Land scarce Singapore looks underground for space

Heather Tan Associated Press Inquirer 22 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE—Already one of the most densely populated countries in the world, tiny land scarce Singapore is projecting its population to swell by a third over the next two decades. To accommodate the influx, its planners envisage expanding upward, outward and downward.

The population target of 6.9 million people, an increase of 1.3 million from the present, is contentious in a country where rapid immigration has already strained services such as public transport and contributed to surging home prices and a widening wealth gap. It sparked a rare protest last week, with some 3,000 people gathering in a park that’s the only approved area for demonstrations.

Singaporeans, whose forebears mostly hailed from southern China, fear their falling birth rates combined with the relentless immigration will reduce them to a minority in their own country. Adding a new dimension to their complaints is the idea that planners want underground living to leap off their drawing boards and become a solution to overcrowding.

State media is already championing the idea. In September, the Straits Times newspaper characterized underground living as the “next frontier” for Singapore. It said Singaporeans may one day “live, work and play below ground in vast, subterranean caverns that make today’s underground malls look like home basements.” The Building Construction Authority, which oversees a new agency responsible for surveying underground, said it could become reality by 2050.

The public’s reaction has included derision and disbelief.

“Why pull me down,” said Patricia Bian-Hing, a retired 87-year-old businesswoman. “The only time I will go underground peacefully to live will be in my coffin.”

But experts are calling for an open mind about the possibility.

“Singaporeans are dismissing this prospect because it is new, not because it is unworkable or implausible,” said Jeffrey Chan, an assistant professor of architecture at the National University of Singapore.

“Astronauts who live in space stations, despite the abundance of direct sunlight have to live in shade most of the time, and they are only debilitated from the lack of gravity, not light,” he said. “Hence, I think if there are any biologically-imposed constraints, psychologically or real, these biological constraints can be overcome through new habits or technologically.”

With about 675 square kilometers (261 square miles) of land, Singapore is only 3.5 times the size of Washington DC and has limited options for increasing its space. Land reclaimed from the sea already accounts for a fifth of its landmass and Singapore’s appetite for imported sand for reclamation has caused tensions with neighboring countries concerned about coastal erosion. But its ruling People’s Action Party, in power since 1959, sees a bigger population as crucial to its goal of transforming Singapore into what it calls a leading world city.

The government’s new plans call for releasing land for housing and industry by closing golf courses and military training grounds and paving over some of the island’s nature reserves. That along with reclamation will free some 5,200 hectares (52 square kilometers, 20 square miles) of land to help accommodate an additional 700,000 homes and new shops and factories over the next 20 years. The projected increase in available land lags far behind the planned population increase so projects to put industry and other activities underground are already advancing on several fronts despite the technical challenges and significantly higher costs of subterranean construction.

“Going underground is one option for Singapore as it frees up surface land,” said David Tan, assistant chief executive officer of Jurong Town Corporation, Singapore’s main development body.

The JTC is studying construction of an underground science complex beneath an existing science park that’s used by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Projected to cost 50 percent more than a similar facility above ground, it would go down 30 storeys — 80 to 100 meters — and house laboratories, offices and a data center.

The corporation has already overseen construction of a massive underground oil bunker in rock caverns that freed up a surface area equivalent to six petrochemical plants. The island also saved 300 hectares of space by putting an ammunition bunker underground.

A possibility explored for several years is an underground extension of Singapore’s Nangyang Technological University after a 1999 study by the government and the university found at least part of the area beneath the campus could be turned into rock caverns. Planners envisage four underground levels that could accommodate lecture theatres, cinemas, libraries, offices, laboratories and car parking.

“If we think about it, there are already underground spaces here in Singapore and throughout most major metropolitan regions,” said Erik L’Heureux, an architecture professor NUS.

“We already have underground train stations and malls, and there are already many buildings here that take advantage of spaces below ground so the real questions are how much time will one spend underground, what goes on there, and how far down from natural light and fresh air.”

For the Singapore for Singaporeans camp, the space squeeze has only highlighted the costs of the government’s population and economic policies. Its efforts to attract high-skilled professionals in finance, science and other industries it wants Singapore to be known for has resulted in nature sanctuaries and cemeteries being overrun by golf courses and luxury condominiums.

“Ultimately it will be Singaporeans who will suffer,” said Rachel Mun, a 33-year old sales assistant. “As it is, Singapore is already bursting with people and things we once depended on like transportation, have become exhausted because of the influx of commuters.”

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Malaysia: Timber! Kedah’s crying hills keep dying

Embun Majid and Kow Kwan Yee The Star 25 Feb 13

JITRA: Even as the issue of extensive logging activities in Pedu and Gunung Inas in Kedah remains very much in the news, yet another hill in the state has been found stripped of its forests.

An area covering 145ha about the size of 180 football fields at the Bukit Perangin Forest Reserve has been cleared of trees for timber.

The PAS-led state government reportedly approved logging in the area more than a month ago.

The concession is believed to have been awarded to high ranking officers in the Kedah Civil Service (KCS) and the land would be re-planted with rubber trees.

It is also learnt that the state government had approved a total of 780ha about the size of 963 football fields in the same area for the same purpose.

Deputy Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharom, who visited the site over two days after being alerted by locals, was shocked by the rape of the hill.

The Kubang Pasu MP said excessive and indiscriminate logging had laid the land bare, polluting the water in Sungai Kechik, Sungai Badak and Sungai Wang Perah, which are used by locals.

The three rivers flow into Sungai Temin, which provides raw water to the Mukim Temin and Jeragan water treatment plants.

“The outcome of the logging activities will also affect farmers in Kubang Pasu, Temin, Hosba, Binjai and Malau, which are under the Muda Agriculture Development Authority (Mada),” he said here yesterday.

He said that although the logging activities were legal, it should not have been done to the extent of causing adverse environmental effects.

Mohd Johari also questioned whether the state had done an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the land clearing.

“I don't think the Department of Environment would give the green light for logging in the area.

“Although this is not a water catchment area, the state must be responsible and take care of the ecosystem,” he said.

Mohd Johari said he would write to the state government to immediately stop logging activities in the area.

He said he would also raise the matter with the Natural Resources Ministry and the Department of Environment.

“If the state government refuses to stop, we will bring the people to the place to see the ecological damage to the hill for themselves,” he said.

Meanwhile, people in nearby Kampung Wang Perah, Kampung Bukit and Kubang Betong said the wanton logging in the forest reserve area was worrisome.

Kampung Wang Perah villager Abu Bakar Salleh, 43, is sad to see the trees in the forest reserve area destroyed.

“If we do not stop it now, the damage in future could be worse,” he said.

Villager Che Tom Musa, 62, who has been living there for 45 years, said this was the first time the forest reserve area was being cleared.

“I hope the state will stop the logging immediately because we will face problems arising from the land clearing,” he said.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak declined to comment on the logging in Bukit Perangin.

“I think the Forestry Department knows about the logging activities there, so please ask them,” he said.

Kedah Forestry Department director Ku Azmi Ku Aman said many approvals had been given to logging activities in the area.

He declined further comment until he was certain about the specific area.

“We have approved many logging activities there, so I do not know the exact location of the site,” he said.

Ku Azmi said the department had yet to receive any formal complaint about logging in the area.

