spokesman said about 90 camera traps were deployed about three to six months before the soil works started in February last year (2017). When they ended late last year, monitoring was done for about four to six months. LTA's findings "suggested that similar animals were present in the areas before and after the works, with various animal groups such as mammals, reptiles and birds captured by the camera traps", she added, without elaborating on the number of such animals spotted.

The spokesman said LTA will continue to work with stakeholders "to further analyse the data collected to deepen our understanding of the soil works on fauna activities".

To reduce the impact of the works, LTA had put in place measures including reducing the number of boreholes and requiring the use of enclosures to reduce engine noise, among others.

The measures were welcomed by nature groups, but they told ST that more data, and better data analysis was required.

Ms Chloe Tan, spokesman for the Love Our MacRitchie Forest volunteer group, pointed out that the presence of one Sunda pangolin after the works could not prove anything, if there had been a greater population of pangolins using the area in the first place.

National University of Singapore biology lecturer N. Sivasothi noted that the soil investigation works for the Cross Island Line had been a serious intrusion into Singapore's protected nature reserve, and it was important that any statement arising from the works be substantiated.

"Right now, other than the two photographs of the pangolins, there is no scientific data to verify if the mitigation measures really worked," he said.

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Cross Island Line site investigations haven’t driven away rare animals from nature reserve, says LTA

Today Online 9 Jun 18;

But more data is needed to assess impact on wildlife, conservationists say

SINGAPORE — Site investigations for the upcoming Cross Island Line (CRL) have not driven away animals such as the critically endangered Sunda Pangolin, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has said in announcing “encouraging” findings from the completion of the works to examine the feasibility of two possible routes for the controversial project.

After the investigations, which involved the drilling of boreholes in one of Singapore’s largest nature reserves, camera traps managed to photograph the endangered pangolin and the Lesser Mousedeer, among other animals.

These sightings validated the measures LTA had taken to reduce the impact of its works, said Dr Goh Kok Hun, the authority’s director of civil design and land, in a press release on Friday (June 8).

Conservationists welcomed the news but said they needed more data before they could fully determine the impact on wildlife in the area.

The investigations are part of a major study into two possible alignment options for the 50km CRL, which is due to be completed around 2030.

One option involves tunnelling beneath some of the most pristine ecosystems in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, home to many native plants, birds and other animals. The other option would skirt the nature reserve, but would be more expensive to build.

The first option has drawn opposition from environmentalists and conservationists, who said such a move would seriously damage the reserve and its ecosystem.

The authorities have assured that a decision would not be made without a full range of studies, which include a “robust” two-phase environmental impact assessment.

Site investigations, which took place from May 2016 to September last year, were conducted after the first phase of the environmental study.

The authorities did not previously announce the use of camera traps to monitor the impact of drilling on animals in the nature reserve, which includes the MacRitchie reservoir.

TODAY has asked the LTA about the number of camera traps deployed and where they were located in relation to the boreholes. The frequency of animal sightings before, during and after the site investigation works is also not known.

“It’s nice to confirm that the animals are there but… they’ve always been within the area. The mitigation and all the additional adjustments during the period may or may not have helped in that respect,” said Strix Wildlife Consultancy’s Subaraj Rajathurai.

Mr Subaraj, who is part of a working group of nature experts in talks with the LTA on the CRL, added: “I think the results require a lot more analysis. Nonetheless, the positive we can take out of this is (that) it’s not an empty forest.”

Ms Chloe Tan, spokesperson for the Love Our MacRitchie Forest volunteer group, said: “It is encouraging to know that animals are still present in the vicinity of the works. However, we are not able to tell if the site investigation works impacted the wildlife just based on their presence or absence.”

It is important to compare the frequency and distribution of records before and during the works, said Ms Tan, adding: “It would provide much assurance if LTA could make public the full biodiversity monitoring report.”

The CRL will be fully underground and stretch from Jurong to Changi, catering to estates such as Clementi, Bukit Timah, Ang Mo Kio and Hougang.

The second alignment option that the Government is studying will skirt around the nature reserve and serve more commuters in the area. But this option would cost S$2 billion more, and add four minutes to travel time.

The LTA did not say in its latest press release when it will decide on an alignment option. It is expected to do so after the second phase of an environmental impact assessment is completed, studied and discussed with stakeholders.

Phase Two of the assessment will study the environmental impact of constructing and operating the CRL for both routes. It is expected to be completed later this year, said the LTA.

Wildlife seen in Cross Island Line site investigations
Channel NewsAsia 8 Jun 18;

SINGAPORE: Site investigations carried out to study the impact of two alignment options for the underground Cross Island Line (CRL) in the vicinity of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve have been completed, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (Jun 8).

Findings from the investigations suggest that wildlife are present in the area, with camera traps picking up the presence of animals such as the Sunda Pangolin and the Lesser Mouse-deer, said the authority.

The alignment of the CRL, which is targeted to be completed around 2030, has created some controversy among environmentalists and nature groups as the direct alignment option goes directly underneath the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. A second skirting alignment option goes around the reserve.

The site investigations took place between May 2016 and September 2017 as part of efforts to assess the feasibility of the two CRL alignment options.

"Monitoring results from cameras and transect surveys from the (site investigation) works for the direct alignment suggested that fauna are present in the area," said LTA.

Photos released by LTA showed Sunda Pangolins both before and after the site investigation works near Sime Trail in the reserve.

“Our camera traps picked up (the) presence of animals like the Sunda Pangolin and Lesser Mouse-deer after the completion of SI works. The findings were encouraging and validated the mitigation measures developed,” said Dr Goh Kok Hun, LTA’s director of civil design and land.

Mitigation measures involved efforts such as reducing the number of boreholes required, from 72 to 16, and making sure these were on existing trails and clearings within the nature reserve, according to LTA.

The findings of the site investigation works will provide LTA with information on underground soil conditions, as well as provide input for Phase Two of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which will assess the impact of construction and operations for the two alignment options.

Phase Two is ongoing and is expected to be completed later this year.

LTA said it has been in close consultation with nature groups on the studies, and will continue to engage them on the CRL.

The authority said it would finalise the CRL alignment after results from Phase Two of the EIA have been studied and discussed with stakeholders.

Source: CNA/nc

MRT soil probe: Steps to ease impact on wildlife working
LTA says animals still present in areas where drilling for soil samples for Cross Island Line took place
Derek Wong Straits Times 9 Jun 18;

Measures to mitigate the effects of investigation works for the Cross Island MRT Line (CRL) on wildlife have shown signs of working, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday.

It has found that wildlife is still present in parts of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve where drilling for soil samples has taken place. The drilling was part of the LTA's site investigations to study the impact of the CRL running under the reserve.

The LTA found the presence of wildlife in monitoring results from cameras and ground surveys.

Photos captured by camera traps included those of endangered animals such as the sunda pangolin and the lesser mousedeer.

LTA's director of civil design and land, Dr Goh Kok Hun, said: "The findings were encouraging and validated the mitigation measures developed."

These measures were put in place to minimise the impact of site investigation works on the flora and fauna in the reserve.

The investigation works, which took place between May 2016 and September last year, involved drilling 16 boreholes to extract soil samples.

They were the first steps in assessing the two CRL alignment options - going directly underneath the nature reserve or skirting it, said LTA.

The line, announced by the Government in 2013, had preliminary plans that showed it going under the reserve.

This raised concerns among nature groups here.

LTA consulted the National Parks Board and nature groups here over three years before drilling started.

There was a comprehensive suite of mitigation measures, said LTA, such as reducing the number of boreholes required for the works from 72 to 16.

Other measures included locating the boreholes on existing trails and clearings to minimise the impact on existing flora.

National University of Singapore biology lecturer N. Sivasothi, who has been part of the discussions LTA has had with nature groups, commended the suite of measures..

He said discussions on the plan were so detailed that they included specifying how an engine pump was to be operated to prevent petrol spillage.

These plans were necessary due to the potentially disruptive impact of the works, Mr Sivasothi said.

He added: "The process of conducting the investigation could have led to pollution - soil and oil can make the waters murky. The running engine and workers in the area would also cause animals to avoid the sites."

The boreholes were about 10cm in diameter and ranged from 50m to 80m deep at the different sites.

Ms Chloe Tan, spokesman for the Love Our MacRitchie Forest volunteer group, said the presence of animals might not mean there was no impact on the animals. There is a need to know their abundance and distribution too, she added.

She is hoping the line will not pass under the reserve.

