Description

The approval by the National Parks Board in 2016 for site investigation works in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve for feasibility studies for a Mass Rapid Transit tunnel under the surface of the reserve; and the subsequent decision by the Government in 2019 to go ahead with construction and operation of the tunnel, have raised two important legal questions: what is the scope of activities that may be permitted in a nature reserve; and what is the depth to which nature reserves are protected under the Parks and Trees Act? These are important questions because future subterranean developments in the nature reserves cannot be ruled out, and such developments must be guided by a clear understanding of what is and is not permitted under the Act. This seminar seeks to contribute to a discussion of these legal questions through an examination of the relevant statutory provisions, and where appropriate, their legislative history.

About The Speaker

Dr Joseph Chun is a member of the NUS Law Faculty’s Asia Pacific Centre for Environmental Law. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at NUS Law where he teaches environmental law to students from the faculty and in the Bachelor of Environmental Studies (BES) and the MSc (Environmental Management) (MEM) programmes. He has written widely on environmental law and is one of two co-authors of Environmental Law in Singapore (2019), Singapore’s first textbook on environmental law.