Preliminary Assessment of Singapore's

Environmental Law
Alan K.J. Tan, Faculty of Law
National University of Singapore
1. INTRODUCTION
The Republic of Singapore is a small island state lying at the tip of the
Malayan Peninsula at the crossroads of South East Asia. Consisting of the
main island of Singapore and some 60 islets, Singapore has a land area of 637
square kilometres and a coastline of 193 kilometres. Singapore features as the
smallest country in South East Asia. The city-state is densely populated, with
a population of 3,440,693 (July 1997 estimate).
Building upon its strategic location, deep harbour and excellent infrastructure,
Singapore is a leading commercial and financial centre. The economy is
dominated by the manufacturing and service industries, with the main
income earners being computer equipment, petroleum products, processed
agricultural products and tourism. Singapore serves as a major entreport
centre serving the needs of the South East Asian hinterland. Trade is the
lifeline of the country, and has brought a high living standard to the city-state
with a per capita gross domestic product of US$21,200 (1996 estimate). The
port and airport facilities are amongst the busiest and most extensive in the
world.
Singapore has virtually no natural resources, and the environmental issues
which it faces are characteristic of a highly-urbanised city. There are no
problems associated with mining, forestry, large-scale agriculture or
indigenous peoples. The existing relevant issues pertain to pollution from
industrialisation and urbanisation and the protection of nature areas.
Pollution was recognised to be a problem since the 1960s, and significant
steps have been taken since to alleviate industrial and urban pollution.
Singapore today is a relatively clean, ordered and well-planned country, with
extremely stringent regulation of industrial pollution. The countrys acute
land scarcity and high population density have meant that very few
undisturbed natural areas remain. Water is in short supply, and Singapores
potable water needs are met through importing water from neighbouring
Malaysia. Singapores environmental challenges include maintaining a
pollution-free urban centre, preventing encroachment of the few nature areas
which remain and the prevention of marine pollution in its heavily-traversed
waters.
2. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
2.1 Structure of Government

Singapore is a republic within the British Commonwealth, and has

administrative and legal systems similar to Britains. The head of state is the
President, who has limited executive powers and is elected by popular vote
for six-year terms. Pursuant to the Constitution, the President exercises
executive competence over certain fiscal matters and the appointment of key
civil servants. The head of government is the Prime Minister, who is the
leader of the political party securing the majority of Parliamentary seats in
general elections conducted every five years. The Prime Minister is assisted
by a Cabinet, whose Ministers are appointed by the President and who are
responsible to Parliament.
2.2 Environmental Institutions
Overall management of the environment lies with the Ministry of
Environment (ENV). The ENV was first established in the 1970s as a
department within the Prime Ministers Office before eventually becoming a
full-fledged Ministry. It is responsible for providing the infrastructure for
waste management, as well as enforcing and administering legislation
relating to pollution control and public health. The Pollution Control
Department (PCD) within the ENV is in charge of environmental planning
and building development control, air and water pollution control and the
regulation of hazardous substances and wastes. Due to the governments
strong commitment to pollution control and also to Singapores small size, the
ENV has been largely successful in implementing its pollution control
programmes throughout Singapore.
The following is a list of government agencies with competence in
environmental matters:

Ministry

Area of Competence

Ministry of Environment
(ENV)
Environmental
Engineering Division

Sewerage, drainage, building management

Policy and Systems

Division

Environmental training, prosecution

Environmental Public
Health Division

General environmental health, quarantines,

vector control, food hygiene, public
education

Environmental Policy and

Pollution control, international policy
Management
Division
Ministry of National

Development (MND)
Urban Redevelopment
Authority, URA

Urban development

Public Works Department,

Public Works
PWD
National Parks Board

National Parks and nature conservation in

general

Parks and Recreation

Department

Recreational parks

Primary Production
Department, PPD

Animal quarantine, control of trade in

wildlife

Ministry of Trade and

Industry (MTI)
Economic Development
Board, EDB

Foreign investment promotion

Trade Development Board,

Trade promotion
TDB
Jurong Town Corporation,
Management of industrial zones
JTC
Productivity and
Standards Board, PSB

