Young, Dumb, and Apparently Too Concerned About Singapore’s Environmental Heritage
With Western Island, perhaps there's still time to draw up better environment impact assessment frameworks. The post Young, Dumb, and Apparently Too Concerned About Singapore’s Environmental Heritage appeared first on RICE .
Andriel Cheong, a 24-year-old sociology and political science student at Singapore Management University, co-founded the Ichthyological Society of Singapore (ISS). In an op-ed for RICE, Cheong argues that environmental heritage should be given equal weight to tangible metrics in impact assessments for Singapore's development projects.
When Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced Western Island, a proposed multipurpose development set to require land reclamation around Singapore's Southern Islands, Cheong and other co-founders of ISS expressed their exasperation over the announcement. Other nature and heritage groups also voiced grave concerns about the impact on marine biodiversity, as the area contains a significant portion of Singapore's remaining coral reefs.
Cheong was particularly taken aback by the derision some Singaporeans directed at the negative responses to Western Island, even after the emotional reactions to the loss of Maju Forest. The government has repeatedly promised technical studies, difficult decisions, and 'planning for both people and nature' in response to these concerns, but Cheong believes that this approach merely reinforces the perceived indecision and lack of trust from stakeholders.
With Western Island arriving after the Maju Forest debate, Cheong and others find themselves in a rhetorical stalemate, with more commentators expressing frustration over the ongoing debates.
Written by urgent.news from RICE Media's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