While Mr Sivasothi looks forward to the full results of the study on the site investigations, he said these might not be sufficient.

"This is for the short term, but we will not know the long-term impact in 50 or 100 years, which is why we take great pains to avoid having works near or in the nature reserve," he said.

Phase two of the study, which assesses the potential environmental impact of future construction - including tunnelling and operations - is ongoing and is expected to be completed later this year, said LTA.

The CRL alignment will be finalised after the phase two results have been studied and discussed.

The 50km Cross Island Line will stretch from Changi to Jurong, and is set to be completed in 2030.

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Protect our environmental reserves like fiscal reserves

Geh Min Straits Times 20 Jan 18;

Man-made, short-term economic gain is sometimes behind so-called 'natural' disasters. Singapore can play its part by recognising the value of its environmental reserves.

Last year saw its share of natural disasters: hurricanes, earthquakes volcanic eruptions, floods, wildfires and so on. If we feel a sense of disaster fatigue on reading about them, imagine how the victims must feel - especially when informed to expect worse in the coming years!

But how natural are natural disasters? Is this term a convenient tag for sloppy thinking or an easy way to blame Mother Nature? Or even a deliberate ploy by politicians or corporations to absolve themselves from blame?

On closer examination, many "natural" disasters have a degree of human culpability; some are, in fact, wholly man-made.

Take the haze from which we have been spared last year and were suitably grateful. (Malaysia has even gone to the extent of publicly thanking the Indonesians.) For several decades, it was believed that the seasonal air pollution over Singapore and our neighbours was a result of "natural" forest fires despite environmentalists and scientists explaining that tropical forests do not naturally combust, unlike those in drier zones.

This myth was a convenient smokescreen for both companies and politicians who lacked the economic incentive or political will to prevent them. It was only after the huge conflagration in 1997, with estimated losses to Singapore of over $100 million in health, tourism and the airline industry alone, that the general public woke up to the fact that the culprits were not Mother Nature or even traditional slash-and-burn farmers but oil palm and paper companies clearing land for replanting. In fact, nature was not the culprit; but the cure - a good shower of rain - was more effective than any amount of on-the-ground firefighting or water-bombing from the air in stopping the conflagration.

The reason for distinguishing natural from man-made disasters is prevention or at least mitigation.

The number of people killed, displaced or injured, and the economic losses sustained are what distinguishes a natural phenomenon from a disaster. So while we cannot prevent earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, we can prevent them from becoming disasters by prediction and precautionary measures.

Unfortunately, although science and technology have given us a far better understanding of natural phenomenon than our ancestors, who could see them only as acts of God or nature, we are also hampered by the fact that our global population has increased to the point that not only is it impossible to live in disaster-free areas, but we are also contributing to their severity, climate change being the prime example.

Our ability to prevent or reduce the severity of disasters depends on several basic precepts.

SEEING THE BIG PICTURE

Several decades ago, I was travelling in one of the East African countries through endless, dusty, semi-arid savannah, when we saw what looked like a huge rocky outcrop.

Getting closer, it turned out to be a hotel for several hundred guests which would not have been out of place in any tourist resort but was totally incongruous in a region of single-storey mud huts or small, tented camps - even these were few and far between. The eerie thing was that, although completed, it was totally deserted and I remember vividly the sight of wild grasses growing through cracks in the otherwise pristine but empty Olympic-sized pool.

This had been an ambitious joint project by the World Bank and the government to boost tourism and the country's economy. Unfortunately, the planners had been so fixated with the economic bottom line that they had neglected to factor in the project's environmental sustainability.

A hotel of that size would have needed far more water than was available in that area and to pipe in the necessary water from a distant source required a doubling of the many millions that had already been poured into the project.

So the whole place had been abandoned.

This illustrates dramatically what is often played out: a failure to realise that the big picture is the environment. All human activity, including economic activity - which so engrosses planners, politicians and captains of industry - must occur in the natural environment which supplies us with air, water, land, food and all the other resources we need to stay alive and economically active. These have always been plentiful and self-renewing in the past when human activity was a small blip in the natural landscape, but now that humans and their impact have grown exponentially to become a dominant force, we can no longer treat the environment as a self-sustaining "externality".

The natural environment we live in is our life-support system and is now severely overstretched and degraded by thoughtless, irresponsible and ignorant "business as usual" assumptions.

MAKING THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS

The link between some human actions and resulting environmental problems should be obvious.

Haze arising from forest fires caused by deliberate or uncontrolled land clearing by burning is one - but even that took a long time for us to join the dots. Even now, it is not possible to get a clear picture of all parties responsible because of the number and complexity of the players and motives.

But many more disasters have a far more remote and complicated connection with human activity, compounded by historical or geographical distance.

Many countries are suffering from water shortages today as a result of overambitious and inappropriate industries and agriculture. While the mistakes are now recognised, it is not a simple matter to rectify practices which are both a mainstay of the economy and a major source of environmental degradation.

The tragic drying up of the Aral Sea, recently one of the world's four largest lakes and now described as one of the planet's greatest environmental disasters, was caused by massive irrigation projects by the Soviets in the 1960s piping water into the desert for growing cotton. Within living memory, it is now shrunken to less than a tenth of its original size and has a salinity higher than the Dead Sea.

Fishing boats ,which used to serve a flourishing industry and supply essential protein to the millions in land-locked countries around it, now rust on dry beds of salt, sand and toxic chemicals which in a sand storm spread wind-borne toxic dust to a huge area already deprived of fresh water. Unfortunately, efforts to reverse this involve gargantuan injections of money and transnational cooperation with no guarantee of success.

We have made the link between overfishing and rapidly depleting fisheries or deforestation resulting in flooding and landslides. That is well and good - but what about deforestation causing depletion of our fisheries as a result of excessive runoff and erosion which smothers coral and mangroves, the nurseries of much of our seafood; or deforestation resulting in degradation and depletion of drinking water; and of course climate change which will accelerate and exacerbate all these other problems?

The list is so endless and interconnected that, not surprisingly, most people, including or perhaps especially, policymakers, don't want to know, because to recognise the problem means having to take action. It is so much easier to live from day to day and think of floods, pollution, fire or other environmental events as natural disasters.

TAKING THE LONG VIEW

Thinking more moves ahead gives competitive advantage to both chess players and countries.

Singapore has been very fortunate in having Mr Lee Kuan Yew as our founding prime minister. Described as visionary, he was astute enough to take the long view and act on it. Singaporeans can thank him and the first generation of leaders for our clean air, adequate drinking water and much more. But even he recognised that this millennium brings far more global environmental challenges than the past.

United States President Donald Trump has repeatedly trumpeted his "America first" slogan but is rapidly eroding rather than strengthening US supremacy, as seen by his stance on climate change.

Russia, more than any other major power, stands to benefit economically and geopolitically from global warming as it will open up important shipping routes and ports in the Arctic as well as access to huge reserves of minerals, oil and gas, not to mention enormous tracts of agricultural land. It would be ironic if the US should speed up this process through their carbon emissions.

Whether Mr Trump is aware of this is questionable but the Chinese certainly are and have been preparing the ground for greater engagement in the Arctic, including acquiring observer status in the Arctic Council. So has Singapore, despite our being even more geographically remote.

GREEN GLOBAL POSITIONING

We have seen how misguided thinking, based on insufficient knowledge and for short-term economic gains, has had long-term socio-economic costs, many of them almost impossible to reverse.

Singapore should continue the legacy of thinking ahead on environmental issues and retain our competitive edge by more careful and informed environmental decisions.

For example, the proposed Cross Island Line of the MRT through our central catchment and largest nature reserve may have serious repercussion on our water supply and the sustainability of our forest and the valuable ecosystem services they provide.

Do we really want to risk all this for an estimated few minutes less of travelling time and some relatively minor cost-saving?

The decision should not be taken without very serious consideration by not just the Land Transport Authority, but by the whole of government with extensive consultation with Singaporeans.

In fact, to prevent future disaster, we should be guarding our environmental reserves as carefully as we do our fiscal and social reserves.

•The writer, an environmentalist and former Nominated MP, is the immediate past president of the Nature Society (Singapore).

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Soil tests for MRT line in nature reserve mostly complete

Works done to determine if Cross Island Line can run under it
Audrey Tan Straits Times 19 Oct 17;

A major part of works to determine whether the Cross Island MRT Line can go under Singapore's largest nature reserve has been completed.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) told The Straits Times this week that soil tests for the 16 boreholes drilled within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve were finished last month.

