Reconciling Economic and Environmental Imperatives in Batam
Lee Poh Onn | March 2018
Abstract
Batam’s economic growth has been nothing short of spectacular. In the 1990s, it experienced an investment boom fuelled by investments from Singapore. This lasted for two decades and transformed the economy and landscape of what was an outpost into a place with a major industrial city of over 1 million inhabitants. This impressive pace of development has often been accompanied by a marked degradation of the natural environment. Mangrove areas have rapidly disappeared, floods have occurred around the city because of erosion caused by land clearing; illegal squatter settlements have intruded into protected forests, and toxic substances from the offshore cleaning of ships have affected the quality of Batam’s coastal waters. But all is not lost. Economic and environmental imperatives can be reconciled if Batam’s development trajectory takes into account the impact of economic growth on the environment. Sustainable development is not impossible.
Citation
Lee Poh Onn. 2018. Reconciling Economic and Environmental Imperatives in Batam. © ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/8050.PDF ISBN
978-981-4818-34-6
Print ISBN
978-981-4818-33-9
ISSN
0219-3213
Keywords
Environmental Resources
Policy Environment
Regulatory Environments
Sustainable Development
Environmentally Sustainable Development
Ecodevelopment
Development Challenges
Development Issues
Capital Market
Development
Development projects
Environment
Capital Market
Natural resources policy
Development policy
Resources development
Forest site mapping
Environmental Management
Nature Protection
Environmental Conservation
Landscape Protection
Environment impact assessment
Environmental impact statements
Agricultural landscape management
Sustainable forestry
Sustainable horticulture
Environmental indexes
Protection of environment
Environmental geotechnology
Natural areas
Natural beauty conservation
Urban impact analysis
Developing countries
Industrial priorities
Partnership
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