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Green Plans in Action: Singapore: History
Singapore is located in Southeastern Asia, between Malaysia and Indonesia. The name, "Singapura" in Sanskrit, means "Lion City". A visiting prince in the 13th century is said to have named the main island after mistaking an animal he saw as a lion. The small city-state has 63 islands, many of which have long since been expanded and joined to accommodate its growing population. Even with ongoing reclamation projects of new soil added from its own hills, the seabed, and neighboring countries, Singapore is barely three and a half times the size of Washington, DC. Because of its deep-water ports, Singapore was an important stop on the trade routes until the early 1600s. In 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles established a British port on the main island. At the time the population numbered about 150 and by 1911 the figure had mushroomed to 185,000. Japan occupied Singapore during World War II, but it was largely self-governed once it reverted to British control. The People's Action Party has been in power since 1959, and it agreed to have Singapore join the Federation of Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963. Disputes led to Singapore's independence in late 1965, and it still has a British-style parliamentary government. After gaining independence in 1965, Singapore struggled to deal with housing shortages, high levels of illiteracy and unemployment, poor sanitation and health, an inadequate clean water supply, and illegal dumping on what little land was available for development. The once thriving port at the mouth of the Singapore River had been allowed to deteriorate. The government formed various boards to promote manufacturing and provide practical training. New and refurbished housing gave street hawkers permanence, with access to clean water and disposal facilities. The government soon launched a massive clean-up of the Singapore River and revitalized the port. The current Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) began as the Ministry of the Environment and was formed in 1972. Twenty years later, Singapore unveiled the first Singapore Green Plan (SGP) at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio. The SGP was a master plan for environmental protection and improvement, with plans and strategies to transform Singapore into a model green city with high public health standards by the year 2000. Government and non-government agencies monitored activities and provided the opportunity for public feedback. Since the turn of this century, the region has experienced phenomenal economic growth. Of the 4.5 million inhabitants today, 77% are Chinese; only 13% are indigenous Malay. The national language is Malay, but English is spoken by most of the population and is the main language in education and government. A new ten-year Singapore Green Plan 2012, launched in 2002, is set to meet the challenges of sustaining a quality environment and economy, and contributing to global sustainability efforts. SGP2012 is reviewed and evaluated every three years. SGP2012 was revised in 2005, and in 2006, the government moved potentially serious environmental issues such as Particulate Matter 2.5 and Climate Change to the forefront of national attention and action. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Singapore |
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