JUL 31, 2002

I REFER to the article, 'Jakarta seizes seven ships smuggling sand' (The Sunday Times, July 28).

As I understand it, land-reclamation projects in Singapore are carried out by pumping coarse marine sediment, found in deeper waters farther offshore, to fill up shallower coastal strips.

Landfill material is also brought in from neighbouring countries. Indonesia is an economical choice due to its close proximity.

I ask the relevant authorities in Singapore to verify the source of imported landfill material, the legality of the import, and the environmental impact where the material is extracted.

Reclamation projects are tendered out to foreign contractors. Lapses in their environmental and legal ethics do not make us any less responsible as the marine aggregate is used for our developmental purposes.

Allow me to cite an example that I am familiar with, where the extraction of marine aggregates has caused detrimental environmental and socio-economic impact.

In Britain, to feed London's high demand for construction material, sand is robbed from submarine locations along the southern coast. Adjacent beaches suffer from erosion as a result.

While beaches are eroded continuously, they are also rebuilt constantly by depositing sediment transported in by the along-shore current.

Here, sediment essential to sustain beaches comes from coastal submarine sands. When the project was first conceived, no one predicted any overt environmental effects. However, indirect impact, such as coastal erosion, has occurred.

I understand the purpose of land reclamation in Singapore. However, socio-economic development should not be at the expense of the environmental quality of our hinterlands.

This is especially so when seemingly harmless mining operations may lead to as-yet-unknown or unacknowledged serious knock-on environmental impact that affect our neighbours.

Even if no one raises the problems, it does not mean that we should be any less conscious of the environmental issues.

TAN CHOON MING

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