S2E38: Singapore’s green paradox: Planting trees while losing forest cover

Our hosts try to make sense of conflicting developments in this city state. Synopsis: Every first and third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times provides you with a South-east Asian perspective to global environmental challenges. Trees can keep urban environments cool, and Singapore has been leveraging this “superpower” of nature by expanding its tree-planting efforts. There is a plan to plant a million trees across the country by 2030, while organisations are rolling out microforests and skyrise greenery to beautify and cool down concrete environments. Yet, at the same time, Singapore is also cutting down secondary forests to meet other national needs, including for housing and industrial purposes. How can we make sense of this green paradox? Listen to the discussion on this episode of Green Pulse, and stay tuned till the end for a special announcement! Highlights of conversation (click/tap above): 1:50 How has Singapore’s greening strategy changed over the years? 11:40 What are some existing tools used in Singapore to make decisions on which secondary forest plot to conserve or develop? 18:15 Can Singapore consider an EIA law or biodiversity offsets? 25:25 Do Singaporeans recognise the inherent value of nature? Green Pulse LinkedIn newsletter: https://str.sg/green-pulse-nl Follow Audrey Tan on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/848W Read her articles: https://str.sg/JLM2 Follow David Fogarty on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/jcvy Read his articles: https://str.sg/JLMu Hosts: Audrey Tan ([email protected]) & David Fogarty ([email protected]) Produced & edited by: Hadyu Rahim Executive producers: Ernest Luis & Lynda Hong Follow Green Pulse Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops: Channel: https://str.sg/JWaf Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWaY Spotify: https://str.sg/JWag Feedback to: [email protected] --- Follow more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7 Get more updates: http://str.sg/stpodcasts The Usual Place Podcast YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast --- Get The Straits Times app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX --- #greenpulseSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.