Authorities say access to Changi intertidal areas unaffected by reclamation, in response to petition

SINGAPORE – Planned reclamation works to expand Changi Aviation Park will not affect access to popular intertidal areas off Changi Beach Park, the Housing Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in a joint statement on July 28.

They also said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the project contained security sensitivities that required confidentiality agreements before the public could view it.

The two agencies were responding to concerns raised by nature enthusiasts over whether plans for the area will limit public access to the rich shorelines of Changi.

At low tides, the area often draws people hoping to glimpse anemones, octopuses and other marine creatures.

A petition raised by nature guide Neo Xiaoyun and environmental storyteller Julian Paul Lee called for HDB to scale back its plans for the reclamation in the light of the area’s intertidal ecosystem.

It also flagged concerns that the Government’s consultation of the public over the works had been undermined by its use of non-disclosure agreements.

On July 2, The Straits Times reported that about

193ha of land off Changi will be reclaimed

– roughly twice the size of Gardens by the Bay. It is one-fifth smaller than originally planned to protect one of Singapore’s largest seagrass meadows.

The intertidal areas near the project are one of the last accessible places for the public to experience the rich biodiversity of Singapore’s shores, Ms Neo and Mr Lee said in the open letter penned on July 13.

To date, more than 1,440 people have signed the petition, which called for the Government to review the use of confidentiality agreements for EIAs and prioritise public access to non-sensitive information in these reports.

Ms Neo and Mr Lee, both 29, wrote that the blanket use of a confidentiality agreement runs counter to the purpose of environmental assessments, which is to incorporate diverse views and protect natural heritage through public input.

HDB and URA said they require the public to view the hard copy of EIAs if there are considerations requiring confidentiality, including security sensitivities, such as in the case of the Changi North reclamation.

They said: “For such (assessments) – rather than not disclose them altogether – we would facilitate the viewing of the reports, both during and after the public disclosure period, but would require viewers to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which covers the specific sensitive information within the report.”

The authorities noted that most reports for EIAs are made available online for public feedback for a stipulated period.

Giving more details about the reclamation in Changi North, they said Carparks 6 and 7 of Changi Beach Park will not be affected.

As part of the planning for the Changi North project, HDB, in consultation with the National Parks Board (NParks), had engaged stakeholders with local conservation experience and technical knowledge of the area’s biodiversity and habitats. They included nature groups, youth representatives and academics.

Ms Neo told ST that she welcomed the authorities’ time and effort to engage with the petition, although there was still room for improvement.

“The use of confidentiality agreements is still worded quite broadly, so this still creates a chilling effect that dissuades meaningful civic engagement,” said the master’s student studying geography and environment at the University of Hawaii.

She suggested that the agencies and contractors for future assessments could consider consulting nature guides familiar with the affected areas, as their years of observational data and experience can complement surveys.

Among those who signed the petition is Ms Ria Tan, who has been running local marine biodiversity database WildSingapore since 2003.

She said: “It shouldn’t be too difficult to scrub sensitive information and sanitise the final presentation, the same way that they do for final reports by journalists... if an agency really wants to get genuine feedback, they can scrub information, so there is nothing that needs a confidentiality agreement.”

Ms Tan said she has declined on principle to participate in engagements with at least four agencies and organisations that required confidentiality agreements.

She cited NParks and national water agency PUB as government agencies that have shown it is possible to engage the public on coastal projects without using confidentiality agreements.

“I am very impressed by the current effort of the PUB Long Island project team on holding consultations with a broad spectrum of stakeholders,” she said.

Ms Kong Man Jing, who runs science and nature YouTube channel Just Keep Thinking, said HDB could consider organising another public feedback session, given the outcry from stakeholders who were not consulted.

The former teacher, who conducts intertidal walks in the area, said part of the outcry came from nature enthusiasts and groups that explore the area off Changi Beach Park almost every week but had not been consulted.

Cyclists and other recreational enthusiasts who use the affected Changi Bay Park Connector have also been vocal on online forum Reddit about the lack of consultation, she added.

“The Government can imitate the consultation sessions that were conducted for Long Island, which were quite public-facing.

“It doesn’t have to be as large-scale as that, but at least one session would help us acknowledge that the agency did try to engage the public,” said Ms Kong.

The public feedback period for the proposed land reclamation works in Changi North has closed, but members of the public can still e-mail HDB to view the report.

Associate Professor Jolene Lin, director of NUS Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law, said making EIAs more accessible would result in society making better decisions.

She said: “To assume that expertise can be held only by a number of qualified people is to deny having as many sources of information as possible to enhance decision-making.”

Governments elsewhere have resorted to redacting information to protect national security, rather than requiring members of the public to sign confidentiality agreements, she noted.

Environmental law experts said the lack of legislative teeth for EIAs in Singapore lags behind international norms.

Unlike Singapore, places like Hong Kong, South Africa and the US have legislation setting out how agencies should conduct such assessments.

Citing a 2018 UN Environment Programme global review of EIA laws that concluded that the EIA systems of almost all countries today are based on legislation, Prof Lin noted that Singapore is in the minority.

Environmental law academic Joseph Chun added that introducing such laws would clarify the minimum procedures needed for public participation.

Dr Chun, who also teaches at NUS, said: “Greater clarity in this regard may spark greater public interest and involvement as well as debate when proposed developments are likely to result in significant environmental impacts, which include contributing to climate change.”

The reclamation project in Changi North is one of several to create more land in the eastern end of Singapore, including the reclamation of about 900ha off Changi Bay.