The works, which will help engineers determine the soil and rock profile under Singapore's largest nature reserve, started in February and have been watched closely, especially by environmental groups who are urging the Government not to build the MRT line under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Other than the drilling of boreholes - each about 10cm wide to extract soil samples - the soil investigation works also included geophysical surveys.

These involve surveyors going off-trail into the forest to collect data using handheld equipment. Such surveys are needed to supplement data, as LTA had reduced the number of boreholes drilled in the nature reserve from 72 to 16, in a bid to reduce impact within the sensitive habitats. "Geophysical works and post-site investigation fauna monitoring activities are still ongoing," said the LTA spokesman.

The works are expected to be completed by the end of this year, the authority had said earlier.

Expected to be ready in 2030, the 50km Cross Island Line will stretch from Changi to Jurong.

The authorities are considering two paths for the line - a 4km route, half of which would be under the nature reserve, and a "skirting alignment" that would take a 9km route around it.

While the latter option is expected to tack on $2 billion to the cost of constructing the line, it could allow for an additional station to serve Thomson residents.

It would also satisfy nature groups which have raised concerns about the environmental impact of running an MRT line under the reserve, which is a treasure trove of biodiversity and home to critically endangered animals such as the Sunda pangolin.

The LTA spokesman said that findings from the site investigation works will be used in the next phase of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which will assess the impact of the construction and operations for both alignments.

The Love Our MacRitchie Forest volunteer group said it appreciated the authorities' engagement with the nature groups, and hoped that it would continue.

"We would like to see the results of the monitoring activities made available for the public to view," said its spokesman Chloe Tan.

"Should the findings of the soil investigation works recommend that the Cross Island Line be aligned through the CCNR, we hope that Phase 2 of the EIA and monitoring activities will be conducted with the same (or even more) rigour to ensure that wildlife will not be affected by the construction works."

The first phase of the EIA, announced in February last year, had looked at the soil works and how to reduce their impact.

A key finding was that the works would have a "moderate" impact on plants and animals there, but only if measures to reduce impact are strictly implemented.

For the alternative route around the reserve, the impact of soil investigation works along Lornie Road was deemed to be "negligible", and "minor" for areas near Venus Drive and a golf course.

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Steps to beef up process of wildlife impact assessment: Desmond Lee

Audrey Tan Straits Times 26 Jun 17;

When the Phase 1 environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the Cross Island MRT line was released in February last year, it described the impact of soil works on surrounding wildlife as "moderate".

But members of the public were left confused. What exactly does "moderate" impact mean?

There were concerns about how EIA studies are done after the release of the report which referred to possible plans for a tunnel under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) as part of the MRT line.

The Government now wants to strengthen the process, and the National Parks Board is working with partners to look at how it can be done, Mr Desmond Lee, Second Minister for National Development, told The Straits Times last week during his first interview as full minister.

"We are seeing how we can strengthen the EIA process, taking on board all the lessons that we picked up in the last few EIAs - improving baseline survey methodology, understanding of Singapore's perspective and situation," said Mr Lee, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs.

Baseline surveys are done to identify the different types of wildlife in an area. "So if an EIA consultant comes from abroad, they must recognise the fragility of our environment, the fragmentation of certain nature areas, and recognise that when they do an EIA, they have to recognise context."

More details will be revealed at a later date, added Mr Lee.

His comments come in the wake of two high-profile developments - the Cross Island Line, which is expected to be completed in 2030, and the Mandai eco-tourism hub.

In both cases, EIAs were done by international consultancy Environmental Resources Management, which was founded in Britain. It explored ways in which works could be carried out to reduce impact to surrounding flora and fauna.

When the two reports were released months apart last year, they were disputed by nature groups which pointed to the lack of clarity of terms used in the reports, and the lack of consideration of the Singapore context.

For instance, the EIA on Mandai had determined that impact could be reduced from "medium" to "small" if mitigation measures, such as forest restoration and avoiding work in certain areas, were enforced.

But the Nature Society (Singapore) pointed out that the magnitude of the impact could be underplayed, considering the project site's strategic location just outside Singapore's largest nature reserve.

Ecology consultants and scientists are encouraged by Mr Lee's announcement that the Government is looking into strengthening the processes behind EIAs.

On the importance of ensuring that EIAs are tailored to Singapore's context, Ms Natalia Huang, principal ecologist at environmental consultancy Ecology Matters, pointed to the uniqueness of Singapore's human-dominated environment and small size.

"Other countries may look at landscape-scale impacts spanning say, 100km, but Singapore doesn't have such a scale," she said.

Mr David Tan, a bird scientist from the National University of Singapore, said it is important that baseline studies involve more than just coming up with a checklist of species, adding that connectivity between green plots is also important.

He said: "It is also important to consider whether development works in an area would affect how animals move from place to place."


Interview with Desmond Lee: Youngest minister a nature buff with a keen eye
Singapore's youngest Cabinet minister Desmond Lee highlights the importance of conservation and the need to balance between development and protecting our biodiversity.
Audrey Tan Straits Times 26 Jun 17;

Dressed in khaki and armed with a pair of binoculars, newly minted Second Minister for National Development and Home Affairs Desmond Lee arrived for an interview last Thursday at Windsor Nature Park looking ready for a bird-watching adventure.

It was an apt look for the youngest minister of Singapore's current Cabinet, a nature buff with a keen eye: During a walk around the park, the 40-year-old spotted and identified two dragonflies - a common scarlet and a crimson dropwing - each barely the length of a human finger.

But the easy demeanour of the father of three children - a seven- year-old daughter and two sons, aged three and five - spoke of more than just his enjoyment of nature.

It also reflected his approach to governance: one that involves walking the ground and speaking to different people, from nature enthusiasts - from whom he learnt how to identify birds - to construction company representatives, policemen and heritage group leaders, who hail from some of the sectors of society he interacts with frequently.

"The Government has no monopoly on knowledge or perspectives. We have to eat humble pie, we have to talk to people and get their perspectives... You want people's views, because it impacts them. And they give us a wealth of local knowledge and ideas," he said.

Mr Lee, whose father is former Cabinet minister Lee Yock Suan, entered politics in 2011 as a backbencher in Jurong GRC.

In 2013, he was made minister of state for national development, before being promoted to senior minister of state in 2015, taking on the additional portfolio of home affairs as well. In his latest promotion on May 1 this year, he became Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and National Development, which made him the youngest full minister in the current Cabinet.

Over the years, he has maintained close ties with conservation groups, most recently joining marine enthusiasts last week in discussions over Sisters' Islands Marine Park, Singapore's one and only marine park located south of the mainland.

Audrey Tan

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Site tests to assess impact of Cross Island Line begin at nature reserve

TAN WEIZHEN Today Online 23 Mar 17;

SINGAPORE — Site investigation works to study if the future Cross Island Line will pass under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) are now being carried out in the area, with mitigating measures being put in place to address nature groups’ concerns about the impact of such works on the reserve.

The works are being done at 16 sites at the CCNR. These began last week at one site in a forested area, while at another four sites, works started in February.

At a media briefing yesterday, Dr Goh Kok Hun, deputy director of geotechnical and tunnels at the Land Transport Authority (LTA), stressed that those involved in the study are adhering to stringent requirements during the investigation works.

“The LTA is working closely with NParks (National Parks Board), nature groups and our contractors to ensure that the site investigation works are done in the best possible manner. Other than significantly reducing the number of boreholes required from 72 to 16, we have also limited the boreholes’ locations to existing trails and clearings like this within the CCNR,” he told reporters after a demonstration on how the works are being done at one of the sites at the CCNR. He also explained how the mitigating measures work.

“Workers have to observe stringent requirements stipulated under the Environmental Management and Monitoring Plan while carrying out their works.”

He added: “We are doing these soil investigation works so that once we understand soil and rock conditions, we can assess the impact of construction and operations for the two possible alignments — the direct alignment or the skirting alignment.”

The direct alignment option will cut through the CCNR, running for 2km, while the skirting alignment will run for 9km under homes and businesses. The authorities have yet to make a decision on the issue.

Nature groups are opposed to the direct alignment option, noting that it will hurt the nature reserve and there are no guarantees that the mitigating measures for the site investigation works will not have an impact on the environment.

The LTA said other mitigating measures have also been put in place during the investigation works at the 16 sites, which are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

For instance, all activities will be restricted to daylight hours from 9am to 5pm, so as not to affect nocturnal animals.

Boreholes will also be done only at public trails and existing clearings within the CCNR. “Ecologically sensitive” areas such as streams and swampy areas will be avoided, and there will be also be a 30m buffer zone around them.