Standards and certification

National Science and

Technology Board, NSTB

Science and technology development

Ministry of Health
Department of Scientific
Services

Food testing

Ministry of Labour
Industrial Health
Department

Worker safety

Ministry of
Communications
Maritime and Port
Authority, MPA

Marine pollution

Land Transport Authority

Vehicular matters

3. NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
The environmental NGO movement in Singapore is fairly active, and liaises
closely with the government, media and industry. The NGOs consist
primarily of nature groups such as the Nature Society, Singapore (NSS) and

also groupings of companies like the Singapore Association of Environmental

Companies (SAFECO) and the Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SCIC).
The umbrella organisation which coordinates the activities of environmental
groups is the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), formerly known as the
National Council for the Environment. The SEC aims to promote
environmental awareness amongst the citizenry and constantly organises
public education programmes on the environment, including seminars on the
need for recycling and waste minimisation.
4. ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION IN SINGAPORE
4.1 Types of Legislation
The hierarchy of legislation in Singapore is as follows:
1. The Constitution of the Republic;
2. Acts enacted by Parliament;
3. Subsidiary legislation (in the form of Regulations and Orders) issued
by the Ministers.
4.2 Framework Laws and Provisions
The Singapore Constitution does not contain any provisions on the
environment. Neither does Singapore have a framework law on
environmental protection and management. There is no mandatory
environmental impact assessment (EIA) system laid out in legislation. The
present scheme of environmental management in Singapore is scattered
throughout numerous Acts and Regulations. EIAs are required on an ad hoc
basis at the discretion of the ENV. There has not been much judicial
pronouncement or comment on environmental matters - in fact,
environmental litigation is almost unknown in Singapore. The environmental
protection effort in Singapore is almost exclusively administrative in nature the relative success of environmental management in Singapore is primarily
due to the administrative efficiency of the ENV and other government
agencies operating within a relatively tiny country. Also, stringent planning
and zoning laws ensure optimal usage of land and proper siting of pollutive
industries.
Singapores small size and high urban density spare it of the environmental
problems commonly associated with larger countries with natural resource
extraction activities. Thus, problems relating to mining, forestry, large-scale
agriculture and indigenous peoples are non-existent. Two general categories
of environmental legislation exist - that dealing primarily with the regulation
of wastes and emissions from industries, hospitals, households and vehicles
(pollution control laws), and that dealing with the protection of natural areas
and wildlife (nature conservation laws).
The existing legislative framework has received some criticism for being too
diverse and scattered throughout many Acts. There have been calls for a

single framework law, and it appeared at one time that such a document
might be forthcoming. However, no progress seems to have been made in this
direction as of mid-1998.
A selection of major legislation pertaining to the environment can be found in
the Appendix.
5. PROBLEMS AND ISSUES IN LEGISLATION AND
IMPLEMENTATION
5.1 Dispersed Authority and Centralised Planning
Legislation related to the environment is found throughout at least two dozen
Acts. Not all of these Acts come under the administration of the ENV - for
instance, marine pollution matters under the Prevention of Pollution of the
Sea Act fall within the responsibility of the Maritime and Port Authority of
the Ministry of Communications, while nature conservation issues come
under the departments of the Ministry of National Development. Planning
issues are usually handled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Fortunately for Singapore, the dispersed authority over matters related to the
environment does not pose too severe a problem, for three reasons. First,
there exists a comprehensive planning process which draws together
representatives from all the relevant government agencies. Second, these
agencies meet continuously to coordinate the formulation and
implementation of their policies. Third, enforcement of laws by the relevant
agencies is relatively quick and stringent - this is facilitated by Singapores
small size. In other words, planning and implementation are highly
centralised activities in Singapore. This is made possible due to the unique
circumstances of Singapore, where the small size of the city-state and the
presence of a strong government allow for centralised planning and
enforcement without being hampered by provincial authorities or sectoral
interests.
In relation to planning, there exists a main document called the Concept Plan,
which broadly outlines land use policies in Singapore. These policies are then
translated into detailed proposals for local areas called "Development Guide
Plans" (DGPs). There are over 50 DGPs to cover the whole area of Singapore.
The implementation of the DGPs is coordinated by the Master Plan
Committee (MPC), which is a collaborative effort by all the public authorities
in Singapore. The MPC consists of representatives from the following
agencies:

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which is the national

planning authority overseeing land use planning in Singapore;

The Housing and Development Board (HDB), which is in charge of

building public apartments/flats (these house 80% of Singapores
population);
The Public Works Department (PWD), which is in charge of building
infrastructure such as roads;
The Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), which is in charge of building
industrial areas;
The National Parks Board, which takes charge of the two national
parks and two nature reserves in the country;
The Parks and Recreation Department, which is in charge of green
areas, parks and landscaping;
The Ministry of Environment (the Pollution Control Department and
the Environmental Health Division), which takes care of pollution
control and cleanliness in the city;
The Ministry of Defence;
The Ministry of Trade and Industry;
The Economic Development Board.

