Semakau: Singapores multi-purpose island

Pulau Semakau may be one of Singapores proudest creations to date, seeing that it is

the worlds first offshore landfill. Indeed, Pulau Semakau is definitely useful as a landfill to

dump Singapores waste. However, the construction of this offshore landfill does not come

without any problems. This S$610 million landfill has resulted in issues such as the concern

for the conservation of biodiversity on the island (Murdoch, 2008). The aim of this report is

mainly to discuss my opinion on Pulau Semakau acting as the governments attempt to juggle

sustainable development, conservation, and Singapores waste disposal needs and so on. There

is also need to touch on Pulau Semakau - or any other future offshore landfills - as a sustainable

measure for waste management. As beautified as it seems, Pulau Semakau is merely a waste

disposal site. Yet, this unique landfill has managed to promote itself as a multi-purpose island,

with many important functions in the development of Singapore, such as the ongoing research

projects about conservation and biodiversity and even a possible ground for renewable energy

generation (Feng & Chua, 2012).

Singapore has been pushing for sustainable development in terms of waste management

through Pulau Semakau. In my opinion, one of the main objectives of the Semakau landfill

should be to increase awareness of the waste disposal situation in Singapore, hopefully spurring

people to reduce their wastes or commit to recycling along the way. This offshore landfill is a

short term solution to a long term issue, since it is expected to only last until 2045 and cannot

be said to be a totally sustainable solution for our heaps of waste produced. While the landfill

solves our immediate problem of getting rid of the 19 800 tonnes of waste generated daily, the

problem of waste disposal in its entirety is still not solved. However, without any substantially

convincing program or movement to persuade people to reduce the 7 269 500 tonnes of waste

from the year 2012 alone (NEA, 2013) or to encourage recycling, the landfill will just be filled

up sooner rather than later. Therefore, it is important that the Singapore government is able to

make use of Pulau Semakau to show to its citizens that our offshore landfill is not inexhaustible

and waste reduction is key in obtaining a sustainable waste disposal measure.

Apart from the role that it plays in waste management, Pulau Semakau is also in

conjunction with Singapores goal of being a green city, by reducing our carbon emissions due

to energy production through the generation of renewable energy. As mentioned previously,

the future of Pulau Semakau might just be an eco-park, serving as a new testing ground for

Singapores supply of renewable energy resources. By setting aside space for solar panels to

be placed and wind turbines to be set up, Pulau Semakau could potentially provide power to

more than 5000 HDB flats (Feng & Chua, 2012). This possible future function is likely to be

highly beneficial to Singapore, as it provides us with more space to grow and develop as a

nation while our demand for energy increase. This could be a step forward in our quest to

becoming a more self-sustainable country in terms of energy resource availability. As the

government explores more possibilities regarding the plight of Pulau Semakau, the eco-park

plan is definitely a more viable alternative which Singapore should consider.

Perhaps one of the most important goals which Pulau Semakau attempts to achieve is

the conservation of the biodiversity within the island. Seeing that Singapore has also committed

to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) which states that a nation should protect their

biodiversity, it is only natural that Pulau Semakau, an area with is biologically rich, should be

protected for conservation purposes as well. Under the National Biodiversity Strategy and

Action Plan (NBSAP), research projects such as the Seagrass Monitoring Project, the Coral

Nursery Project and other works have been done to maintain Pulau Semakau as a natural area

which is rich in species (NParks, 2009). These ongoing efforts are to ensure that Pulau Semakau

does not lose its uniqueness as a natural area.

Although the Singapore governmental bodies such as NParks are trying to do what they

can to salvage the situation or the habitats of the precious organisms living on the island, it still

does not make up for the damage that has already been done to the biodiversity of Pulau

Semakau. Processes such as the filling up of cells causing corals and other organisms to die or

the clearing of the mangrove forests, causing many organisms to lose their habitats. Even

though we are trying to restore the state of the mangroves in Pulau Semakau, controversies

have been sparked due to the replanted mangroves being of the same species, decreasing the

variety of species in the mangrove forests in Pulau Semakau. It is absolutely necessary for us

to conserve this remaining area, especially in the case of mangrove forests as Singapore is left

with only a mere 0.5% of Singapores land area being mangrove forests (Ng & Sivasothi,

2001), which could be home to a vast selection of organisms.

If Singapore could further promote the safeguarding of Pulau Semakau as our natural

heritage area, our nation would stand to benefit tremendously from using it as an educational

resource to teach children and adults alike about our natural history and background. Currently,

the National Environment Agency (NEA) is hosting educational tours and nature walks in

Pulau Semakau. From my perspective, this is an essential aspect as a function of Pulau

Semakau as it acts as a tool for inform the public about conservation, waste management and

the history of this unique island. Education is highly important as only with the gain in

knowledge can the public be more equipped to tackle waste reduction issues and conservation

of biodiversity. Even though bringing in members of the public onto the island may affect the

carrying capacity of the island, it is necessary to make this small sacrifice for the greater good

of society since raising awareness of Pulau Semakau is need to ensure that the future leaders

of Singapore is well-informed in our waste situation.

To sum it all up, overall, Pulau Semakau is definitely a boon rather than a bane to

Singapores society. It has successfully facilitated us in alleviating land and water pollution as

a result of improper waste disposal, even though it is certainly not a flawless solution. It is a

highly versatile island due to the island serving many purposes other than waste management.

However, there is still going to be a continuous struggle between different parties regarding

whether this offshore landfill is really worth Singapores investment due to the problems or

controversies it has resulted in. Perhaps one of the problems which should be highlighted is the

future plans of waste disposal and the seemingly unsustainable and destructive Phase 3 of the

Semakau Landfill. Will Singapore simply count on the expansion of the island for our waste

disposal needs in the future should our recycling efforts fail to take off?

References

Feng, Z., & Chua, G. Prime Minister, National Climate Change Secretariat. (2012). Resolving

the green energy tri-lemma. Retrieved from The Straits Times website:

http://app.nccs.gov.sg/news_category_overview.aspx?pageid=98&secid=63

(Accessed 14 September 2013)

Murdoch, G. (2008, May 21). Trash and burn: Singapore's waste problem. Reuters. Retrieved

from http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/05/22/us-waste-singapore-

idUSSP9046620080522 (Accessed 14 September 2013)

National Environment Agency. National Environment Agency, (2013). Waste statistics and

overall recycling . Retrieved from website: http://app2.nea.gov.sg/energy-

waste/waste-management/waste-statistics-and-overall-recycling (Accessed 14

September 2013)

Ng, P., & Sivasothi, N. (2001). Mangrove forests in singapore. Retrieved from

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1003.htm (Accessed 15 September 2013)