A certified arborist has been appointed to propose and assess methods to avoid damage to trees during the borehole process, the LTA said.


Investigative works for Cross Island Line begin
Zhaki Abdullah Straits Times AsiaOne 23 Mar 17;

Works to see if the future Cross Island MRT line will be built under Singapore's largest nature reserve have started.

Due to start last December, the investigation works, to determine the soil and rock profile under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, began last month. They were delayed because of "extensive discussions" between the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and National Parks Board on measures to reduce the environmental impact of the works, said LTA geotechnical and tunnels deputy director Goh Kok Hun.

Some of the mitigation measures include keeping works to between 9am and 5pm, erecting noise barriers and keeping investigation works to public trails, to avoid disturbing wildlife in the area.

The number of investigation sites has also been reduced from 72 to 16.

"Workers have to observe the stringent requirements stipulated under the environmental management and monitoring plan for the works," said Dr Goh.

Soil investigation works at Central Catchment Nature Reserve Pt 2

Trial runs of borehole operations and geophysical surveys were also conducted off-site prior to actual works to familiarise workers with the requirements of working in the reserve, said an LTA spokesman.

"These mitigating measures are the result of three years of engagement between the LTA and other stakeholders," said Nature Society president Shawn Lum.

Expected to be ready in 2030, the 50km Cross Island Line will stretch from Changi to Jurong when completed. The authorities are considering two paths for the line - a 4km route, half of which would be under the nature reserve, and a "skirting alignment" that would take a 9km route around it.

While the latter option is expected to tack on $2 billion to the cost of constructing the line, it could allow for an additional station to serve Thomson residents.

It would also satisfy nature groups which have raised concerns about the possible environmental impact of running an MRT line under the reserve.

Earlier this month, a tunnel boring machine digging in mixed ground conditions caused an old tomb at Mount Pleasant Chinese Cemetery to cave in during works on the Thomson-East Coast Line. Over-excavation had created a localised depression on the surface, said LTA.

Such cave-ins are unlikely to occur should the authorities decide to run the line under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, said Dr Goh. This is because tunnelling in the area would go much deeper and only through the granite of the Bukit Timah profile, not mixed ground conditions, he added.

Soil investigation works at Central Catchment Nature Reserve Pt 3

Soil investigation works are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Studies on the total impact of the project will be ready only by the end of next year, and a decision on the route of the MRT line will only be made after.

Dr Lum, a senior lecturer at the Nanyang Technological University's Asian School of the Environment, is still hopeful that the new rail line will go around the reserve.



"The skirting alignment would not just be beneficial for the environment, it would also allow for wider ridership for the MRT line," he said.

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Central reserve soil works postponed

Audrey Tan, The Straits Times AsiaOne 14 Jan 17;

Works to see if a train tunnel for the Cross Island Line can be built under Singapore's largest nature reserve have been postponed again.

The investigation works to determine the soil and rock profile under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve were supposed to start last month, after an initial postponement from the third quarter of last year.

However, they have not commenced to date.

A check by The Straits Times last Thursday showed that the Sime Track and Terentang Trail - on which 10 boreholes were supposed to be drilled - were still open to the public.

There was also no sign of any works within the reserve.

In response to queries, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) would only say that work within the reserve is "expected to commence within these two months".

The LTA did not provide reasons for the delay, but The Straits Times understands that preparatory work ahead of the soil investigation works is still ongoing.

But site investigation works for the alternative route have commenced and are expected to be completed at end-2018, the LTA said.

At the central reserve, other than the drilling of the boreholes - each about 10cm wide to extract soil samples - the works also involve geophysical surveys, which will see surveyors going off-trail into the forest to collect data using handheld equipment.

It is less intrusive than the drilling, but nature groups have aired concerns that surveyors may trample on the sensitive vegetation in the reserve.

The latest delay is the second one so far. The works were initially supposed to start in the third quarter of last year, but were pushed back due to extensive talks between the LTA and nature groups.

Discussions then had resulted in the authorities agreeing to put in place 10 extra measures to reduce any negative impact on plants and animals there, on top of an earlier nine.

These include mandating that contractors use enclosures to reduce engine noise and tanks to collect discharge, scheduling at least one rest day in between surveys, and engaging a tree expert to ensure trees are not damaged.

The LTA said it would continue to work closely with the appointed contractors, the National Parks Board (NParks) and key representatives from the nature groups during the works to ensure compliance with the mitigation measures.

The LTA has also engaged an environmental adviser to monitor the process and conduct audits of an environmental management and monitoring plan, which was developed to ensure proper implementation, management and compliance with the mitigation measures.

Green groups, such as the Nature Society (Singapore) and the Love Our MacRitchie Forest volunteer group, are pushing for the 50km Cross Island Line to go around instead of through the reserve, where rare animals, such as the critically endangered Sunda pangolin, can be found.

Biologist David Tan, from the Love Our MacRitchie Forest group, said: "In a sense, it's good that LTA is taking things slowly rather than barrelling through at full speed.

"Mistakes are much more likely to occur when works are rushed, and we know from past incidents that the risk of environmental damage is not insignificant."

Last year, for example, Mr Tan said there were at least two cases at MacRitchie where mitigation measures were either not implemented or had failed entirely, resulting in siltation and damage to two separate streams in the forest.

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/central-reserve-soil-works-postponed#sthash.NnHaXjlM.dpuf

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Looking forward to 2017: Environment - Sustainability still key, with challenges ahead

Audrey Tan Straits Times 29 Dec 16;

Sustainability is the global buzzword these days and Singapore has done well in walking the talk over the past year.

It has opted to buy paper from sustainable sources, made strides to curb food waste and laid out its action plan to mitigate climate change by boosting energy efficiency across all sectors. These initiatives, among many others, do not just help the environment - they make monetary sense too.

Using energy-efficient appliances could help businesses and households reduce costs over time.

This focus on sustainability looks set to continue next year, as Singapore strives to limit environmental damage in its quest for development.

But it will not be painless, especially when it comes to conserving nature - which is something that cannot be valued in dollars and cents.

Professor Peter Ng, head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, summed up the challenges in straddling the fine line between development and nature conservation, when he quoted United States diplomat Henry Kissinger, who once said: "The great tragedies of history occur not when right confronts wrong but when two rights confront each other."

One case study that exemplifies this is the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) move earlier this year to clear a 30ha secondary forest plot in Lentor - through which two rare freshwater streams run - to make way for private housing.

On the one hand, the forest plot is rich in biodiversity and home to several rare animals, including the globally critically endangered Sunda pangolin. On the other hand, providing homes for Singapore's growing population is a national need.

The good news is that the Government has demonstrated its willingness to listen, at the very least, to concerns aired by the environmental community.

To save wild animals in the Lentor plot, for example, the URA embarked on a novel wildlife management plan that involves gradually clearing the site so animals can naturally move to nearby green areas.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has also listened to nature groups and taken steps to reduce the impact of development of the upcoming Cross Island Line, which could potentially tunnel under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

In June, it announced that it will adopt another 10 mitigating measures - on top of an earlier nine - to reduce the impact of soil testing works on plants and animals in Singapore's largest nature reserve.

These were adopted on the back of talks between the LTA and nature groups, and works in the reserve are due to start soon.

On the surface, it may appear encouraging that the LTA has adopted additional measures to reduce the impact of works on the reserve. But the Cross Island Line saga has highlighted several important questions: Is sustainable development just about limiting impact?

Could this result in the term "sustainable development" being used as a catch-all phrase to justify development in all areas? Even in a protected nature reserve - a representative site of the Republic's key natural ecosystems?

The year 2017 is likely to be one in which more of such questions will arise, and will likely be marked with more debate, dialogue and discussion among stakeholders, including the Government and conservation groups.

It is no easy feat to accommodate differing needs in just 719 sq km of land, which is all Singapore has.

As Prof Ng says: "I expect even more challenges to come to the front. This is only to be expected.

"We are starting new things in conservation, research and juggling often conflicting needs. Easy? No.

"But it has to be done anyway."


2016: Notable events
Audrey Tan Straits Times 29 Dec 16;

FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE

This year will go down in history as the year in which concrete steps to mitigate climate change were taken. The Paris climate pact, successfully negotiated by almost 200 nations last December, became international law last month.

In July, Singapore outlined its action plan to help the nation meet its green targets - a key strategy of which is to continue to improve energy efficiency across all sectors, namely power generation, industry, buildings, transport, household, waste and water.