The basic environmental concerns that were considered in the Development

Guide Plans (DGPs) were:

Identification of development constraints and major land uses that

affect the environment, e.g. airports, live-firing areas for military
training, areas for pollutive and hazardous industries;
Projection of land needs for environmental infrastructure such as
refuse facilities (incinerators and dumping grounds), sewage treatment
plans, etc.;
Identification of possible areas for major utility installations and
infrastructural needs that may be pollutive e.g. gasworks, explosive
storage, other hazardous goods storage;
Identification of possible areas for nature conservation;
Continued protection of water-catchment areas.

Urban planning and development are also facilitated to a large extent by the
Land Acquisition Act, which allows the government to repossess land in a
compulsory fashion at lower than market rate compensation. This enables the
government to acquire land at a cheaper cost, and then conduct planning and
development measures in an effective manner. Compulsory land acquisition
is seen to be crucial in Singapore because the country is so small and short of
land. In the 1960s and 1970s, the government used compulsory acquisition to
great effect - it demolished many old structures on the land it acquired, and
used the "new" land to build high-rise apartments, offices, recreational areas,
public transport systems and roads, etc.

Given the relatively effective and efficient centralised planning mechanism in

Singapore, the dispersed authority over environmental matters and the lack
of a framework law do not appear to have severely hampered environmental
management efforts. That being said, there have been calls from certain
quarters to enact a framework, "umbrella" law for environmental matters.
Such a law would conceivably improve upon the existing system and refine
further the coordination of policy formulation and implementation. For one
thing, the current system requires too many licenses and permits to be issued
before factories can be operated - it would be advantageous if a framework,
"omnibus" legislation could consolidate all these disparate requirements.
5.2 Land Scarcity and the Protection of Natural Areas
In Singapore, a document known as the Singapore Green Plan establishes
broad policies for nature conservation. Under the Green Plan, 5% of the land
area is to be set aside for nature conservation. The Green Plans subsequent
Action Programmes identified 19 nature sites and 4 coral reefs as worthy of
conservation. In addition, tremendous attention is paid in Singapore towards
man-made greening, in the form of tree-planting and landscaping. The
city-state prides itself as a "Garden City", and is today one of the greenest
cities in the world.
To date, only 3% of the nature sites have legal protection under the National
Parks Act (2 National Parks and 2 Nature Reserves), and there exists no
protection of marine areas as entire ecosystems. Due to Singapores acute
shortage of land, conservation of huge swathes of biodiversity-rich areas
beyond the existing nature areas has been viewed to be impractical. Priority is
accorded instead, to man-made greening of highways, streets and residential
areas. This effort is welcomed by most Singaporeans, but naturalists like
members of the Nature Society, Singapore (NSS) feel that given the extremely
built-up environment, there is all the more reason to guard and protect
against the depletion of whatever little undisturbed natural areas and wildlife
which remain in Singapore. Hence, it appears that the debate over the
protection of nature areas will continue to feature prominently in the next few
years.
Another issue of note is the protection of wildlife. Violations of wildlife
conservation are largely unreported, and the general public is quite unaware
of the laws which protect fauna and flora. While the smuggling of
endangered species is judiciously monitored by the Primary Production
Department of the Ministry of National Development, the fines imposed are
inadequate and do not sufficiently deter potential offenders. There is
significant public ignorance on matters related to the environment, and more
public education is needed to redress this.
5.3 Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in Singapore

There is at present no legislation in Singapore making EIAs compulsory for

major developmental projects. However, as and when the Ministry of
Environment deems a particular project to have sufficient potential for
pollution that may affect public health, an EIA may be required. The Master
Plan Committee in practice, has required EIAs of developmental projects
which have pollutive potential. EIAs have to date been required for
petrochemical works, gasworks and refuse incineration plants, and detailed
studies are made as to the feasibility of locating an industry in a particular site.
The planning process under the Concept Plan and the DGPs ensure that
pollutive industries are sited far away from residential and recreational
facilities. With respect to foreign investments in Singapore, projects using or
storing large quantities of hazardous substances are required to engage
third-party consultants to conduct EIAs to support the establishment of a
plant in Singapore. To this end, the Ministry of Environment has
recommended a general format for EIA reports.
Hence, it can be seen that in spite of the absence of legislation requiring
mandatory EIAs, a comprehensive planning process exists to ensure that
industries are properly sited and environmental guarantees solicited from
project proponents. However, there have recently been calls to enact EIA
legislation to institutionalise the impact assessment procedure so as not to
leave EIA decisions to administrative discretion. It appears that under the
current system, EIAs are usually required, if at all, only of industries for
pollution control purposes - the position is less clear in other situations, such
as where a wooded or forested area with high biological diversity is to be
cleared for specific projects. Indeed, suggestions have been made that the
requirement for EIAs should not be confined to industries that have potential
pollutive capacity. It remains to be seen if the government will take up this
suggestion.
5.4 Soil Contamination
There are at present no laws to govern soil contamination, or to require that
this be cleaned up. This inadequacy was highlighted by an incident in 1996
whereby an oil companys refinery and storage terminal was found to have
contaminated the ground it was built upon over several years. The company
had maintained that unless it could be shown to have contaminated the
groundwater or cause wastes to be improperly stored, it had not broken any
laws. Nonetheless, the company has promised that it would clean up the site.
The Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), the body in charge of industrial estates
in Singapore, has introduced a "decontamination" clause in its leases to "high
pollution risk" industries. This requires the company to ensure at the end of
its lease that no pollution had been caused to the site. If pollution had been
caused, the company would have to clean up the site before returning the
lease.

