Strategy for Environmental Sustainability for Island-State Singapore – Engaging the Public

Abstract

Policymaking involves multiple stakeholders in an increasingly complicated set of relationships. Yet, very little is understood about the influence of the public on policy making. Public involvement may transform service offerings, but in the present era the public itself is also often transformed by the service offering. The island-state Singapore has prided itself on a top-down policymaking landscape (with minimal public engagement). Sustainable development has greater success when there is an equal emphasis on both economy and environment. An economy remains a subset of the ecosystem and operates within an environmental domain permitted by the ecosystem. A continuous extraction of ecosystem services will render economic growth unsustainable. Due to the vulnerability of island-states, further economic growth is likely to generate greater environmental stress and hamper development. This paper seeks to address strategies available to Singapore for environmental sustainability by outlining the island-state’s progression of environmental policy. One significant achievement has been Singapore’s use of a regulatory mechanism, namely the Environmental Impact Assessment, to involve the public for developments and projects. This serves to protect the environment as the island-state seeks to develop in a sustainable fashion. As Singapore continues to balance economic performance and environmental protection, future policy directions and recommendations toward sustainable development will be critical.