The plan also laid out measures to help Singapore boost its resilience to climate change amid erratic weather patterns, in areas such as coastal protection, managing the water supply and improving food supply resilience.

CROSS ISLAND LINE

To build or not to build a train tunnel under a nature reserve - that is a question that the authorities have yet to answer. Still, debates over whether the 50km Cross Island Line should go under or around the Central Catchment Nature Reserve were heightened since February, when the Land Transport Authority unveiled the findings of the first phase of an environmental impact assessment.

The study had found that tests to see how the train tunnel could be built through the nature reserve would have a "moderate" impact on plants and animals there, but only if measures to reduce the impact are strictly implemented. Otherwise, the soil investigation works could have a large impact on highly sensitive parts of the nature reserve.

MANDAI MAKEOVER

Singapore will have an eco-tourism hub of five wildlife parks by 2023, when development of the leafy Mandai area is complete.

The area will also have eco-lodges, free-access public spaces such as boardwalks and playgrounds, and a nature-themed education centre, according to plans unveiled by developer Mandai Park Holdings in June.

But as the area sits just outside the biodiversity-rich Central Catchment Nature Reserve, nature groups have pointed out the irony in replacing native biodiversity with imported wildlife.

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Contracts awarded to 2 firms for Cross Island Line's site investigation works

Yuen Sin Straits Times 25 Oct 16;

SINGAPORE - The authorities have appointed two companies to conduct site investigation works to see if a train tunnel can be built under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) for the upcoming Cross Island Line.

This comes after nature groups had expressed worries about the environmental harm that can be caused by the construction and operation of an underground MRT line through Singapore's largest nature reserve.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has appointed Tritech Engineering & Testing (TET) (Singapore) and Ryobi Geotechnique International (Ryobi G) to carry out investigation works for the the alignment that shows the upcoming Cross Island Line cutting under the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, it said in a press release on Tuesday (Oct 25).The tender to conduct these works was called in June 2016.

The site investigation works will start in December and are expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

The 50km Cross Island Line was first announced in 2013 as a link between Changi and Jurong. Preliminary plans showed it cutting through primary and secondary forests in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve near MacRitchie Reservoir.

Nature groups reacted by raising concerns and suggested that the line be built along Lornie Road instead, in an alternate route that skirts around the reserve.

The LTA started an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of both routes in July 2014.

The findings of first phase of this assessment, which looked at the soil works and how to reduce their impact, was announced in February 2016. Some mitigating measures announced then include reducing the number of boreholes required for soil testing from 72 to 16, and to gather the data needed through geophysical surveys instead.

Geophysical survey methods require contractors to go off-trail into the forest and do not call for drilling, unlike the boreholes of about 10cm in diameter, which will be drilled into an existing trail.

Site investigation works into the alternative option that skirts around the reserve started in May 2016 for the Government to analyse and determine soil conditions and engineering feasibility. Findings from the works into the direct and skirting options will provide input for the second phase of the EIA.

The longer 9km skirt around the CCNR will incur an extra travel time of six minutes, compared with the more direct 4km route running underneath the reserve, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan had said in March 2016.

The Government will decide on the alignment only after it takes into consideration the concerns from all stakeholders and the potential impact on the CCNR, and after the completion of the investigation works and Phase 2 of the EIA .

In the latest site investigation announced, TET will carry out the borehole drilling works. It has extensive experience in borehole drilling, including in environmentally-sensitive areas, the LTA said. It was involved in borehole drilling operations for slope stabilisation studies at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Bukit Batok Nature Park.

Ryobi G, supported by its subcontractor Geophysical Services, will carry out geophysical survey works within the CCNR. It has carried out geophysical surveys on Government projects like the Thomson-East Coast Line and the Rail Corridor. To reduce the impact on the environment, it will be using wireless equipment for the works.

The appointed contractors have to put in place additional measures to reduce the impact on the forest environment during the soil works. These include engaging a certified arborist (tree expert) to ensure that trees are not damaged during the works and requiring contractors to conduct trial runs and rehearsals of borehole operations and off-trail surveys off-site, before they venture into the forest, to ensure equipment is fully functional and within the stringent requirements of working with the reserve.

A team of LTA officers and the contractors will work closely with the National Parks Board and nature groups to ensure that all mitigating measures are "rigorously implemented", said the LTA.

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Moving from tension to symbiosis in a distinctive city

EUGENE K B TAN Today Online 4 Aug 16;

For decades now, meticulous urban planning has enabled Singapore to attain a high quality of living, delicately balancing the inherent tension between the economy and the environment, which includes our natural, built and cultural heritage. This will get harder as competing demands grow and land scarcity remains our abiding national fate.

In recent years, the demolition of old landmark buildings and cemeteries to make way for new housing estates and roads, and the growing preference for high-rise buildings over old neighbourhoods, have sparked a bout of national soul-searching.

In a similar vein, the angst, anxiety and anger over the population policy — and whether rapid immigration affects Singapore’s national identity — have raised questions over whether the balance between economic and social concerns has been properly struck.

Can Singapore have economic progress and retain as much of the environment as well as its identity and character? Does one have to trump the other?

To regard the economy and the environment as a zero-sum proposition, comprising two distinct sets of rights, interests and stakeholders, is a false dichotomy. Trade-offs invariably connote domination (where one prevails over the other) or compromise (where both give in to maintain harmony).

Instead, we should aim to attain an optimal, rather than maximising, outcome in our policy choices. In the former, a decision is made on the basis that the economy and environment are collectively not worse off, and overall benefit to society increases. In a maximising outcome scenario, either the economy or the environment is preferred with the other made worse off.

Singapore’s water policy is a good example of making optimal choices despite constraints. If the authorities had traded off water self-sufficiency against other pressing economic imperatives because of land-size limitations, we would not only be less confident of our own national security but would not have forged ahead with developing water technology that we now sell to the world.

This shift requires making policies with a multi-generational horizon and pricing the intangible. With a focus on the long term, extreme pendulum swings in policy options are avoided.

Policymaking, however, is under pressure to move faster in this digital age of instant gratification, answers and solutions. Partly socialised by the “change as modernisation” mindset, Singaporeans also expect rapid economic progress and ever-higher standards of living.

Yet, we also yearn for constancy and familiarity in our surroundings and lament the disappearing heritage — both natural and man-made. We know what we have gained, but we also increasingly question whether we really know what we have lost. How can Singapore reconcile such policy conundrums between long-term and short-term goals, and between progress and preservation?

There are no easy answers. But if the economy constantly trumps the environment, then policy strategies and interventions are not likely to give sufficient weight to concerns of social justice and inequalities since such intangible concerns do not lend themselves easily to placing an economic value on.

Furthermore, the “haves” either own or are better placed to access finance, land and other resources that would render them better placed to benefit from a policy framework that privileges economic-driven cost-benefit analysis.

The abiding focus on economic value often leads to costs being socialised but the benefits privatised. In such a scenario, policy decision-making is unlikely to consider, among other things, time horizons beyond current norms or move beyond pure economic concerns.

Neither would due attention and weight be accorded to intangibles nor would negative externalities be properly accounted for. Not everything, such as biodiversity and social equality, has a ready price tag.

However, if the environment constantly trumps the economy, that would also be problematic as development could be unnecessarily hindered.

An interesting case study is the proposed MRT Cross Island Line (CRL), which has to take into account several issues.

The authorities have to decide whether to build the CRL route directly through the central catchment nature reserve, or around it. The direct-alignment option entails constructing a 2km-long, 40m-deep tunnel beneath the nature reserve.

This translates to savings in travelling time on the CRL, but its environmental effects are uncertain. On the other hand, the skirting alignment will not cross under the nature reserve, but measuring 9km, will require building longer tunnels and extra ventilation facilities as well as additional compulsory acquisition of land.

Although not required, an environmental impact assessment (EIA) was carried out for the first time in MRT construction. The first phase of the study was published earlier this year, noting that construction work could be carried out with “moderate impact” on some parts of the nature reserve. The second phase of the EIA is expected to be completed by the end of this year. With valuable information from the EIA, we can better assess the impact of both alignment options, enabling all relevant considerations to be factored into decision-making.

In this regard, we should adhere to the precautionary principle, which enjoins us, even with the lack of scientific certainty, to respond to identified threats of serious or irreversible damage to the environment or human health by not postponing cost-effective measures that can help prevent or reduce environmental degradation or damage to human health.

How the authorities come to a final decision on the CRL and how much weight is placed on the EIA will be closely watched.

