Mid Term

1. Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio in 1992, the Singapore state has embraced a more sustainable approach to managing its environment. Using specific examples outline the principles that underlie this approach and evaluate their successes. 2. Despite the state s commitment towards greening Singapore, much of what constitutes nature in its landscapes is still highly contested . Using specific examples, evaluate the success of the garden city concept in Singapore in the light of this statement. Geographers use landscapes as window or a lens to understand social life and change . With reference to the landscapes produced in maintaining a clean and green Singapore in the last three decades and society s reactions to such landscapes, illustrate your understanding of this concept.

3.

4. In the face of rising global environmental consciousness, nature continues to be allocated a small role in the effort to make Singapore clean and green . Evaluate the validity of this statement with relevant examples. 5. The brown agenda has been very effective in tackling the environmental challenges brought about by rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in Singapore. Assess the validity of the statement. Do you think this style of managing the environment will continue to gain popular support in Singapore in the next twenty years? 6. Rising affluence and increasing global pressure to care for the environment has led to the green agenda gaining more prominence in Singapore from the 1990s onwards. Evaluate the accuracy of this statement citing relevant examples to support your argument. 7. Nature will continue to play a relatively small role in Clean and green Singapore in the next two decades. Justify why you agree or disagree with this statement.

8. Suppose you sit on the planning committee of the National Parks Boards(NParks). Analyse the challenges of coming up with a blueprint for the management of green spaces in the context of a more affluent society in Singapore over the next twenty years. 9. From colonial times and to modern day, nature has been manipulated and even designed to fit the needs of humans. How have the manipulations of nature in post-colonial Singapore contributed to the process of nation-building? Cite TWO examples to support your answer. 10. The biophysical landscape of Singapore is planned based on the concept of green pores within the urban form. Planners argue that nature and business of the city should appear as a seamless tapestry. Explain what has been done in Singapore since independence to achieve this intention. 11. Conservation of natural heritage in many countries translates into policies that protect and preserve biodiversity. As the speed of urbanisation and industrialisation in Singapore has been rapid, protection of biodiversity is not possible. Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.

12. Why is nature allocated a relatively small role in the effort to make Singapore clean and green ? 13. Landscape changes experienced in Singapore in the last forty years have been driven mainly by an ideology of pragmatic and utilitarian efficiency. Using the example of preservation of Singapore s biodiversity, indicate to extent to which you agree with this statement.