6. CONCLUSION
The experience of Singapore is largely unique, due to her small size, lack of
natural resources, high population density and strong governance.
Environmental laws and regulations are efficiently administered through a
comprehensive planning process and stringent enforcement system. Calls
have been made by various quarters to further improve on the existing
system, such as enacting a framework law on the environment, formal EIA
legislation and regulations on soil contamination, as well as providing greater
emphasis on nature conservation. Pollution control has, by any measure, been
a success story in Singapore - it now appears that nature conservation issues
will feature increasingly on the environmental agenda in the years to come.
This will be a potentially challenging issue to resolve, given the pressures
imposed by land scarcity in densely-populated Singapore.
APPENDIX
SELECTION OF MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
I. Pollution Control and Environmental Health

Environmental (Public Health) Act, Chapter 95 (relating to public

health in general)
o Environmental Public Health (Markets) Regulations 1969
o Environmental Public Health (Hawkers) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Public Cleansing) Regulations
1970
o Environmental Public Health (Food Handlers) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Funeral Parlours) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Crematoria) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Food Establishment) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Manufacture and Sale of Ice
Cream) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Swimming Pools) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Toxic Industrial Waste)
Regulations 1988
o Environmental Public Health (General Waste Collection)
Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Notice to Attend Court)
Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Control of Noise from
Construction Sites) Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Corrective Work Order)
Regulations
o Environmental Public Health (Composition of Offences) Rules
o Environmental Public Health (Boundary Noise Limits for
Factory Premises) Regulations

Water Pollution Control and Drainage Act, Chapter 348 (water

pollution, sewerage, drainage matters)
o Sanitary Plumbing and Drainage Systems Regulations 1976
o Surface Water Drainage Regulations 1976
o Trade Effluent Regulations 1976
o Sewage Treatment Plants Regulations 1976

Clean Air Act, Chapter 45 (air quality)

o Clean Air (Standards) Regulations 1972, as amended 1978
o Clean Air (Prohibition on the Use of Open Fires) Order 1973

Factories Act, Chapter 104 (regulation of factories and working

conditions within)
o Factories (Abrasive Blasting) Regulations
o Factories (Asbestos) Regulations 1980
o Factories (Permissible Exposure Levels of Toxic Substances)
Order 1996
o Factories (Medical Examinations) Regulations
o Factories (Noise) Regulations

Hydrogen Cyanide (Fumigation) Act, Chapter 132 (handling of

hydrogen cyanide)
o Hydrogen Cyanide (Fumigation) Regulations

Petroleum Act, Chapter 229 (handling, transport and storage of

petroleum)
o Petroleum (Transport and Storage) Rules
o Petroleum (Storage License Fees) Rules
o Petroleum (Transport by Land - Fees) Rules

Road Traffic Act, Chapter 276 (vehicular pollution and traffic

congestion)
o Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Rules
o Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles) (Construction and Use) Rules
o Road Traffic (Restricted Zone and Area Licenses) Rules
o Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles, Quota System) Rules
o Road Traffic (Composition of Offences) Rules

Sand and Granite Quarries Act, Chapter 284

o Sand and Granite Quarries Regulations

Control of Imports and Exports Act, Chapter 56 (import and export of

controlled substances)
o Control of Imports and Exports (Montreal Protocol) Order 1989
o Control of Imports and Exports (Chewing Gum) Order

Hazardous Waste (Control of Export, Import and Transit) Act, Chapter

122A (implementation of the Basel Convention on the Transboundary
Movement of Hazardous Wastes)
o Hazardous Waste Regulations 1998

Control of Plants Act, Chapter 57A

Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act, Chapter 79

o Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects (Prescribed Form)
Regulations