Rampant logging in state since 2008
The Star 25 Feb 13;

JITRA: Rampant logging activities have been going on in Kedah since 2008 in spite of concerns over the need to preserve the environment.

Large scale logging began in Gunung Inas, Baling, in late 2011 where 5,000ha of the 15,000ha of the pristine Bukit Bintang forest reserve were cleared for a “Ladang Sejahtera” (Peaceful Plantation) rubber replanting project.

Alarm bells rang again soon after when it was found that about 400ha of forest reserves near Tasik Pedu had been logged to develop an eco-tourism project.

The barren hilltop is located near Pedu Lake, a vital water catchment area for Kedah.

Bukit Perangin is the third such area in the state that has come under the spotlight for rampant land clearing.

Although logging in the 145ha had been found to be were done legally, there are concerns about long-term effects to the environment.

People in three nearby villages are worried over the impact of the state government's supposed approval to another rubber plantation project involving 780ha of land in the surrounding area.

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Best of our wild blogs: 24 Feb 13

2 Mar (Sat): FREE Chek Jawa boardwalk tour with the Naked Hermit Crabs from Adventures with the Naked Hermit Crabs

Unmanicured green space
from Life's Indulgences

Butterfly of the Month - February 2013
from Butterflies of Singapore

A morning in Tampines Eco
from Rojak Librarian

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Workers' Party publishes its Population Policy Paper

Imelda Saad Channel NewsAsia 23 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE: The Workers' Party has released its own paper on Population, just two weeks after Parliament endorsed a report charting the country's strategies to mitigate an ageing and shrinking population.

Titled 'A Dynamic Population for a Sustainable Singapore', the Workers' Party makes a case for a population projection of about 5.8 million by 2030. This is down from the 6.9 million in the government's White Paper.

The party aims to achieve that with an annual resident workforce growth of one per cent, a freeze to the foreign workforce growth rate and a projected GDP growth of between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent in the next decade. That is half a percentage point down from the government's GDP projections.

The recent debate on population issues was one of the most passionate seen in Parliament with MPs from both the ruling and opposition parties raising concerns over issues such as over-crowding, the Singapore identity and quality of life.

All nine Workers' Party MPs had opposed the Population Paper and Land Use Plan.

They were among the 13 who opposed the motion with one abstention. 77 MPs voted Yes.

In coming up with its own 38-page proposal, Workers' Party Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang said the party believes it is important to encourage further debate so that Singaporeans can make informed judgements on the population issue.

"In view of the important and complexity of the subject, as well as the fundamental differences between WP and the government on the approach to tackle the population challenges ahead, we have decided to publish our Population Policy Paper," Mr Low added.

At the heart of the paper are improving Singapore's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and Labour Force Participation Rate, instead of what the party describes as "immigration-driven growth" as a long-term solution to the country's demographic challenges.

Like the government, the Workers' Party also believes in a strong Singaporean core, but disagrees on how to sustain and nurture this core.

Workers' Party's Treasurer and Non-Constituency Member of Parliament, Yee Jenn Jong, said: "By Singapore core, we also want to look at what is the solution behind this? So why do we emphasise on one per cent local workforce growth? It is that we want to look internally to see whether we can achieve that target. And only in circumstances where we believe that it cannot be reached, then that is where we do factor in population top ups with foreign workers."

The report fleshes out three scenarios to explain how its total population projection of between 5.6 and 5.8 million is arrived at.

The projection is based on the following assumptions:

- That 10,000 new citizens are taken in every year as opposed to taking in 15,000 to 25,000 new citizens a year under the government's white paper.

- The non-resident population is capped at current numbers - that is 1.5 million.

- The resident workforce growth is one per cent annually.

In scenario one, the TFR recovers to 1.75 by 2030 and the Labour Force Participation Rate improves to 78.7 per cent. This will give a total population of about 5.7 million by 2030.

In the second scenario, the TFR is stagnant at 1.3 but the Labour Force Participation Rate improves to 78.7 per cent. This gives a total population of about 5.6 million.

And in the least ideal scenario three, both the TFR and Labour Force Participation Rate remain stagnant at 1.3 and 72.2 per cent respectively.

The total population will be about 5.8 million, with more foreign workers taken in to make up for the shortfall, because the one per cent growth in resident workforce is not met.

Under scenario three, about 400,000 foreign workers are needed by 2030 as opposed to about 200,000 in scenario two.

The proposal to cap the foreign worker numbers here at current levels have met with swift rebuttals from some business groups already struggling with labour costs.

The party maintains though that its proposals do not turn off the foreign worker tap because for "every foreign worker that leaves Singapore, another foreign worker could be brought in".

Mr Yee explained: "If you look closely at the population numbers, you will find that actually the next few years, there is already a natural increase in local workforce entering the market because we have more young people entering the workforce than there are older people retiring. The problem only comes a few years down the road when we have more people retiring."

The party proposes help for businesses such as lower rentals, utilities and capital costs to offset the higher labour costs of restructuring.

Mr Yee said: "Of course we do acknowledge that the businesses do need to adjust and as in any economic restructuring there will be certain pains and there will be certain businesses that can restructure to meet this new environment. There will be certain businesses that are very dependent on cheap foreign manpower and they cannot survive.

"I think this is an adjustment that Singapore will sooner or later go through and we are asking for an alternative - to look at the scenario, what happens under this proposal, what is the eventual population target and then we have to look at what we have to do to help these companies make that bridge if we believe that it is important for us to have a sustainable Singapore. Then we will all have to work together to look at how to help the companies, who can adapt to this environment over a period of time. It can also be through policies, it may not be only through manpower numbers, because there are a lot of things hurting companies."

To grow the resident labour force, the Workers' Party proposes measures to get more women and elderly into the workforce.

The party also proposes what it calls "structural reforms" to improve the TFR.

These include making it mandatory for companies to offer work-life balance initiatives and incentivising them to do so.

The party has also proposed that 10 per cent of land be set aside as reserves for future generations instead of the four per cent outlined in the government's white paper.

Assistant Professor Eugene Tan, who is also a Nominated MP, said: "They are confident that based on their own projections, we can still achieve a reasonable growth rate. For example to 2020 as well as 2030, they are looking about 0.5 to one per cent off from the government's own white paper growth target or estimates. My question really is would the Workers Party's be able to elaborate on how different the quality of life, how Singaporeans wealth would be affected even for the bottom 20 per cent, if we have a slower economic growth rate.

"We need that clarity because in order for Singaporeans to say maybe we can go for slower growth, I think it is important for proponents of slower growth to actually be able to spell out exactly what are the differences, so that Singaporeans can make an informed decision. If that is what Singaporeans want, then the government of the day will have to somehow accommodate that or be able to persuade Singaporeans that that level of growth rate is not going to work in the long run.

"When you look at the Workers' Party position as articulated in their population paper, it is clear that they have taken on board the concerns of Singaporeans and so I think in that sense it will certainly go down well with Singaporeans. But as I have mentioned earlier, the key question is are the plans really viable? Will they actually enable Singapore to continue to be a very attractive place? Not just for talented people who may want to become citizens but also for Singaporeans."

Because of its long term implications, the government has said that the conversation continues even though the Population Paper and Land Use Plan have been endorsed.

In fact, the Our Singapore Conversation Committee tasked with getting Singaporeans to come to a consensus about the kind of future they want for the country, is expected to roll out a series of dialogues to discuss this very topic.

