22 Apr 2008
President of Cultural Center of the Philippines Mr Nestor Jardin
Distinguished guests, friends and fellow Singaporeans
I am honoured to be invited to give a short message before we start today's Earth Day Celebration.
2 The theme for this year's Earth Day celebration is "water". Water is the giver of life. We can survive for days and even weeks without food. But without water, we will not live beyond 3 to 5 days. We are surrounded by water. Earth is a water planet but 97% of its water is in the oceans. But sea water without desalination is undrinkable. I quote an old phrase that you may know: "water, water everywhere but not a single drop to drink".
3 The remaining 3% of Earth's water is locked in the Antartic icecaps or deep underground, leaving less than 1% available for human use in freshwater lakes and rivers. We need water to survive, we need water to grow our food, many industries depend on water to operate, and we use and enjoy water for recreation. Yet most of us do not treat water as a precious commodity. We have allowed rivers, lakes and the seas to be polluted. We waste water everyday. For example, we use about a liter of water when we wash one cup under a full tap of running water. We forget that there are millions of people today across the globe who still do not have access to drinkable water.
4 Singapore is a small country with very limited natural freshwater supplies. We have to import all our drinking water. So water management and conservation has always been an important priority to us. The Singapore Government has embarked on a long term sustainable water management programme by using new and improved water technologies like desalination and recycled water. Today we have brought a few bottles of recycled drinkable water called "NEWater" which is produced by a Singapore company using membrane technology. Please feel free to sample a bottle after this.
5 We are also turning our reservoirs and waterways into vibrant lifestyle attractions where people can enjoy recreational activities and learn to appreciate the importance of water and its links to our living environment. Singapore will be hosting the inaugural "Singapore International Water Week 2008" in June this year. This event will bring together decision makers from governments and corporations to discuss global water issues with water experts from round the world. We hope that the Philippines will be represented.
6 The CCP, under the leadership of Mr Jardin, is launching a waste water management programme. We congratulate Mr Jardin for this timely iniative. The CCP is also spearheading the Manila Bay clean up project as part of the Earth Day celebration. Mr Jardin has long term plans to transform the Bay Area into a vibrant recreational center. It is a challenging goal and deserves our full support. The Singapore Embassy, supported by the Singapore community here in Manila, is honoured and happy to be part of the CCP's Manila Bay clean up project. We can only play a very small part but we hope that today's activities will raise public awareness of the importance of keeping our living environment green and clean so that future generations can continue to have access to a safe living environment.
7 We are deeply encouraged by the strong support of our friends and sponsors. I want to thank Singapore Tourism Board, GLOBE, ASCENDAS, Keppel Philppines Properties, Singapore Airlines, Development Bank of Singapore, Carmelray Industrial Corporation, APL Limited, the Anvil Business Club, Bank of Philippine Islands Foundation, Jolibee Foundation, Singapore Philippine Association Vice President Mr Philip Tan, F&N 100-Plus, Asia Brewery Inc, CPG Philippines and ICCP for your presence and generous contributions. I wish to also thank our partners, Haribon Foundation and Conservation International for their cooperation. Of course, this meaningingful endeavour would not have been possible without the leadership of Mr Jardin and the CCP.
8 Maraming Salamat Po!
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