Our “Business and the Environment” course had a terrific and insightful presentation on CITES enforcement by Dr. Anna Wong, Director (Import and Export Regulation Department/ Quarantine Department), Quarantine Inspection Group, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).  Because Singapore is a major transit point for trade into and out of Southeast Asia, Singapore’s active scrutiny of goods coming through its ports of entry, both at its shipping port as well as its airport, has been a crucial part of CITES enforcement in this part of the world.  AVA’s work has not only led to notable seizures in Singapore, such as hundreds of elephant tusks in March of this year (elephants are listed in Appendix I and thus subject to CITES’ strictest protections), but also success in helping to bust wildlife smuggling rings in Africa.  Of course, Dr. Wong also acknowledged that interdiction of wildlife smuggling cannot be the sole answer to the broader challenge of conserving endangered species and that controversial questions about sustainable management (and hunting) of endangered species and their role in species conservation remain unresolved.  Overall, it was a very thoughtful and educational lecture.

Later that same day, our class also visited the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) at Maxwell Chambers.   We were treated to detailed lecture by Chris Bloch on the role and process of arbitration as an alternative to traditional litigation in resolving international disputes.  SIAC has become a leading arbitration forum, and its case load has increased rapidly in the last couple of decades.

On a lighter note, here are pictures of me, Joseph Ewald and Alexander Miller enjoying an evening in Chinatown.  The highlight of the evening was Alex braving a taste of Durian, the King of Fruits.

We were treated to an interesting lecture about Singapore’s water supply system and tour of its original prototype water reclamation system last Wednesday afternoon.  Assistant Director YEO Sheng Wei of the Singapore PUB (Singapore’s water authority) Industry Development Department provided us with a detailed description of the history, policy, and current components of the water system.  Because Singapore is a city-state with a very limited land base, virtually no natural resources, and only a very limited natural freshwater supply that can provide potable water to the country’s resident.  That has forced the government to be very forward-looking and innovative in addressing the population’s water needs.  Interestingly, the city has looked to places like California to learn about options for water management.

The country’s water supply comes from what is described as 4 national taps:  1) local watersheds/catchments (from natural rainfall), 2) water imports (from Malaysia), 3) NEWater, and 4) desalinated water (from ocean).  The last two taps have become only important in Singapore over the past few decades because of the limited prospects and uncertainty associated with water imports from Malaysia.  The water imports from Malaysia have arrived courtesy of two treaties, one of with expired a few years ago. The other treaty, a 100 year agreement originally concluded in 1962, guarantees water delivery until 2061.  In order to ensure a stable and secure water supply beyond 2061, Singapore developed the NEWater system and water desalination plants.  The desalination plants are quite straight-forward and use technology that has been developed in other places.  I found NEWater to be most fascinating.

In essence, NEWater is recycled water — waste water (. . . . sewage, arrgh) cleaned up enough so that it can be fed back into the potable water systems.  The NEWater Visitor Center that we toured actually provided illustrations of the advanced technological processes that clean up the water.  After waste water goes through the traditional treatment process of a waste water treatment plant, it is fed through additional filtration processes, including a final reverse osmosis filtration, producing water so pure that it is used for industrial processes such as silicon wafer production (in semiconductor manufacturing).

However, it turns out that only a small fraction of the city’s tap water is made up of NEWater, and even that part is fed through the city’s reservoirs first rather than being mixed into the drinking water system directly.  The reason for the relatively small percentage (about 5%) contribution is the remaining psychological aversion to drinking NEWater.  That has remained an issue even though the country’s prime minister himself drank a small bottle of NEWater at a televised event introducing NEWater to the public some years ago.  Among Singapore’s current strategies to make its citizens become comfortable with NEWater is a requirement that all school children must visit the NEWater Visitor Center in order to understand Singapore’s water issues and gain a better understanding of NEWater.

We were given free samples of NEWater, and I can now say (proudly?) that we all drank the NEWater . . . . it tasted fine. . . .   That was a few days ago, and I am still fine – or at least I feel fine, not a bit ill . . . .  Anyway, jokes aside, the water tasted like any other bottled water . . . no odors or after-taste.

The afternoon visit proved to be a highly educational experience that gave all of us a much better appreciation for water.

Here’s an interest environmental law tid-bit:  What is the only modern, wealthy country without an  environmental impact assessment law?  Singapore!  Even though the state has an efficient environmental governance system, for example being on the forefront of illicit wildlife trade interdictions, there is a notable gap in its environmental law system.

I have been taking advantage of one of the the many bike share companies here in Singapore.  The picture is of an Anywheel bike. It’s been incredibly convenient – bikes are unlocked with a smartphone app, and the app keeps track of the bike’s whereabouts via GPS. And even though public transportation is quite well designed, having a simple means of transportation for shorter distances has been very convenient, especially in this tropical heat and humidity. The government also encourages use of bikes (and electric scooter) by allowing people to ride on the sidewalks and setting aside special bike lanes on the sidewalks in some parts of the city. One of the great benefits for a tourist like me has been the ability to avoid the street and cars. Singapore follows the British in driving on the left side of the road, which has led to me having near-accidents in the past when I have been in this part of the world.
The company that I have been using, OfoBike, charges Singapore $1 per hour, but a minimum of 50 cents per use. One downside: sometimes, it’s not easy to find a bike if one is away from certain areas. On the flip-side, unlike docked bike shares, one can leave the bike close to one’s destination (but in a legal bike parking area), rather than having to finding a bike dock. Overall, for me, thumbs up for this mode of last-mile transportation.

Postscript: I spotted this on my morning run. Mmmh – probably not good bicycle parking practice.

Our “Business and the Environment” course had the opportunity to visit Singapore’s Supreme Court on Wednesday.  Fascinating to hear the story of this legal system and how this country’s judiciary has been taking active steps to market its system across Asia, especially as a preferred forum and choice of law system to resolve commercial disputes. We also had a chance to observe part of a criminal appeal that was taking place in the High Court.  One of the most interesting aspects of our visit was the back-story to the architecture of the building Supreme Court building.  The top floor is designed to resemble a space ship (a flying saucer) and symbolizes the institution’s forward-leaning future-oriented perspective.