- CNA/ir/fa

WP releases own population paper
Counterproposal puts focus on raising total fertility rate and resident labour force participation rate
Janice Heng Straits Times 24 Feb 13;

The Workers' Party (WP) yesterday issued its population paper as a counterproposal to the Government's.

It criticised what it called the Population White Paper's model of immigration-driven growth, and said that the focus should instead be on raising the total fertility rate (TFR) and the resident labour force participation rate.

The 38-page document, titled A Dynamic Population For A Sustainable Singapore, fleshes out points made by the nine WP MPs during this month's parliamentary debate on the White Paper, which they also voted against.

WP secretary-general Low Thia Khiang said in a statement that the party hoped the paper "will enable Singaporeans to better understand the rationale and computations behind WP's proposals".

The paper argues that the best way to maintain a Singaporean core is by raising fertility rather than relying on new citizens. The WP has proposed taking in 10,000 new citizens a year compared to the Government's 15,000 to 25,000.

It believes that in granting citizenship, priority should be given to non-citizen spouses of Singaporeans. Its figure of 10,000 new citizens a year is based on a trend of more such marriages, which numbered more than 9,000 in 2011.

It identifies several structural obstacles to raising TFR, which it said the Government had not done enough to address in its latest enhanced Marriage and Parenthood Package. These are: a lack of work- life balance, rising housing costs, income inequality leading to anxiety over economic risks, lack of gender equality in the family and a stressful education system.

The paper also argues that pro-natalist policy should not privilege higher-income families, nor should it withhold benefits from single parents.

Another key part of the WP's plan is growing the resident workforce at 1 per cent a year. If this target is met, the WP proposes to freeze foreign worker numbers at the current level.

To do this, the WP proposes getting more women and older Singaporeans into the workforce. Its target is for 85 per cent of women aged between 25 and 54 to be in the workforce, up from 76.6 per cent now. It points out that in Denmark, Finland and France, both TFR and the women's labour force participation rate are higher than Singapore's.

Meanwhile, older Singaporeans should not be seen as "dependants", but as "golden resources" and a vital part of the labour force.

And as Singapore's economy restructures, the WP suggests the Government "address the rental, capital and energy costs" that are holding back entrepreneurial small and medium enterprises.

On urban planning, the WP is against higher population density, and wants 10 per cent of total land area kept as land reserves, up from the Government's proposed 4 per cent in 2030. This would give the future generation more leeway in dealing with "economic and demographic exigencies".

Apart from hard policy, the paper also tackles issues of identity. On the idea of the "Singaporean core", the WP said that there is consensus on the need for one, but disagreement over its definition.

On Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's point that the Singaporean core is "not just about the numbers, but about the spirit", the WP said the proportion of Singaporeans is still crucial. The WP proposal will keep the share of citizens at around 60 per cent of the total population, as compared to 55 per cent by 2030 in the White Paper.

The more non-Singaporeans there are compared to Singaporeans, the higher the chances of "an ambiguous and indistinct national identity developing", it said.

The party also took issue with the use of a quote by the late deputy prime minister S. Rajaratnam: "Being a Singaporean is not a matter of ancestry. It is conviction and choice."

Using this to argue in favour of being more open to new citizens is a "misunderstanding", said the WP. Mr Rajaratnam was making the point that other cultural identities had to be abandoned before national identity could be developed.

The WP said the best way to build a Singaporean core is to "ensure that more Singaporeans go through shared experience like in schools and family life and national institutions like national service".

Grace Fu: Govt studying paper
Straits Times 24 Feb 13;

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu responded to the Workers' Party's (WP's) population paper on Facebook last night.

The Government was "studying the paper", she said. She noted that the report appeared to be a collation of what the party had raised in Parliament. Many points had been responded to.

She noted the WP's agreement with the Government on the need to make marriage and parenthood a priority, increase productivity and raise labour participation among older Singaporeans and women.

"These are priorities that the Government has been pursuing vigorously for some time," she said.

The key difference was in approach, she added, with the WP wanting to freeze foreign workforce numbers immediately, whereas the Government wants to tighten inflows but give businesses time to adjust.

The WP's stance on foreign labour "will cause great hardship to Singaporeans and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)". Health care and the construction of flats and train lines will also be badly affected, she added.

Ms Fu also asked how adding women and senior citizens to the workforce, as WP proposed, could fill the need for foreign workers "where we need them most - such as construction and cleaning/ maintenance".

As for the WP paper's look at South Korea as a model for fertility policy, Ms Fu said the Government studied many countries before coming up with its policy package.

She noted that South Korea's recent total fertility rate was 1.23 and Seoul's 1.02, "lower than Singapore's despite having implemented the package since 2005".

Janice Heng

WP's proposal will hurt Singapore SMEs and workers: Grace Fu
Imelda Saad Channel NewsAsia 23 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE: Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu has said that the government is studying the opposition Workers' Party's (WP) Population paper released on Saturday.

However, she added the key difference in the WP's paper and the government's paper, which has been endorsed in parliament, is in its approach.

Posting on her Facebook page, Ms Fu said the WP wants to freeze foreign workforce growth immediately which she said, will hurt Singapore small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and workers.

She said the government's plan on the other hand is to significantly tighten the inflow of new foreign workers, but allow businesses time to make adjustment and help SMEs in particular, make the transition.

Ms Fu touched on several points raised in the WP's paper.

Among them is the argument that by raising the resident labour force participation rate, Singapore can maintain its non-resident workforce at the current numbers.

Ms Fu said this will "cause great hardship to Singaporeans and SMEs", which employ 70 per cent of Singaporean workers.

She said if these businesses fail, many Singaporean workers and their families will suffer and added healthcare, construction of HDB homes, and train lines will also be affected badly.

"WP argues that by encouraging more senior citizens and homemakers to work, we don't need additional foreign workers. But how can our seniors and women fill the need for workers now where we need them most - such as construction and cleaning/maintenance?", said Ms Fu.

"The Paper mentioned (South) Korea as the ideal model for Marriage & Parenthood (M&P). We have studied many countries and consulted extensively before arriving at a comprehensive M&P package. We are prepared to consider all workable ideas. By the way, (South) Korea's recent TFR is 1.23 and Seoul's is 1.02, lower than Singapore's despite having implemented the package since 2005," she added.

She noted that the WP's paper showed agreement with the government on the need to make Marriage and Parenthood a priority, increase productivity and labour participation among seniors and homemakers.

These, she said are priorities that the government has been pursuing vigorously for some time.

- CNA/fa

Workers’ Party Population Policy Paper: http://www.scribd.com/doc/126850975/WP-Population-Policy-Paper-Feb-2013

Government responds to population paper by Workers' Party
Imelda Saad Channel NewsAsia 5 Mar 13;

SINGAPORE: The Singapore government has issued its response to the Population Policy Paper released by the opposition Workers' Party on February 23.

It said if a realistic adjustment is applied to the Workers' Party's projections, the population would in fact go up by more than 200,000 and go beyond six million in 2030.

The WP's paper had sketched out a projected population of about 5.8 million by that time.

The government said one of the main differences is that the Workers' Party assumes a higher mortality rate and lower life expectancy of the citizen population.

This could underestimate both the size of the population and the number of elderly in the population.

