Concept Plan 2011 - Express your views to preserve nature in Singapore

Was reading the newspaper today, and saw that the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is embarking on the review of the Concept Plan and is seeking the public's views and aspirations for Singapore's future.

More details can be found at http://spring.ura.gov.sg/conceptplan2011. Thought this is really a good opportunity for nature lovers to express our views on how badly we want to preserve the few nature spots we have left in Singapore!

Quoting from the website:

As the Concept Plan will shape Singapore's future, it is important that the CP2011 incorporates the views and aspirations of the public. Through this online survey, we would like to seek your views on:

1. How we can maintain and enhance our quality of life even as we continue to plan for future growth
2. How we can provide for the needs of an ageing population
3. How we can nurture and retain our unique identity to make Singapore an endearing home
4. How we can all contribute to create a sustainable Singapore which balances growth with responsible environmental management

There are 4 main sections that there are surveying, and I have included them here as well for your reading convenience:

Enhancing the quality of our living environment

As Singapore continues to grow and develop over the next 40-50 years, we need to ensure that we continue to maintain and even enhance the quality of our living environment. Considering Singapore's limited land resources, we will need to make choices in how we accommodate diverse interests and aspirations.

Your feedback will help in determining the kind of living environment that we should plan for in the long term to ensure that Singapore remains a great city to live, work and play in.

Meeting the needs of the eldery

In the coming years, Singapore will have a larger ageing population. It is thus important to examine both how to care for the elderly and the types of elder facilities that we should cater for. Beyond just providing for housing and healthcare needs of the elderly, are there ways that we can better support and encourage active ageing & independent living?

We would like to seek your views on housing, healthcare and activity needs of the elderly to ensure good quality of life for all.

An endearing home

As Singapore continues to grow and develop into a distinctive global city, it is important to consider how we can continue to nurture and retain our unique identity to ensure Singapore remains an endearing home.

We would like to seek your views on what aspects of our country or which places are special to you and give you a sense of belonging to Singapore.

Sustainiable growth for Singapore

With limited land resources, sustainable development has always been a necessity and not an option for Singapore. The government has taken the lead in guiding our sustainable efforts. In January 2008, the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Sustainable Development (IMCSD) was set up and in May 2009, the IMCSD unveiled the Sustainable Development Blueprint to guide our development for the next 10 to 20 years. The government has also carried out a wide-ranging and comprehensive study of what more can be done to further reduce our emissions growth, and has committed that Singapore will undertake voluntary actions to reduce its emissions growth to 16% below 'business-as-usual' levels by 2020, provided other countries also commit to do their part to adopt significant targets and implement their commitments in good faith.

The blueprint has identified key goals and initiatives to:

1. Improve our resource efficiency (eg. reduce domestic water consumption, raise recycling rate),
2. Enhance our urban environment (eg. improve air quality, increase skyrise greenery),
3. Build Singapore into an international knowledge hub for clean technology,
4. Make environmentally-friendly practices an integral part of our daily lives.
5. Everyone needs to play a part in building a sustainable Singapore. We hope to seek your views on how we can contribute to build a sustainable Singapore together.

Looking at the above, it seems like it's possible to add in some nature concerns into each category.

So if you are passionate about preserving the nature spots in Singapore, this is the time to voice your opinions.

Whether they accept the suggestions or not is a different issue though, but at least, let's get our views heard! :)