Following an EIA, the developer of the Mandai eco-tourism hub announced last week changes to the development plans to reduce the developmental impact on the area. This could be the start of a putative model for policymaking in the future where environmental studies are conducted for major development projects.

The quest to balance economic growth with environment concerns and social character is not a mere luxury but a growing imperative. As it seeks its place in the league of global cities while promoting a sense of belonging among its residents, Singapore needs to focus more on what it is that makes the city distinctive as well as a home for everyone.

With the benefit of strong state finances combined with relatively sound environmental policies and institutions, Singapore is well positioned to tackle both economic and environmental challenges in a holistic manner without the convenient resort to trade-offs and being held captive by the need to always opt for the lowest-cost option. And if trade-offs are necessary, there must be proper checks and balances to ensure an appropriate balance is struck between competing issues of progress and preservation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Eugene K B Tan is associate professor of law at the School of Law, Singapore Management University.

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Upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line may link to all terminals at Changi Airport

VALERIE KOH Today Online 21 Jul 16;

SINGAPORE — The authorities are studying the possibility of extending the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) to all terminals at Changi Airport, including the upcoming Terminals 4 and 5, announced Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Thursday (July 21).

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the eastern stretch of the TEL, Mr Khaw said that the move would provide a direct connection from the airport to the city, benefitting travellers and airport workers. Currently, the TEL is on track to open in five phases, between 2019 and 2024.

At the same time, the authorities are considering extending the Cross Island Line (CRL) to Terminal 5 and the new industrial zone around the airport. This will allow a traveller from Kuala Lumpur to hop onto the upcoming High-Speed Rail to Jurong East, and transit to Changi Airport via the CRL, noted Mr Khaw.

He said: “Together, these options enable many commuters who use the MRT network to get from all parts of the island to the airport with no more than one transfer. More details will be announced after the completion of the engineering feasibility studies for the TEL and CRL.”

Current plans for the 43km-long TEL include eight transit stations and one interchange section, connected to the Downtown Line 3 extension (DTL3e) in Sungei Bedok.

The groundbreaking ceremony also marked the start of construction for the 2.2km-long DTL3e and the East Coast Integrated Depot.

The depot will feature state-of-the-art technology, possibly adapted from the London subway system, said Mr Khaw. During a recent study trip to London depots, the Land Transport Authority visited an automatic train inspection facility that used visual, impact and temperature sensors to observe train conditions.

“They have also installed electrical sensors on their track circuits, so that they can monitor both the tracks, as well as the trains that pass through,” said the minister. “The operators then analyse and act on the data collected, to pick up and follow up on symptoms of failure before the failure actually happens. These are useful innovations and we will see what we can adapt for Singapore.”

Giving an update of ridership figures, following the opening of the Downtown Line 2 last December, Mr Khaw said that ridership has tripled from 83,000 in October 2015 to 250,000 in May this year.

LTA exploring extending Thomson-East Coast Line to Changi Airport
Loh Chuan Junn, Channel NewsAsia 21 Jul 16;

SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is assessing the possibility of extending the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) from Sungei Bedok station to the future Changi Airport Terminal 5 and the existing Changi Airport station.

Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan revealed this at the groundbreaking ceremony of the East Coast stretch of the TEL on Thursday (Jul 20).

"It would provide a direct connection from the airport to the city,” said Mr Khaw. “This would benefit travellers and airport staff."

He added that the authority will also be assessing the feasibility of connecting the Cross Island Line (CRL) to Terminal 5 and the new industrial zone serving the airport. "Together, these options enable many commuters who use the MRT network to get from all parts of the the island to the airport with no more than one transfer," Mr Khaw said.

The TEL will be Singapore’s sixth MRT line and the third-longest MRT line in the country at 43 kilometres when completed. It will also feature a four-in-one East Coast Integrated depot - the first of its kind in the world.

The integrated depot will have depots of the existing East-West Line, Downtown Line and TEL stacked on top of each other, with a bus depot built next to it. The facility will be housed within a 36-hectare site, or an area of approximately 60 football fields, while the main train depot building will span over 1 km.

The entire East Coast stretch of the TEL, which is made up of 10 stations, will also be built on reclaimed land. It will be completed in two stages with the first seven stations - Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore - slated to be ready in 2023.

- CNA/xk


Thomson-East Coast Line could be extended to connect to Changi Airport
Adrian Lim, Straits Times AsiaOne 22 Jul 16;


SINGAPORE - The Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), currently being constructed, could be extended to connect to the Changi Airport MRT station, as well as the airport's future Terminal 5.

Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Thursday (July 21) that the Government is assessing the feasibility of extending the 43km MRT line, which is expected to open in stages from 2019 to 2024.

"It would provide a direct connection from the airport to the city. This would benefit travellers and airport staff," said Mr Khaw during a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of works for the East Coast stretch of the TEL.

Mr Khaw also said the Government is studying the feasibility of bringing the proposed Cross-Island Line (CRL) to Terminal 5 and the new industrial zone serving the airport.

He said details will be announced after engineering feasibility studies are completed for the TEL and CRL.

"Together, these options (would) enable many commuters who use the MRT network to get from all parts of the island to the airport with no more than one transfer," he said.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) also unveiled the finalised station names for the TEL following a public poll last October. It said that about 38,000 votes were received during the polling exercise.

The East Coast stretch of the TEL is planned to have nine stations along a 13km segment that will run through the eastern parts of the island, such as Tanjong Rhu, Siglap, Upper East Coast and Bedok South.

It connects to the Thomson stretch, a 22-station, 30km segment.

Thursday's groundbreaking, held at the Marine Parade project site, also marked the start of work for two other projects: the East Coast Integrated Depot and the Downtown Line 3 extension to Sungei Bedok.

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Don't blame the Govt; take ownership of choices: Ground-Up Initiative's Tay Lai Hock

Channel NewsAsia 9 Jul 16;

SINGAPORE: To some, Tay Lai Hock is a “hippie” who’s misleading the youth; to others, he is just one Singaporean who is promoting the philosophy of living in harmony with nature.

Tay is founder of the Ground-Up Initiative (GUI), a non-profit group that aims to reconnect city dwellers with the earth. The group’s 26,000sqm Kampung Kampus site in Khatib is designed as a low carbon footprint area featuring tropical sustainable architecture. Their idea is not only to enable people to be with nature, but also actively look after the space, get their hands dirty and in the process, learn how to take risks and be leaders – all while working as a team with a 21st century kampong spirit.

Previously a highly-paid IT executive, the SilkAir crash in 1997 prompted Tay to have a rethink of what he was doing with his life. He later quit his job, backpacked around the world, and then started GUI.

Debates over land use in Singapore and the loss of rustic spaces are issues which resonate with him. He went “On the Record” with Bharati Jagdish about this, values in an ideal society, and what it means to put your money where your mouth is. But first, he took on what it meant to be called a “hippie”.

Tay Lai Hock: Well, I always say that if I'm a hippie, then I'm a hippie who promotes free love, free play, free spirit, but I don't talk about free drugs or free sex, things like these. What I'm trying to do is help Singaporeans free their minds.

So often, we hear people say that they are very stifled. They're very caught up with all the day-to-day running around and making a living that they have forgotten how to live. What's wrong with what I'm trying to do? I'm not against anything. I'm just not doing what the mainstream thinks everybody should be doing.

So I'm just providing an alternative platform for Singaporeans. So naturally, the government officials when they started to try and understand what I'm trying to do, they asked me about it. Of course, the more progressive ones, the more open-minded ones will think that I'm doing good. But there are people who said I’m misleading youth. That one really hurts me.

Bharati Jagdish: Are you at liberty to say who said this about you?

Tay: No, I don't think I should.

Bharati: But it was a government official?

Tay: Of course. I had more than one government official telling me this.

Bharati: Why do you think they think this of you?

Tay: I don't know. I was shocked, I was like "Why are you saying this? What have I done? What did I do wrong?" Fortunately, that was about three years ago. I was really upset that day. Why do they think I’m poisoning the minds of the young? What have I done wrong?

CREATING A CULTURE OF RISK-TAKING AND CREATIVITY

Bharati: To what extent do you think this is because in Singapore, we have a culture of focusing on certain things - academic success, material success, but what you're trying to do is quite different?

Tay: We all know that we're chasing the five Cs right? You’ve probably heard that I backpacked around the world for four years. And in the last year, the last few months of my travels, I was sitting in the Sahara Desert, and I was looking back at Singapore and I said, "Okay Lai Hock, you haven't died yet, you did well in the last few years, so what are you going to do now?"