This in turn, it said, would have implications on the dependency ratio - that is, the number of worker adults supporting the elderly.

The assumption would also affect Singapore's social and health services needed.

The government added that the WP's assumptions on labour force participation rates (LFPR) are also much higher than what's achieved by advanced developed economies with the highest LFPR today, and may not have taken into account the effects of our ageing population on LFPR.

It said there may be a need to make up for a 100,000 shortfall in the workforce if the party's projected labour force participation rate is not achieved.

The WP, it said, could also have underestimated the economic impact of its proposal to freeze the foreign workforce growth.

They project a 0.5 per cent per year difference in GDP growth between their proposal and the government's. Abruptly closing off foreign worker inflows could disrupt the economy.

It said the net result could be much lower productivity and GDP growth than that assumed, and that the risk of a contracting economy is much higher.

And this, said the government, could impact wage growth and job opportunities.

"Until our TFR improves significantly, the immigration rate of 10,000 SC per year proposed by the WP does not replace the citizen population, and will result in a decline in the citizen population from 2030," it said.

The Workers' Party released its own paper on population, just two weeks after Parliament endorsed the Government's report charting the country's strategies to mitigate an ageing and shrinking population.

Titled 'A Dynamic Population for a Sustainable Singapore', the Workers' Party makes a case for a population projection of about 5.8 million by 2030 - down from the 6.9 million in the government's White Paper.

And the projection comes with an annual resident workforce growth of 1 per cent, a freeze to the foreign workforce growth rate, and a projected GDP growth of between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent in the next decade (2020-2030) - half a percentage point down from the government's GDP projections.

But like the government, the Workers' Party also believes in a strong Singaporean core. It disagrees, however, on how to sustain and nurture this core.

- CNA/de

Citizen population ‘could decline’ under WP plan
The Government said the WP’s projection could underestimate the size of Singapore’s population in 2030. Photo: Bloomberg
Tan Weizhen Today Online 6 Mar 13;

SINGAPORE — Proposals made by the Workers’ Party’s (WP) population policy paper — which, among other things, called for a freeze on foreign worker numbers and a lower immigration rate — could result in a shrinking citizen population from 2030, the Government said yesterday in its official response.

Questioning some of the WP’s underlying assumptions on mortality and labour force participation rates, for instance, the Government said that if a “realistic adjustment” is applied, the WP’s total population projection of 5.6 million to 5.8 million will increase by more than 200,000 and go beyond six million in 2030.

The Opposition party also “underestimated the economic impact” of its proposal to freeze foreign workforce growth, it added.

“The WP frames their proposal as trading off 0.5 per cent in annual GDP (gross domestic product) growth for one million less in population. A key risk is whether a rapidly ageing and stagnant or slow-growing workforce would be able to achieve the productivity targets of 2 to 3 per cent up to 2020 and 1 to 2 per cent beyond 2020, which the WP has assumed.”

The response, which was published on the website population.sg, pointed out that until the Republic’s Total Fertility Rate improves “significantly”, the immigration rate of 10,000 new citizens per year proposed by the WP “does not replace the citizen population, and will result in a decline in the citizen population from 2030”.

The Government said the WP’s projection “assumes a higher mortality rate and lower life expectancy of the citizen population”, which could underestimate both the size of the population and the number of elderly in the population.

Under the WP’s projection, the number of residents aged 65 and above in 2030 would be 170,000 — 18 per cent less than the Government’s projections. This would have implications on the dependency ratio as well as the social and health services needed, the Government said.

By comparison, the Government projects life expectancy at birth to increase, similar to the United Nations’ projection for Singapore.

It added that the WP’s assumptions on labour force participation rates were “much higher than that achieved by advanced developed economies with the highest (rates) today, and may not have taken into account the effects of our ageing population”.

There may be a need to make up for a 100,000 shortfall in the workforce if the WP’s projected rates are not achieved, the Government said.

In Parliament yesterday, Minister of State (Manpower) Amy Khor, who was speaking during the Budget debate, described the WP’s proposal to raise the labour force participation rates by 0.5 per cent per annum till 2025 — to reach about 78.7 per cent, which is higher than Sweden’s current rate of 74.8 per cent — as “hopeful but unrealistic”.

In its paper, which was published about two weeks ago, the WP also projected GDP growth of between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent in the next decade — half a percentage point lower than the Government’s GDP projections — should foreign worker numbers be capped at current levels.

The Government said: “Abruptly closing off foreign worker inflows could disrupt the economy. The net result could be much lower productivity and GDP growth than that assumed. The risk of a contracting economy is much higher and this could impact wage growth and job opportunities.”

Referring to the WP’s proposals of flexi-work arrangements to bring women and seniors back into the workforce, it added: “While better education generally improves the likelihood for women and older residents to work, a large ageing population will offset its effect.”

This happens even in Nordic countries, where there is a higher propensity for the population to work, it said.

The WP could not respond by press time to TODAY’s queries on the Government’s response. However, it said it is studying the response.

Govt responds to WP's population paper
It highlights implications arising from underestimating aged population's size
Janice Heng Straits Times 6 Mar 13;

THE Government yesterday responded to the Workers' Party's (WP) population paper, questioning assumptions made in its projections and raising concerns over the consequences of its proposals.

The WP released its paper last month, following the heated parliamentary debate on the Government's White Paper on Population. In it, the opposition party projected a population in 2030 of up to 5.8 million, more than one million less than the Government's contentious worst-case scenario of 6.9 million. The party also called for a freeze on the number of foreign workers.

Yesterday, the National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) put up comments on the paper on its population.sg website.

It noted that WP assumed a higher mortality rate and lower life expectancy than the Government. For instance, the alternative paper expects men's life expectancy at birth to improve from 79.3 years in 2010 to 80.2 in 2015, and then stay constant.

The Government, however, put life expectancy at 80.4 in 2015, improving to 82.2 in 2030, and then 83.6 in 2060 in line with the United Nations' projections.

"As such, the WP would have underestimated the potential size of our aged population, in particular those in the oldest age brackets, which would have implications on the dependency ratio as well as social and health services needed," it said.

A "realistic adjustment" to WP's projections would push its total population projection up by more than 200,000, said NPTD.

The Government also said that WP might not have taken into account the ageing population in assumptions about increases in the labour force participation rates. WP numbers exceed those achieved by even advanced developed economies with the highest participation rates today.

NPTD also warned against the impact of the proposal to slow annual workforce growth by stopping foreign worker inflows. It said the "abrupt" change might keep new firms from opening and existing ones from expanding, even forcing closures. Construction of infrastructure will also be delayed.

And there is a risk that "a rapidly ageing and stagnant or slow-growing workforce" might not be able to achieve the productivity targets of 2 to 3 per cent up to 2020, and 1 to 2 per cent after that, which the WP assumed.

Finally, the NPTD pointed out that the WP's proposed immigration rate would mean a shrinking citizen population.

"Until our TFR (total fertility rate) improves significantly, the immigration rate of 10,000 per year proposed by the WP does not replace the citizen population, and will result in a decline in the citizen population from 2030," it said.

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More countries sign pact to protect dugong

DJ Yap Philippine Daily Inquirer 23 Feb 13;

MANILA, Philippines – Four more nations have signed an international pact to protect the dugong, a mysterious marine mammal that used to be a constant presence on coastlines around the world, including the Philippines, but whose numbers are now in decline.