Infectious Diseases Act, Chapter 137 (control of infectious diseases)

o Infectious Diseases (Quarantine) Regulations
o Infectious Diseases (International Certificates of Vaccination)
Regulations
o Infectious Diseases (Diphtheria and Measles Vaccination)
Regulations
o Infectious Diseases (Prescribed Form) Regulations

Poisons Act, Chapter 234 (handling of poisonous substances)

o Poison Rules
o Poison (Hazardous Substances) Rules 1986

Smoking (Control of Advertisements and Sale of Tobacco) Act, Chapter

309
Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act, Chapter 310 (banning of
smoking in public places)

Radiation Protection Act, Chapter 262

o Radiation Protection (Non-Ionising Radiation) Regulations
o Radiation Protection Regulations
o Radiation Protection (Transportation of Radioactive Materials)
Regulations 1974

Sale of Drugs Act, Chapter 282

o Drug Regulations
o Sale of Drugs (Prohibited Substances) Regulations
o Sale of Drugs (Prohibited Drugs) (Consolidation) Regulations
II. Laws Relating to Planning and Land Use Management

State Lands Act, Chapter 314

State Lands Encroachment Act, Chapter 315
Urban Redevelopment Authority Act, Chapter 340
Building Control Act, Chapter 29

Planning Act, Chapter 232

III. Laws Relating to Nature Conservation

Fisheries Act, Chapter 111 (regulation of fishing activities)

o Fisheries (Fishing Vessels) Rules
o Fisheries (Piranha) Rules
o Fisheries (Fishing Harbour) Rules
o Fisheries (Fish Processing Establishment) Rules
o Fisheries (Fishing Gear) Rules
o Fisheries (Fish Culture Farms) Rules
o Fisheries (Riverine Fishing) Rules

Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, Chapter 92A (handling

of endangered fauna and flora)
o Endangered Species (Import and Export) (Fees) Rules
o Endangered Species (Import and Export) (Amendment of
Schedules) Notification
o Endangered Species (Import and Export) (Prohibition of Sale)
Notification

National Parks Act, Chapter 198A

o National Parks Regulations 1990

Parks and Trees Act, Chapter 216 (parks not gazetted as national parks)
o Parks and Trees Rules
o Parks and Trees (Preservation of Trees) Order
o Officers to Exercise Powers of Police Officers within Public Park
Notification

Wild Animals and Birds Act, Chapter 351

o Wild Animals and Birds (Bird Sanctuaries) Order 1970
o Wild Animals (Licensing) Order 1975
o Wild Animals and Birds (Amendment of Schedule) Notification

Animals and Birds Act, Chapter 7

o Animals and Birds (Dog Licensing & Control) Rules
o Animals and Birds Shop, Poultry Shop, Hatchery (Licensing &
Control) Rules
o Animals and Birds (Licensing of Farms) Rules
o Animals and Birds (Pigeon) Rules
o Animals and Birds (Infirmary Fees) Rules
o Animals and Birds (Quarantine Rules)
o Animals and Birds (Pullorum Disease Eradication) Rules
o Animals and Birds (Veterinary Fees) Rules

Animals and Birds (Importation) Order

o Animals and Birds (Prohibition on the Importation of Pigs)
Order
o

Public Utilities Act, Chapter 261 (water catchment areas)

o Public Utilities (Composition of Offences) Regulations
o Public Utilities (Water Supply) Regulations
o Public Utilities (Central Water Catchment Area and Catchment
Area Parks) Regulations

Cattle Act, Chapter 34 (regulation of cattle)

o Cattle Regulations
o Cattle (Licence Fees) Regulations
o Cattle (Restricted Areas) Notification 1986
o Cattle (Restricted Areas) Notification 1987

Preservation of Monuments Act, Chapter 239

o Preservation of Monuments (Consolidation) Order
IV. Laws Relating to Marine Pollution

Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act, Chapter 111

o Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Oil) Regulations S 59/1991
o Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Noxious Liquid Substance in
Bulk) Regulations
o Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Reporting of Pollution
Incidents) Regulations
o Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Reception Facilities)
Regulations
o Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Detergent and Equipment)
Regulations
o Prevention of Pollution of the Sea (Composition of Offences)
Regulations

Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act, Chapter 180 (civil liability

arising out of oil pollution)
o Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Compulsory Insurance
Certificate) Regulations
o Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Regulations 1984

Port of Singapore Authority Act, Chapter 236 (regulation of port

activities)
o Port of Singapore Authority (Dangerous Goods, Petroleum and
Explosives) Regulations
o Singapore Port Regulations 1977

Source: http://sunsite.nus.edu.sg 2007