So I said, "I'm going back to Singapore."

At that time, our Government released the Remaking Singapore blueprint. Two things caught my attention. The first thing was, we want to teach Singaporeans how to take risks. I thought, "Wow, how do you create that, how to do that when the whole environment doesn’t even promote risk-taking?” Of course compared to back then in the early 2000s, I think Singapore is doing better now.


If you read the press, if you interview our local institutions, they are promoting a lot of entrepreneurship. The Government is putting in a lot of money to promote all kinds of things. But in my opinion, a lot of people are only taking risks because there’s a lot of money being put into them.

The second thing they said was, “We want to teach Singaporeans how to be more creative." But our definition of creativity is narrow. For people like me, I will never be classified as a creative person.

Bharati: Why not?

Tay: You must be an artist, you must be this, you must be that.

Bharati: Yeah, that's the conventional definition of “creative”.

Tay: But my four years of travelling around the world living as a backpacker in so many countries made me have this confidence. I said, "I am a creative person. I'm living creatively." Now creativity need not be confined to just an art skill, but if you're able to live creatively, and that's where you need to be that free spirit. You need to be able to freely conceive things and adapt along the way, and change if you need to change. And -

Bharati: Solve problems.

Tay: Solve problems and not be just "uhh." So when I came back, I really wanted to do all these kinds of things. And of course it was five years later that I decided that I will start my own organisation.

Bharati: In your opinion, why do we lack a culture of risk-taking and creativity?

Tay: It's recognised that we have a good government. And the people do look up to them. It's either we're too comfortable or everything has been too convenient. The other thing is the lesser emphasis on character building; everything is always about results. Also, the majority of our population is Chinese. Chinese traditionally have Confucian ethics. So maybe it's in the Chinese blood to always to be a little bit more driven to study, right?

Bharati: Nothing wrong with studying.

Tay: Nothing wrong with studies, but traditionally studying means rote learning.

Bharati: It's about how you study isn't it?

Tay: Yeah, but I think our Education Ministry is one of the most progressive ministries. Almost every year, they will come up with new policies. But I think if you talk to any teachers enough, everybody is jaded. There's a disconnect somewhere, and that's the truth. I'm sure we all know that.

Bharati: What do you think needs to happen to bridge this disconnect?

Tay: I remember one Minister for Education who said that we must treat our students as clients. With this American philosophy of customer is king, suddenly a lot of parents started to behave like kings and started going to schools and making demands, and so I did tell the last Minister, who’s now the Minister for Finance -

Bharati: Mr Heng Swee Keat.

Tay: Yeah, I did tell him that; I'm glad that one day in the press it was reported that he said no to this. And I feel that we need to have a fine balance. So I'm not entirely sure that these are the reasons, but I think that our teachers are already under stress. And then they have added stress to deal with ugly parents. I’ve met some outstanding teachers, and they're trying their best to do this, implement teaching to encourage creativity, for example.

But I think it has come to the point where a lot of them just do it for the sake of doing it. There are many things affecting our system here. The whole world is facing this – prevalent technology and the internet, but the things that anchor us as human beings are eroding.

I know our country is trying to bring back Character and Citizenship Education, but this is after 20 years of cutting that away. That’s why I'm trying to do what I'm doing, to first focus on you as a person, as a character, and asking you to understand your place on earth and in this world, and as a living person.

BUILDING CHARACTER BY CONNECTING WITH OUR ENVIRONMENT

Bharati: And you think one way of doing that is to actually do that through the ground. Literally.

Tay: Yes. I think we would all agree that our environment shapes us. A few years ago, one school Vice Principal from a top school came to see me and said, "Our students have issues. When they see wildlife and other creatures like butterflies, they scream and shout because they are not comfortable with nature.” So I went down to the school two months later, took a walk. It’s a beautiful school, designed by a top architect. But it was “PAP” green.

Bharati: “PAP” green?

Tay: Prim and Proper. So when everything is very prim and proper, what do you think your students will become? Prim and proper.

Bharati: You’re referring to our manicured parks.

Tay: Yes. Nothing wrong with Gardens by the Bay, nothing wrong with Botanic Gardens, but we need a little bit more rustic space. And we took away a lot of rustic space. Our authorities say you can go to our neighbouring countries and see all this, but we know we need this here.

Bharati: Why do we need it? Make a case for it. Because a lot of people out there think we don't need it.

Tay: There are statistics, philosophers and doctors who have said it. Rustic environments are nurturing. And I've seen it with my own eyes, having lived overseas for a while. I've seen the difference between people who are a little bit more rugged, and the way they react to things.

When I started my organisation eight years ago, on the surface, it seems to get people back to the ground, to touch the soil, get their hands dirty, grow your own food, do some craft on your own. If you look more deeply, it’s about getting people to take care of the space. I told my team, “I want you to dirty your hands, I want you to build your space. When you build the space, you have a sense of ownership. I want you to take care of the toilets.”

If I have a chance, I want to influence people who will be eventually be top leaders, CEOs, government people. People who will be in charge of policies that influence people's lives. They should be people who understand the ground, understand the people and influence others to take ownership too. You can't try to make changes with the same old people who have been educated in the same old system. You think that will work?

Our focus is on the 5 Gs – Gracious, Green, Giving, Grounded, Grateful. Now, I'm glad to say that our Government is bringing back cleaning toilets.

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

Bharati: In the schools? Cleaning classrooms and common areas, actually. But some parents are upset that their kids have to do this.

Tay: Yes I know. So I think the top people, ministers, must demonstrate this themselves consistently. Not once in a while for photo opportunities.

Bharati: So they need to clean their offices and the toilets in their offices?

Tay: Yes. I heard from enough parents who told me that when the Government said that every school is a good school, they felt that the ministers themselves should then send their kids to neighbourhood schools. Why don’t they? This is what’s causing the disconnect. What I’m trying to say is put your money where your mouth is.

Bharati: You’ve also said that we need to change our definition of success. But as you mentioned earlier, a lot of people are in a comfortable position and they want to maintain this instead of changing it.

Tay: Yes, I have met people who say "I don't know what you're doing, but I need my air con, I need my comfort."

Bharati: And they work hard for this comfort.

Tay: That's right. So that's their definition of success. Nothing wrong with that. I’m just trying to provide an alternative to those who feel it’s getting too much. To help them incorporate some of the philosophies I’ve learnt from others about healthy eating and living and building character, connecting with the land, connecting with people of the community. So I put my money where my mouth is, by doing it myself.

Bharati: But you gave up your job to do this and while you make some money through school programmes, etc., you’ve said yourself that making a living can be challenging at times. It’s natural for people to worry – “If I give up my job to take a risk, what will I live on?” The high-cost environment is a reality.

Tay: Yeah, I hear that all the time. Every now and then, people write about me and readers will respond, “I'm so afraid; I cannot be like this guy." But I always tell people "You don't have to be like me, you just have to do it bit by bit."

Bharati: So in other words you can still have the comforts of your life, do you job, but make room for something more than that?

Tay: Yes, I’d like to think that it is possible, to infuse this into urban life as well.

Bharati: People have responsibilities though. Financial responsibilities. You've experienced what life with money is like. A lot of people have not. Or, they have to do it because they have families to look after. You're not married, nor have children.

Tay: Okay. Bharati do you know, today my CPF is only around hundred thousand. I probably cannot retire comfortably in Singapore. I don't have huge savings. But I’m happy with little. I know many people who have earned a lot of money, and still want to earn a lot of money, because they want to buy the latest phone, they want to buy the latest gadget, they keep changing things, they only want to eat nicer things. And then when all these material things cannot stimulate their senses, they go and buy a yacht. Or they imagine their kids need all these things, then they will be happy.

DEALING WITH HARSH REALITIES

Bharati: At this point I understand, and you told me this off-air earlier, that you are S$300,000 in debt. Some may look at you and go, “I don’t want a life like that. Where is the peace in being in debt?”

Tay: The thing is, in 2014 we signed a lease for our place, and of course we fought very hard for it. 26,000sqm of space. I told the Government I will find money to build this whole campus. I do not want to be a charity. I always tell people, I want our young to know what resilience is and we’re practising it. We will never stop doing things just because we don't have money and resources. Instead, we will become more creative in the process. It goes back to the first two things I talked about - risk-taking and creativity.