Bangladesh, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan joined 21 other signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their Range, or “Dugong MOU,” a United Nations conservation agency said.

On February 19-20, the Philippines played host to the Second Signatory State Meeting for the Dugong MOU, which took effect in 2007 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS).

Dugongs and manatees are also known as sea cows.

According to a press release from the UNEP/CMS, the meeting attracted government officials and experts who discussed the status of the dugong and shared information on related conservation efforts worldwide.

The International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of threatened species classifies the dugong as vulnerable, suggesting it might be extinct or declining in a third of its range, and of unknown status in half of its range.

The range of the dugong spans at least 48 countries and an estimated 140,000 kilometers of coastline, according to the IUCN.

It is not clear how many dugongs remain in the Philippines, but in 2011 an officer of the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines said there could be fewer than 500 individuals.

In the meeting in Manila, leading authorities on marine mammals, in particular professor Helene Marsh from James Cook University of Australia and Dr. John Reynolds from Mote Marine Laboratory in the United States gave presentations highlighting the challenges facing dugong and sea grass conservationists.

The marine mammals, they said, are affected by a range of human-related threats such as capture in net fishing gear and habitat degradation. In addition, extreme weather patterns such as severe storm events destroy critical sea grass beds on which dugongs depend, the experts said.

But UNEP/CMS said there were encouraging signs for supporters of dugong conservation, noting that 10 new countries had signed the MOU since the first meeting of the signatories in 2010.

“The plight for survival of the charismatic dugong has captured people’s imagination on an international scale…. The governments of the 26 nations attending are demonstrating their commitment to take positive action,” it said in the press release.

“A number of coastal communities that have been approached to participate in conservation projects have shown their willingness to make adjustments in an effort to live in harmony with dugongs,” it added.

PH Hosting Dugong Preservation Summit
Chito A. Chavez Manila Bulletin 15 Feb 13;

MANILA, Philippines --- Wildlife conservation representative from 21 countries will participate in a two-day conference hosted by the country to discuss the plight of the Sea Cows, known locally as the dugong, on Feb. 19 and 20.

Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the agency is primarily mandated to manage and conserve the sea cow and its habitat.

He said the representatives would meet in Taguig City during the Second Signatory States Meeting (SS2) of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs, to review initiatives and projects to conserve the dugong.

The first Signatory State meeting was held in Abu Dhabi in October 2010.

“This is indeed a golden opportunity for us to host an international meeting that will focus its discussions on one species that is highly vulnerable to extinction. The MOU guarantees that all these countries that are within the range of the dugong voluntary cooperate with each other to conserve the dugong and its habitats,” he said.

The Philippines was one of the first 11 signatories to the MOU, which was enforced on October 31, 2007.

Paje said the MOU was designed to facilitate all actions within and across nations to conserve dugong populations and their habitats, which cut across the waters of the Indian Ocean, East Asia, the western Pacific Ocean, and their adjacent seas.

The meeting will be an opportunity for the signatory states to review the progress of implementation of respective plans implementing the MOU, as well as to discuss future policies and directions.

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Best of our wild blogs: 23 Feb 12

Random Gallery - Common Line Blue
from Butterflies of Singapore

Monk Parakeets in Singapore
from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Singapore: First coal-fired power plant here limits emissions

Grace Chua Straits Times 23 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE'S first utility plant to burn coal will be opened officially next Wednesday - although it has been operational since August.

The first stage of Tuas Power's $2 billion Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex on Jurong Island burns low-sulphur coal, palm kernel shells, wood chips, natural gas and diesel to supply steam and electricity to industries here.

Its customers - which include petrochemical firms like Asahi Kasei, Dairen and Lanxess - save about 10 per cent on utility bills as these methods are cheaper than burning natural gas alone. Unsold electricity is used for the plant's operations or channelled into the national grid after being traded.

The plant was conceived in 2006 even before China Huaneng Group bought Tuas in 2008, said Tuas Power president and CEO Lim Kong Puay.

Construction began in 2009 and the first phase was completed last year. It consists of a circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boiler that produces 450 tonnes of steam per hour, two 200-tonne gas- or diesel- fired boilers, a powerful steam turbine and a demineralised water plant supplying water for steam.

Future phases, to be ready in 2014 and 2017, will add two more CFB boilers, a gas boiler, two steam turbines and waste water treatment and desalination facilities. When fully completed in 2017, the plant will be able to produce 160 megawatts of electricity and 900 tonnes of steam per hour.

About 66 per cent of its capacity will be fed by low-ash, low-sulphur coal, 16 per cent by palm kernel shells and wood chips, and 18 per cent by natural gas or diesel.

Environmental groups have criticised it for burning coal, which produces twice as much carbon dioxide per unit of energy as natural gas. But, from barge to boiler, the coal remains enclosed to minimise coal dust. Filters trap particles and sulphur dioxide, while nitrogen oxide emissions meet National Environment Agency standards, Mr Lim said.

The coal is stored in enclosed silos that hold 22,000 tonnes, or two weeks' supply. And energy-efficient processes, such as producing steam and electricity at the same time, mean most of the energy stored in the fuel is used rather than lost.

Coal was chosen to diversify the plant's fuel mix for energy security and price stability. Coal prices have remained stable, while oil prices are volatile.

Locals fill most jobs at new plant on Jurong Island
Dylan Loh Channel NewsAsia 22 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE: Tuas Power's Tembusu multi-utilities complex on Jurong Island has generated 150 jobs ahead of its official opening next week.

100 positions have been filled and the plant is looking for Singaporeans to fill 50 vacancies.

The facility, which has started phase one of operations, provides steam, water and electricity to petrochemical firms.

160 megawatts of electricity and 900 tonnes per hour of steam to support Singapore's petrochemical industry. That's how much the Tembusu multi-utilities complex can generate when completed not later than 2017.

Phase one and the beginning of the second phase of operations took S$1.2 billion in investments.

When the facility is fully operational, there will be an estimated 200 jobs, 90 of which are now filled by locals.

Jobs here require an engineering background, so the plant's looking for graduates from polytechnics and the Institutes of Technical Education to fill vacancies.

Lim Kong Puay, President and Chief Executive of Tuas Power Generation, said: "We work with academic institutions to be able to attract a pool of people to join us. As part of our plan, we have also put in programmes here to develop people. For example, a technician, or technical officers, we do offer them scholarship as part of the career progression."

George Tan, Vice President of Utilities, Tuas Power Utilities, said: "We are not only using coal, we are using biomass, we are also using natural gas. So with this strategy, we are better (able to) manage and enhance the energy security, at the same time, we are able to manage cost saving."

And waste isn't wasted. By-products like ash from power production are re-processed into materials for the construction industry.

- CNA/ck/de

Tuas Power opens utility complex on Jurong Island
Channel NewsAsia 27 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE: Energy provider Tuas Power officially opened its S$2 billion utility complex on Jurong Island on Wednesday.

At the opening ceremony, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said the plant has catalysed investment decisions by specialty chemical firms like Lanxess and Dairen.

The utilities plant, which runs mainly on low-sulphur coal and biomass like palm kernel shells and wood chips, is a critical piece of infrastructure on Jurong Island.

