Developing new water sources through the Four National Taps constitutes half the strategy to ensure a sustainable water supply in Singapore. The other half is managing water demand and encouraging water conservation. Arguably, this can even be regarded as the more important half, given the physical and cost limitations of building new water sources indefinitely.

A single user increasing his water consumption may have little impact on the country's water resources, but if the entire population behaves likewise, this will not be sustainable. Furthermore, the prudent use of water involves important social habits and behaviours that take time to be inculcated, and hence any desired behavioural outcomes cannot simply be achieved overnight. Therefore, the thrust of any effective water demand management strategy must be to reach out to each and every user, be it an individual or organization, and ensure that such efforts are sustained over time.

SINGAPORE'S WATER DEMAND

Water consumption for the domestic sector in the last few decades has increased as a result of rapid industrial, economic, and social developments in Singapore. Up until 1995, the growth in domestic water consumption outpaced population growth. In 1965 when the population was at 1.9 million, domestic demand for potable water was 142,000 cubic metres per day (75 litres per capita per day). By 1994, the population had gone up by about two times, but domestic water demand had increased by more than four times (175 litres per capita per day). Such high demand growth puts a huge strain on Singapore's limited water resources and is not sustainable.

Global environmental challenges will continue to confront the world. From pollution by hazardous industrial waste in the 1970s to ozone layer depletion in the 1980s and climate change in the 1990s, the importance of environmental management has grown and become more transboundary in nature, in tandem with increased urbanization and population growth.

Singapore firmly believes that global environmental responsibility must first begin at home. The government's priority thus lies in ensuring that domestic environmental issues are well managed, which provides the foundation for moving beyond Singapore's shores to collaborating with the international community on global environmental issues.

In the early years, Singapore lacked the necessary expertise in the environmental sector and relied on international assistance for its capacity building needs. In developing infrastructure and experimenting to find workable solutions for its environmental and water challenges, Singapore has gained useful best practices and experiences along the way. It is now thus able to contribute and share its experience with other countries that may be facing similar environmental challenges.

As Singapore built up its domestic environmental track record, it also became party to key Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) to partner the international community in solving shared environmental challenges. On accession to, or ratification of, these treaties, Singapore takes its obligations very seriously and puts in place systems and infrastructure to ensure that its responsibilities under these MEAs can be fulfilled. Despite being an export-oriented economy, Singapore did not pursue its trade interests at the expense of its environmental commitments, even if that meant foregoing certain economic opportunities. In seeking progress, every effort was made to balance the demands of economic development, social progress, and environmental sustainability.

Every community produces solid waste. Rapid urbanization and population growth in many cities will lead to an ever increasing amount of solid waste being generated. If there were no systematic means of waste collection and disposal, piles of rubbish would accumulate, with their associated stench, and create potential breeding grounds for pests and vectors. This will add stress to existing waste management infrastructure and pose potential threats to public health.

The effective management of solid waste is thus a priority that every city needs to address as it is an integral aspect of people's daily lives, and affects their quality of life. However, as many developing cities have found, putting in place an effective waste management system is not a straightforward matter.

It was no different in Singapore. Managing solid waste was one of the key environmental challenges that had to be tackled in the early days of Singapore's development and industrialization. The government had to cope with an increasing amount of waste by continually improving the system and learning from best practices in other cities. This has resulted in a solid waste management system that best suits local circumstances and caters to Singapore's needs.

LOCAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Singapore is today one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with a population density of 6,520 population per sq. kilometre. In line with population and economic growth, the volume of waste disposed has increased sixfold over the past thirty years.

With the population and industries housed within a small land area of only 700 sq. kilometre, every bit of land is a valuable resource.

Environment and water as well as public health issues in Singapore today are overseen by the Ministry of the Environment and its two statutory boards — the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Public Utilities Board (PUB). In law, a statutory board is an autonomous government agency established by an act of Parliament that specifies the purpose, rights, and powers of the body. The NEA and PUB have been formed under the National Environment Agency Act and the Public Utilities Act respectively.

The National Environment Agency Act outlines the functions, duties, and powers of the NEA. The functions and duties of the NEA include monitoring, reducing, and preventing pollution, ensuring high standards of public cleanliness through the supervision of cleansing services and the prevention of littering, ensuring high standards of public health through vector control and research on vector-borne diseases as well as licensing food outlets, managing and regulating refuse collection and disposal, promoting resource efficiency, and the provision of meteorological services.

NEA administers the Environmental Protection and Management Act (EPMA), which provides a comprehensive legislative framework for the control of environmental pollution and the promotion of resource conservation. The EPMA was previously known as the Environmental Pollution Control Act (EPCA). The EPCA was amended and renamed the EPMA on 1 January 2008 to provide for additional provisions on the protection and management of the environment and resource conservation. The EPCA came into operation on 1 April 1999 and consolidated previous separate laws on air, water, and noise pollution, and hazardous substances control. In addition, NEA administers legislations under the Hazardous Waste (Control of Export, Import and Transit) Act, which governs hazardous waste. NEA also administers the Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) and the Control of Vectors and Pesticides Act). Together, these Acts provide the legislative framework for ensuring high standards of public health and cleanliness. The EPHA covers areas such as public cleansing, refuse disposal, industrial waste, food establishments and hawker centres, and sanitary conditions.

The Public Utilities Act outlines the functions, duties, and powers of the PUB in relation to water. The functions and duties of the PUB include providing an adequate supply of water, regulating the supply of piped water for human consumption, supplying industrial and treated used water, and operating the public sewer systems and storm water drainage systems.

Residents in Singapore breathe in clean air, drink clean water direct from the tap, live on clean land, and enjoy good public hygiene. However, Singapore is not a green utopia with zero carbon emissions, large-scale renewable energy sources, or cutting edge zero-energy buildings. What it does have is a practical, cost-effective, and efficient approach towards sustaining its environment, which contributes to the high quality of life in Singapore.

In a world where rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to tremendous pressures on environment and water resources, visitors to Singapore often ask: how is it possible that a small city state sitting on barely 700 sq. kilometre of land, housing close to 5 million people, and bustling with a world class airport, the world's busiest port and many other industries, can remain clean, green, and environmentally sustainable? They want to understand how Singapore has achieved this and hear about Singapore's experience.

CLEAR VISION

The answer is that it starts with a clear vision from the very top that a clean and good quality living environment is important, and a strong commitment to implement that vision.