SINGAPORE GREEN PLAN 2012

SINGAPORE GREEN PLAN 2012:

(Progress update): 1.

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources if he could update the House on the achievement of the main targets laid out in the Singapore Green Plan 2012.

The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Singapore Green Plan 2012 (SGP 2012) was launched in 2002 and sets out targets in six focus areas to ensure Singapore's environmental sustainability. These areas are clean air and climate change; water; waste management; public health; conserving nature; and international environmental relations.

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Sir, a number of these targets has been met. In the area of water, our domestic water consumption per person per day in 2010 was 154 litres, which has surpassed the 2012 target of 155 litres. The SGP 2012 also set a target to increase the supply of water from non-conventional sources to at least 25% of the Singapore's water demand. We are now able to meet 30% of our water needs through NEWater production.

Sir, good progress has been made in other areas. For waste management, we attain a 58% recycling rate in 2010. To achieve the 60% recycling target by 2012, my Ministry is now studying new waste-minimisation and recycling measures, taking into consideration the impact on businesses and households. The National Environment Agency (NEA) is also working closely with public waste collectors and grassroots organisations to encourage households to segregate waste for recycling.

In the area of public health, we continue to enjoy a low incidence of vector-borne and food-borne diseases. Dengue has been kept on a control with an average annual incidence of about 5,800 cases between 2006 and 2010, compared with some 14,000 cases reported in the 2005 epidemic. During the same period, we kept the average annual number of food poisoning outbreaks to about four per 1,000 food establishments licensed by NEA. On the international front, we are emerging as a leading regional centre in epidemiological surveillance and research on vector-borne diseases. NEA contributed towards a formulation of the World Health Organization's Dengue Strategic Plan for the Asia Pacific region in 2008. Sir, the plan is now being used by member countries to enhance their preparedness and response to dengue outbreaks and to

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limit dengue epidemics through prevention and control.

Singapore's air quality remains good over the years with the PSI in the "good" range for at least 85% of the days in 2003 which meets the SGP 2012 target. Going forward, we will focus on reducing the PM 2.5 emissions from local sources such as transport as well as continue to engage neighbouring countries to mitigate and minimise transboundary haze pollutions. Despite Singapore's limited land area, we have managed to incorporate existing national areas into new developments so as to preserve our bio-diversity. For example, an existing natural mangrove along Sungei Punggol was integrated into the newly developed Sengkang Riverside Park. Under the ABC Waters programme, work is also underway at Bishan Park to develop a naturalised river that will meander through the park and that will in time enrich the bio-diversity of Bishan Park. As part of the SGP 2012 target to establish more parks and green linkages, NParks completed 150 kilometres of park connectors as of November 2010.

Sir, in the area of international environmental relations, we continue to meet the SGP 2012 targets of engaging our ASEAN neighbours and intensifying our international collaborations to tackle our environmental challenges. We are working closely with our ASEAN neighbours to overcome the transboundary haze pollution problem. The sub-regional Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) on Transboundary Haze Pollution was a platform mooted by Singapore and established in 2006. Under the MSC framework, Indonesia and Singapore successfully embarked on the joint collaboration in Jambi province to implement action programmes to prevent and mitigate land and forest fires. Globally, Singapore is committed to international environmental efforts and our obligations are the multilateral environmental treaties, such as the United Nations Framework

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Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Sir, looking ahead, there is a need to step up our efforts across all sectors – public, private and people – and engage all our partners and stakeholders to do more to ensure sustainable development. Higher economic and population growth will exert pressures on our limited land resources and our environmental quality in years to come. Global environmental challenges, such as climate change, are also key concerns on the international and national agenda. To ensure that Singapore continues to be a dynamic economy with a high quality living environment, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) released the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint in April 2009 which establishes fresh targets in areas of resource efficiency and liveability to guide our efforts through 2030. My Ministry and other agencies will continue to monitor progress and embark on the new initiatives laid out in the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint to ensure that Singapore continues to develop sustainably in the decades beyond SGP 2012.