Since becoming operational in August last year, the facility produces steam and electricity to surrounding industries on the island.

It also provides water treatment facilities.

Mr Lim said: "With integration, companies are able to obtain feedstock and utilities, and supply finished products to other companies co-located with them on the island. In this context, Tuas Power's centralised utilities facility will strengthen Jurong Island's integration efforts."

Excess electricity will be sold through the Singapore electricity market. A desalination plant is also expected to be up and running by 2017.

According to Tuas Power estimates, operational costs of a coal-biomass power plant is 10 per cent less than a gas-fired plant, supplying cheaper utilities including steam to nearby synthetic rubber plants, which had to cope with high energy costs in Singapore.

Huang Yongda, executive vice president of China Huaneng Group, said: "This project is of great significance for Singapore to diversify its energy sources and increase its attraction for investment on Jurong Island. It is also of great importance for China Huaneng Group to deepen its international operations."

The S$2 billion facility is believed to be the largest investment by a Chinese company in Singapore. Tuas Power, which runs the facility, was acquired by the New York-listed Huaneng Power International in 2008 - two years after the plant was conceived.

- CNA/xq

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Malaysia: Boosting deep-sea fishing

A. Azim Idris New Straits Times 23 Feb 12;

MEETING DEMAND: 12 anchor companies get permits to go big on tapping sea resources

PUTRAJAYA: MALAYSIA still possesses untapped fishing resources off the coast of Sabah and Sarawak which will allow the target of 500,000 tonnes of yield by 2020 to be achieved in a sustainable manner.

Fisheries Department director-general Datuk Ahamad Sabki Mahmood said the target was within the economic sustainable yield.

It would not affect the breeding grounds for commercial fish, therefore, avoiding a major depletion of the fish population, he added.

Ahamad said there were areas that enjoyed exclusive economic zone status such as off the coast of Labuan, where large deposits of tuna and other pelagic fish were relatively untouched.

Proper harvest would allow the population to be replenished, he said, adding that this was among the reasons why they had appointed several deep-sea fishing companies in recognition of their contribution to the industry.

"This is to encourage them to make bigger investments, and to allow us to work closely with them in issuing permits so that they can optimise their catch," he told a press conference after presenting appointment certificates to 12 anchor companies at the department's headquarters in Wisma Tani, Precinct 4, near here, yesterday.

For last year, he said the landing of marine fish was 1,421,766 tonnes, worth RM7,857.85 million, out of which 325,274 tonnes, worth RM1,635.95 million, were caught by deep- sea vessels.

"The landing of deep-sea fish is crucial in meeting the country's increasing protein demand as an alternative to fish supply from shallower waters which has been optimised."

There are currently 1,348 licensed deep-sea vessels operating, compared with only 258 by the end of the 1980s.

The companies were selected based on their success in catching more than 80 per cent of fish from the deep sea, which Ahamad said was not "an easy feat".

"There is much space left with-in the 200 nautical miles of theeconomic exclusive zone and these companies play a big role in achieving the 500,000-tonne target."

He said the target was not only for domestic consumption, but also for export.

However, Ahamad said there were challenges faced by the department, such as unregistered foreign vessels, which illegally encroached into the country's waters.

"We are working closely with these companies and the Maritime Enforcement Agency to monitor the situation and to protect our resources."

He added that the department had taken stern action against 308 operators, who had abused their licence, by revoking their permits.

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Study of world's richest marine area shows size matters

(AFP) Google News 23 Feb 13;

GENEVA — A new study of Asia's Coral Triangle, which contains nearly 30 percent of the world's reefs, shows that when it comes to ensuring a rich and diverse range of species, size matters.

"The study suggests that marine protected areas should be as large and diverse as possible," Peter Etnoyer, a marine biologist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said in a statement Thursday.

Etnoyer, who co-authored the study published by open access peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS ONE, stressed that providing more protected marine space made it possible to "include more species, more habitats, and more genetic diversity to offer species the best chance of adapting to sea temperature and other environmental changes."

The Coral Triangle covers a triangular area stretching across the Philippines, eastern Sabah, eastern Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

It's sheer size has made it a treasure trove of marine life -- it contains nearly 30 percent of the world's reefs and more than 3,000 species of fish and is often referred to as the "Amazon of the seas".

The fact that its size, according to Thursday's study, is also what will help it adapt to change is important, since previous reports have shown that more than 85 percent of the reefs there are considered to be threatened by human activities like coastal development, pollution and overfishing.

For the study, scientists at NOAA, the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN), Old Dominion University in Virginia and the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies had "analysed over 10,000 maps of marine species," said Jonnell Sanciango, the head author of the study and a researcher at Old Dominion.

They had "found that habitat, calculated as coastline length, was the best predictor of species richness, followed by the variety of habitats and sea surface temperature," she added.

Their research led them to suggest stretching the borders of the Coral Triangle further to also include Brunei, Singapore and peninsular Malaysia, "to ensure that these areas are included in the management and conservation of the region."

The study also found that sea surface temperature plays an important role in the proliferation of marine life.

This suggests that "climate change may have a direct impact on species diversity," the authors said in the statement.

"The conservation implication is that if climate change raises sea temperatures it may have a profound influence on evolution rates and how species are distributed over time," Kent Carpenter of IUCN said.

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Best of our wild blogs: 22 Feb 13

Feeding strategies: 2. Birds feeding on palm fruits
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Job: Part-time field assistant for vegetation plot research in secondary forests of Singapore (Mar-Jun 2013) from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

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A plan to house 2m more people

Veteran architect proposes building up southern coast
Leonard Lim Straits Times 22 Feb 13;

Even as the debate continues over the 6.9 million figure in the population White Paper, veteran architect Tay Kheng Soon said at an industry lecture last night that Singapore can accommodate a population increase of up to two million.

All two million would be housed on a 2,187ha swathe of land along the southern coastline, stretching from Pandan Reservoir in the west to the East Coast Park beach.

Land where the Keppel and Marina Bay golf courses are currently sited would make way for housing, as would the port area once container port functions are consolidated in Tuas in the long term.

Space around the Gardens by the Bay would cater to the super-rich, with homes built on the sea to entice those keen on waterfront living. Some parts of the south would also be for schools, offices and factories.

And while this might mean Singapore loses its biggest beach, he said all other areas, including green and heritage spaces, need not be "disturbed".

Mr Tay's "southern intensification" proposal comes two weeks after an intense parliamentary debate over the population White Paper that projects Singapore's population rising by 1.6 million by 2030.

"What I hear is a lot of grumbling (about the White Paper), so let us as a profession contribute," said the former president of the Singapore Institute of Architects who is known for his outspoken and at times radical views.

The 73-year-old said his ideas came about before the policy document was unveiled, and were several years in the making. "I've been wanting to know the density limit for Singapore."

Unlike the Government Land Use Plan which also proposes reclaiming more land and consolidating military activities onto Tekong Island, his proposal focuses on the single large strip of land, building more densely on it.

Based on an assumption of 50 sq m of floor area per person that is comparable to a region in Virginia on the East Coast of the United States, a gross plot ratio of 4.5 can accommodate 1.968 million, he said. If this ratio is lowered to 4, then about 1.75 million people can be housed in the south.

Gross plot ratio is a measure of the density of building units in a given space. He said that the highest ratio here currently is 3.24, in Punggol.

