"PEEL" MAKES ITS APPEARANCE AT THE
18TH ASIA-PACIFIC REGIONAL SEMINAR ON
“CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM”
(23 – 25 OCTOBER 2007)

Meaningful educational quotes and doctrines from great sages in history articulated in technical seminars, the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI) certainly lent an exuberant human touch to hard environmental issues.  This was how Director of SEI Mr Ong Eng Kian impressed upon delegates of the 18th Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar on “Climate Change and Sustainable Tourism”, the importance of empowering people for environmental sustainability. 

Director (SEI), Mr Ong Eng Kian presenting during the Seminar

Indeed the fate of our physical environment lies in the hands of Earth’s inhabitants.  As the Chinese saying goes, as Mr Ong quoted, it takes ten years to grow a tree but a hundred years to cultivate a person.  Thus inculcating the right values and attitudes in stakeholders of the environment is by no means an easy task.  But SEI is taking it all in good stride.  The Programme for Experiential Environmental Learning (PEEL) gets people to appreciate the myriad wonders of living in a clean environment through its Clean Land, Clean Air, Clean Water and Public Health Trails, visiting places of action such as the incineration plant, vehicular inspection centre and mosquito laboratories among others.

Seminar audience includes delegates from various nations.

Delegates of the seminar continued to be spellbound by Mr Ong’s video presentation, learning about the appeal of PEEL and understanding its objectives.  In order for Singapore to remain the model for regional economies in caring for the environment and thus stay competitive in the global arena, its people must take the lead through an educated mind and a devoted heart.  Feeling for the environment through PEEL is one of the ways to get them imbued with that enthusiasm and sense of ownership.  The delegates were delighted to learn from Mr Ong that two potential trails on energy efficiency and resource conservation, respectively, are in the pipeline.

The bi-annual seminar was organised by the Germany-Singapore Environmental Technology Agency (GSETA) and this year’s theme focused on the dynamics between tourism development and environmental protection.  The 3-day seminar drew to its close with a site visit to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

Last updated on 25 Jun 08