SHARE TRAVEL NEWS: Singapore is the most amazing greenest city on Earth?

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Singapore is the most amazing greenest city on Earth?

(CNN)It's a small, dense, island nation where 100% of the population is urbanized.

And yet, the city-state of Singapore is the greenest city in Asia, according to the Green City Index, and arguably has few competitors in the rest of the world.

As Singapore's population and economy grew, so did its green cover: it was about 36% in the 1980s and it now stands at 47%, according to the Center for Liveable cities.

And while the word "green" can take on a variety of connotations, Singapore appears to encompass them all -- lush environments, renewable energy and future sustainability.

"We take steps to ensure our self-sufficiency," says Yvonne Soh, General Manager of the Singapore Green Buildings Council. "In Singapore we have a lot of initiatives to promote sustainability."

That's crucial, as the city-state lacks any form of natural resource. Half of the nation's water supplies are imported from neighbouring Malaysia, with the rest sourced from desalinization plants, efficient catchment of rainwater and recycling of sewage.

Fuel is also imported to meet energy needs, making alternative energy a national priority.

But greenery in the literal sense is also prioritized.

"If you build a new development, you have to replace the same greenery you replaced," says Yoh.

Singapore is only country to incorporate green building requirements into its legislation, according to Soh.

"Environmental protection was not assumed to be at odds with economic development," says Khoo Teng Chye, Executive director of the Centre for Liveable Cities. "The government saw that it was an integral part of city planning," he says. .....keep reading ... http://goo.gl/s94SVL