Meanwhile, he proposed restructuring estates in other parts of Singapore, by having a central corridor in each. Schools, businesses and other amenities would be located along it, to build social cohesion and bonding.

The lecture drew a crowd of about 100 guests, including vice-president of the Economic Society of Singapore Yeoh Lam Keong.

Despite the seemingly controversial nature of the southern intensification plan, no one raised questions about it during a question-and-answer session after the lecture, at the Singapore Institute of Architects' premises in Tanjong Pagar.

Mr Yeoh, who has been following the population White Paper debate, told The Straits Times later: "Physically you might be able to squeeze in another two million... but it doesn't fully measure or avoid the negative impact on social well-being from increase in income and wealth inequality and overcrowding in common facilities."

Responding, Mr Tay said: "That's why I proposed not intensifying land use in other parts of Singapore, so that we can build social cohesion there. It will be like New York in the south of the country, and Bali in the north."

Keep kampung spirit, even in a big city
Pioneering Singapore architect Tay Kheng Soon says the real concern for any society isn't overcrowding, but how cohesive and trusting the community will be.
Cheong Suk-wai Straits Times 23 Feb 13;

WHILE many Singaporeans are complaining of cramped and intense city living these days, pioneering architect Tay Kheng Soon is confident that Singapore still has room for two million more people - and keep the kampung community spirit.

The solution is to house them compactly within a 2,187ha stretch of land in southern Singapore, from Pandan Reservoir in the west to East Coast Park, he said.

This was his startling proposal at a talk on Thursday night to about 100 people here, as part of an ongoing lecture series by master architects organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects.

Singaporeans fed up with crowded trains and public spaces flinched at the projection in the recent population White Paper that the 5.3 million-strong population here may burgeon to 6.9 million in 2030. The Government's Land Use Plan then detailed how it would reclaim more land and consolidate military training grounds to free up more space for all.

But disquiet continued, even after a five-day debate on the issue in Parliament.

Mr Tay however thinks "if it has to", the city-state can accommodate two million more residents comfortably.

He elaborates on his proposal: The southern coastline will house homes, offices, schools and factories for the extra two million residents. Places like the Keppel and Marina Bay golf courses there would have to go, along with the port, whose operations will be consolidated in Tuas in future.

The area around Gardens By The Bay could feature waterfront homes, he suggested.

Interestingly, no one at the talk challenged his proposal. The audience posed only three questions: whether or not women should do national service; how to deepen the dialogue between architects and city planners here; and if a research institute for architects should be set up.

Mr Tay, 73, is well-known for thinking out of the box or, as his detractors might say, throwing a spanner in the works.

But the respected architect said that his proposal was not in response to the White Paper; he had, in recent years, been trying to determine the density limit in Singapore.

The limit proved a hard nut to crack, he added, because very few places, including Singapore, publish or even track total floor area, which is necessary to calculate density.

"At the moment," he noted, "because we do not know how much floor space there is, we just add more floor area here and not put so much there. Such over- developing is wrong."

Fortunately, one place that did track total floor area was Fairfax County, just outside Washington, DC in the American state of Virginia, which has a population of one million and is 11/2 times the size of Singapore.

Mr Tay thought Fairfax's figures instructive for Singapore because it also grew rich via the aviation industry and was a hub for many multinationals, including Innova, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

He settled on 50 sq m as the "magic figure" of comfortably habitable total floor area per person, which is about half the size of the average HDB flat.

The method for planning space for each person in society takes into account every building in which he or she would likely be in, so that would include one's entire workspace, from office desk to boss' room to office corridor, and one's entire living space from bedroom to bathroom. But it would exclude recreational space.

With that 50 sq m criterion, and with a gross plot ratio (GPR) of 4.5, Mr Tay calculated that the southern strip he proposed for denser build-up would house 1.97 million people comfortably. This, he said, would result in an estate that would look like a cross between the 50-storey blocks of Pinnacle@Duxton and the quite dense Punggol estate, which has the highest GPR in Singapore today, that is, 3.24.

GPR is a measure of density of building units in a given space.

If that ratio dropped to four, then a cosier number would be 1.75 million. If it was lowered further to three, the optimal population density for that space would be 1.31 million.

Mr Tay said he suggested what he called "southern intensification" so as to leave the rest of Singapore today untouched in future.

That meant no cementing over nature reserves, public parks or other spaces to breathe.

Speaking to The Straits Times right after the talk, he said: "It's about not aggravating the rest of the island, and helping us plan in detail how to make everything here super-accessible."

But wouldn't building over East Coast Parkway, Singapore's biggest beach, take yet another beloved place away from Singaporeans? That, he said, could be replaced with man-made lagoons, filtered by rock bunds, along the southern coastline that could function as public swimming pools.

Mr Tay, who teaches architecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS) twice a week, said his deeper concern was how to reconfigure Singapore's neighbourhoods so that the people who live there could build their resilience, learn to look out for one another and, ultimately, be much happier.

His ideal HDB estate would have a spine running right through the centre of the neighbourhood, on which will be shops, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), civic space and individual classrooms - as opposed to fully built-up schools - which children could go in and out of for lessons, like undergraduates on campus.

While some may find this suggestion not very different from the rows of shops and amenities that already exist in their estates, Mr Tay said these would be much more stretched out in his plan.

"The spine would be a 1.5km necklace on which will be strung shops, schools, civic spaces and arts and culture spaces to encourage residents to walk in the streets and make the estate abuzz.

"This would enable successful sharing," Mr Tay said, "which would break down walls, including prejudice."

As for encouraging SMEs in neighbourhoods, he said the entrepreneurial spirit was crucial to build resilience. He cited Spain's Mondragon cooperative whose owner-workers ran their own banks, grew their own food and provided for the community in general.

"We should not be producing employees, we should be producing employers," he stressed, adding that housewives could earn money by taking turns to deliver meals to the elderly within the estate, give them massages or run errands for them.

Might it not be too late to put such kampung spirit back into HDB neighbourhoods? Surely it is dissonant to be talking about kampung-like living in the 21st century, when the IT-weaned youth live in their minds?

"That is why schools should be integrated within the community," he pointed out. "Children should live in the real world, not the abstract."

He added that the way forward, perhaps, was to build a test neighbourhood, say, at MacPherson, one of the oldest estates here - and one with many old people - where, since 2011, he and his team of 20 NUS students have been researching how to turn a big, old housing estate here into a "modern kampung" that can accommodate toddlers as well as their grandparents-cum-babysitters.

He recalled how old folk in MacPherson were initially chary of his idea to bond the community, that is, by getting them to plant fast-growing greens like chye sim for sale and their own consumption, in the passageways between their HDB blocks.

He even designed a waist-high table for the elderly so that they would not have to bend over for long minutes while tending their mini vegetable plots set in polystyrene boxes.

But when Mr Tay showed the elderly there that they could actually make $500 a month from cultivating vegetables for only two hours a day, they were all for it.

While Mr Tay had all these ideas, he was also a realist. "For all this to work, we will need solidarity and trust, but we are still far from that.

"But we should start somewhere, otherwise, we will only be fighting gridlock."

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Singapore called on to ‘do more to intercept illegal ivory shipments’

Neo Chai Chin Today Online 22 Feb 13;

SINGAPORE — Although Singapore has become less of a market for ivory, two conservation groups say the Republic could do more yet in preventing the contraband from landing in other countries.