I'm now trying to rebuild the whole space. A big pond. There were six ponds, we refilled them and rezoned it to create a very nice, different habitat with integrated farming, and many other things. I choose to make these investments. I'm not here to say you must be like me, right? If you are listening to me now, I’m not saying you should go out and give up your job. I’m just saying get more equilibrium, balance in your life.

Bharati: We’ll talk more about how you managed to get such a space in land-scarce Singapore later. But you're in debt now and you talked about balance. Some might say your life isn’t very balanced; it’s all about this and it’s caused you to be in debt.

Tay: And I'm okay.

Bharati: Why?

Tay: You know, two weeks ago, I went to a social enterprise summit. Two hundred and fifty people from eight countries came down to Singapore and I was invited. I didn't speak. But some of the overseas speakers who are already operating a social enterprise, said, “We don't want free money because free money makes us lazy.” I was intrigued.

Now, I can understand why, despite our Government throwing so much money to try to nurture entrepreneurs, the result is less than ideal. I’d like to believe that working for your own money would force us to become more enterprising, while we still want to do social good. I want us to be able to create a different kind of model so that the young don't see doing social stuff as having to sacrifice their money.

Bharati: But in doing this, you have sacrificed your financial security.

Tay: When these things happen, I quiet down - this is something I practised for a long time - I quiet down my heart, I take a walk. I don't talk to a lot of people. I just ask myself, “Lai Hock, why are you doing this? What is your reason for doing this? Is it for fame? Is it for money?”

I go back to my original intention, my purpose for doing it. I really believe Singapore deserves a space like what I'm trying to build. That the future generation will not take many things for granted. That they will look at nature, as not just something like manicured gardens. They will go there and have a place to look after, and a community, a real community, true community.

Bharati: But you still have to deal with the financial problems. How do you plan to get over this hump?

Tay: You must trust that the divine will come in. There will be some intervention. I happen to embrace every faith. I go around and I talk to people, and bit by bit, some light comes in. Some people come and sponsor some materials, maybe S$100,000 of material, and it helps reduce the cost. You’ve got to do it bit by bit.

DON’T BLAME THE GOVERNMENT

Bharati: I understand you believe we suffer from spiritual and emotional poverty. How much of this do you think has to do with the tone our Government set for many years; economic progress seemed to be the paramount concern?

Tay: I think the top should set the example, but I also believe, you first and foremost, must take responsibility for your own life. Take responsibility and ownership for your decision-making. Don't blame anybody. Don't blame the Government. Yes, of course, they might have sometimes say, “I fault the Government for this”. But you know what? I have a choice to decide that even though they have made this policy, I don't want to be a victim of their policies.

I have many people who told me, “Lai Hock, when I was in Australia, when I was in New Zealand, was in US, I talked to people on the street, they were all so nice. I came back to Singapore, and I said “hi” to people, but because nobody responded to me, I stopped being like that, and I have become who I am now.”

So, you blame the Government, you blame society. Yeah, go and blame everybody. But I hope more people will come together to create a holistic solution. It starts from young. So I have programmes running from kindergartens, to primary and secondary schools. We give them tips. For instance, when you get on the bus, greet the bus-driver. There are already enough conversations, written articles, grumblings from people that we need to have more graciousness, and that they are sick and fed up of this rat race. Why aren't we doing something about it then?

Bharati: You mentioned earlier that people should not blame the Government, they should take responsibility for their own decision-making, but you also implied that the Government does set the tone for a lot of issues in Singapore and needs to lead by example. To what extent do you think the Government needs to step back, and create the conditions for people to take ownership and to trust people to do so?

Tay: I'm all for the Government needing to step back a little, provided it's not caving in to pressure, unnecessary pressure. I look at some of the things people try to make the Government change, and I don’t agree. For example, some say the Government should be a bit more lenient on drug trafficking. That, I disagree. But yes, in other areas, the Government needs to really, not just relax and take a step back.

Bharati: In what aspects?

Tay: I think when it comes to maybe something that affects our daily life a lot. Estate management for instance. Honestly our HDB estates are not the cleanest. I’ve personally always felt that our citizens should step up a lot more, to learn how to take care of their own environment.

Bharati: So clean your own environment. I believe there is a No Cleaner Day in some estates, so that residents can step up to do the cleaning.

Tay: Yes, but it needs to be more than once a year or once a month. I feel that when you are really, really stepping up to look after your space, you will have that sense of ownership. The kampung spirit that we all talk so much about, will really come about, strongly.

TOO MUCH NATURE HAS BEEN LOST IN SINGAPORE

Bharati: Recently there have been debates over issues like the Cross Island Line, whether it should cut beneath the Central Catchment Nature Reserve or be built around it. What are your feelings when such possibilities are discussed in Singapore, considering you talked about the importance of nature and rustic areas in Singapore?

Tay: I feel sad. I want to say this honestly. To save six minutes, we're going to cut through things. What's the justification? Save six minutes of travel time? I think we’ve got to stop. This is where I stand by what I said. Our authorities have got to stop, and start leading by example.

If you say that we want to teach future generations that this is my country, it is worth defending, then we should start bringing back intrinsic values, emotional values, that cannot be defined and shouldn't be defined by economic status.

Bharati: But economic status is something worth defending as well.

Tay: True, I benefited.

Bharati: It's something that we are all proud of.

Tay: I benefited from it. My passport right now, Singapore passport, allows me to travel to so many countries.

Bharati: Yeah, so we've benefited from Singapore's economic status, why are you pooh-poohing it?

Tay: But where is the limit? Where is the limit to the growth? And it's precisely because of this growth at all costs that we are seeing this apathy. We are seeing this situation that Singaporeans are not hungry enough, or we're seeing this whole thing that the Government knows best. We need balance.

Bharati: People will be affected if the longer route for the CRL were chosen. People who live in homes that will be lost.

Tay: I have a lot of sympathy for them, don't get me wrong. Definitely. I think I remember the days when the MRT was starting to be built in Singapore, lots of people were affected. And in those days when people were affected, they were compensated much less. Hopefully these days our Government will compensate much better. Maybe that might ease the pain. I don't have an answer for that.

Bharati: But you feel that nature should take precedence?

Tay: Because we’ve already cut off so much nature in Singapore. It's unfortunate that we want a Cross Island Line; hopefully with good engineering capability and innovation, we can maybe build high enough so that it just passes over homes. Maybe we need to really exercise our imagination. Does it have to be a case of demolishing the homes or cutting under the nature reserve? Could it be something totally different?

Bharati: What do you think of the Kranji farms having to move – the authorities recently announced they will be given more time to move and their leases for the new sites will be longer, but initially, the authorities didn’t seem to understand that the leases needed to be longer.

Tay: And you know this is precisely the cause of many of our situations. They decide on things without really going down to the ground and listening. And this short-sightedness, that we have money so we can buy food from all over the world. Look at our population right now. Look at the kind of attitude that is imbued into all these people. These are the side effects that our country continues to regret. They forgot that all these things are inter-connected, our connection with the land, the country, the character of our people.

GETTING TO SG100

Bharati: Since we’re on the subject of land, how did you manage to convince the authorities to give up that land to you for your Kampung Kampus.

Tay: I think while we all like to say all of us can make a difference in our own, however small way, we also know that size matters, right? No big corporation, foundation, will do it. So it takes people like me who are silly enough to rally a group of also silly enough people who say, “Let's try to do it and hope maybe someone, someday, will say we have got it right.”

You must demonstrate to them what you're trying to do, what's your plan. We have enough shopping malls. How about giving Singaporeans a chance to see something different, to experience something different?

Then you must be like me, a bit more thick skinned and my heart's a little bit more steel and iron. I get bashed, never mind. Dented, never mind. I’m still standing there and still trying to talk. And then go and continue to find ways to knock on different doors of different agencies. We have talked to so many different people, tried to invite ministers to come. So five ministers came down. We presented the case to them, and then got many people to talk about us.

Bharati: You’ve said that our definition of success and happiness needs to change. In a nutshell, what’s your definition?

Tay: The fact that you mentioned that I have debt, and I'm still not stressed - I think that speaks a lot to my state of mind. I think having a good conversation, cooking my own simple meal - simple rice with some sprouts. Having the ability to know that you are able to do something with peace of mind, and enjoy every moment, in spite of difficulties. Yesterday, I went to Pierce Reservoir and saw a beautiful sunset. Singapore still has beautiful places like these. I sincerely feel that this country needs to see something much more different, and have a community which is really looking after the space, finding a way to finance the whole thing, and not relying on just handouts and things like that. Then, I think this spirit will enable this country to see the next 50 years, SG100.

- 938LIVE/av

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