Calling for greater enforcement to intercept illegal ivory shipments transiting through Singapore — despite the authorities here seizing a major haul last month — wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic and the World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore pointed to illegal ivory tusks that have reportedly passed through Singapore undetected.

Last September, the Vietnamese authorities seized 19kg of ivory from a woman who had taken a Vietnam Airlines flight from Singapore. And last July, 405 tusks that had passed through Singapore were seized in Johor, the groups said.

Last month, however, the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and Singapore Customs intercepted a shipment of about 1.8 tonnes of raw ivory tusks declared as “waste paper” from Africa — the second-largest seizure since 2002.

Ivory is generally smuggled from Africa to Asia. And Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, according to Traffic South-east Asia’s Senior Programme Officer Kanitha Krishnasamy, are the region’s major transit points.

The amount of illegal ivory seized globally reached a record-high of 38.8 tonnes in 2011, according to the Elephant Trade Information System, which tracks seizures by countries party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). This amounted to at least 2,500 elephants killed, said Ms Kanitha. There were 17 large-scale seizures (where over 800kg is seized) in 2011, more than double the previous high of eight in 2009.

She added that closer collaboration with ivory-exporting countries could also help enforcement, as the authorities there are more likely to have access to information on shipping routes or individuals. “A lot of times we see the buck stop at seizures. There should be more effort put into investigating who’s behind the trade, how things are being moved around, what else is involved,” she said.

International trade in ivory has been banned under the CITES since 1989. In Singapore, domestic trade in specimens acquired before 1990 — when elephants became listed as protected species — is allowed.

CITES permits must be obtained from the AVA by anyone who wants to import or re-export ivory products as personal effects, and they must have documentary proof that their specimens were legally acquired.

An AVA spokesperson added that ivory traders here are required to register their pre-convention ivory with the authority. The AVA tracks their stock balances during inspections.

Meanwhile, a survey of 100 shops here by Traffic and WWF Singapore found 19 selling ivory that vendors said were pre-convention stocks, down from 55 out of 100 surveyed in 2002. Vendors reported that ivory products were no longer popular here.

Keep close watch on illegal wildlife trade
Straits Times Forum 21 Feb 13;

THE report ("$2.5m shipment of illegal ivory from Africa seized"; Jan 31) revealed that about 1.8 tonnes of raw ivory tusks were seized in Singapore last month.

According to a 2012 report by the Traffic wildlife monitoring network, groups involved in the illegal wildlife trade have been tapping Singapore's status as a trading hub.

Singapore has also been identified as a key laundering point for illegally caught birds from the Solomon Islands ("S'pore named 'bird-laundering point'"; July 19, 2012).

More often than not, those who smuggle illegal wildlife products also smuggle other illegal items such as drugs. It is important that the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority and Singapore Customs keep a close watch on the illegal wildlife trade.

The money coming from consumers who pay high prices for ivory products fuels the black market run by rebels and smugglers.

In recent years, the illegal ivory trade has greatly empowered poachers with riches that buy them heavy weapons, and an increasing number of park rangers have been killed by poachers.

There have been incidents in Africa where armed groups of up to 30 rebels drove their trucks into national parks, shooting both animals and humans on sight. There have also been reports of poachers shooting elephants and rhinos from their helicopters. A rebel group known to kidnap and use children as soldiers and sex slaves is now also killing elephants for ivory.

The type of poaching we see today is no longer the poaching we knew a decade ago.

When we buy illegal animal products, we fund black market operations and help rebels buy weapons. We approve brutal violence to not just animals but also humans. While the riches of the black market soar, those working to conserve the wildlife in Africa struggle to work with limited money and resources.

Elephants that are poached for ivory die a horrific death. They are shot multiple times by automatic weapons, and as the root of their tusks is located near the eyes, approximately half of their faces together with their mouths and trunks are hacked off completely by axes or chainsaws. This allows poachers to extract full-length tusks from their kill.

In Singapore, all ivory products attained after the international trade ban in 1989 are illegal. We urge travellers never to buy ivory and other illegal wildlife parts when travelling, and to contact the authorities if ivory products are spotted on sale in Singapore.

Jennifer Lee (Ms)
Founder
Project: WILD

Fewer shops sell ivory, demand here 'bucks global trend'
Wildlife groups call for Republic to do more to halt illegal trade
Grace Chua Straits Times 23 Feb 13;

THE number of shops selling ivory here has more than halved in the last decade, a survey by two wildlife conservation groups has found.

In 2002, 55 of 100 ornament, antique, jewellery and souvenir shops polled at random sold ivory. Last year, only 19 of 100 did.

Worldwide demand for ivory is on the rise but these findings suggest that Singapore is bucking the trend, said Ms Kanitha Krishnasamy, senior programme officer at Traffic Southeast Asia, which carried out the survey with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore.

The amount of ivory seized in 2011 worldwide hit a high of 38.8 tonnes, according to an Elephant Trade Information System report - which translates to about 2,500 animals killed.

Last year, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) reported that elephant poaching levels were at their worst in a decade.

Singapore laws state that it is legal to sell ivory obtained only before 1990 when elephants became listed as an endangered species under an international agreement.

Such trade must be backed by documentary proof that the ivory was acquired legally.

Those who want to import or re-export ivory products must also have such proof and a permit from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

Traders here must register their pre-convention ivory stocks with the authority, which tracks their stock balances during inspections but does not disclose the total figure.

A Chinatown Complex stall, Wo Cheung Classic, - with a glass case of ivory bracelets and beads - displays its certificate showing that the material was imported before 1990.

But its proprietor, a woman who gave her name only as Mrs Ching, believes ivory is becoming unfashionable. She said: "No one buys ivory any more. Everyone knows elephants are endangered."

But Ms Krishnasamy said there is a possibility the trade may be shifting online or underground.

Traffic Southeast Asia and WWF Singapore have called for the Republic and other countries to disclose how much ivory stock they have, "simply to help figure out the dynamics of the trade", she said.

They also called for Singapore to do more to halt the illegal ivory trade by working with African countries which are exporting it.

As an international trading hub, Singapore is said to be a transit point for such contraband shipments, which are banned under Cites, an international convention on endangered species trade.

Last month, the AVA and Singapore Customs seized a 1.8 tonne, $2.5 million shipment of tusks from Africa disguised as waste paper. These were sent back to Africa for investigations.

Other recent illegal ivory shipments have been recorded as passing through the Republic. Last September, the Vietnamese authorities seized 19kg of ivory from a woman on a flight from Singapore and in July a shipment of 405 raw tusks that had earlier passed through Singapore was seized in Johor.

Most illegal ivory flows from Africa to Asia, said Ms Krishnasamy. "Africa has opened its doors to development from Asia, so there are larger flows of everything both ways." Contraband shipments may get missed in this higher volume of material.

Destination countries include China and Vietnam, while Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are transit points, she said.

Besides the disclosure of ivory stocks, methods like DNA mapping can tell where in Africa a piece of ivory came from.

Other tests can show how old the elephant was at death and even how recently it was killed, University of Washington conservation biologist Samuel Wasser told The Straits Times.

Such methods have been used on seizures, including those made in Singapore, to trace them back to specific countries, he said.

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