The Pan Pacific Conservation Foundation, whose chairperson Mr. Peter Zhu also sits on the board of China’s Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology Foundation, announced the disbursement of over $73,000 to environmental groups in Singapore. This sum, presented as an expansion of support for environmental causes, arrives as the region continues to grapple with accelerating pressures of climate change and environmental degradation, often stemming from the very economic activities that generate such philanthropic capital.
On May 22, the foundation publicly supported People’s Movement to Stop Haze (PM.Haze), Nature Society Singapore, and the Institute of Technical Education during a beach clean-up at Changi Beach Park. The event, coinciding with the International Day for Biological Diversity, saw staff, volunteers, members of these organizations, alongside co-chair of the PAP Climate Action Group Poh Li San and Pasir Ris-Changi GRC MP Valerie Lee, remove 171kg of marine debris. This state endorsement of private philanthropic efforts frames the crisis as manageable through individual action and limited funding, rather than systemic change.
Who Profits from Destruction?
Mr. Zhu, a Chinese national, stated his vision for Singapore as a hub for philanthropy in South-east Asia, a region he noted is home to nearly 15 per cent of the world’s tropical forests and a third of coral reef species. He emphasized the region’s rich biodiversity and potential for storing planet-warming carbon, while simultaneously advocating for the integration of "environmental thinking into supply chains." This approach seeks to manage the environmental externalities of capital accumulation rather than challenging the extractive practices themselves. The base article explicitly states that haze from forest and peatland fires typically arises from human activities such as slash-and-burn methods deployed by farmers and corporations in Indonesia to clear land for plantations. These corporate land-clearing operations represent a direct link between capital’s pursuit of profit and ecological destruction.
The foundation’s ongoing support includes two peatland restoration projects in Indonesia, involving the Singapore-based PM.Haze and Indonesian non-governmental organisation Yayasan Gambut. Mr. Zhu stated that this philanthropy "enables local partners to educate and work with indigenous communities to become stewards of these ecosystems." He added that by "safeguarding and protecting these regions, the supported local communities are preserving natural carbon sequestration ecosystems, thereby contributing to climate change mitigation." This framework positions indigenous communities as managers of environmental damage, rather than empowering them to resist the corporate forces that necessitate such "stewardship."
The Illusion of Philanthropy
Ms. Beatrice Baquero-Salah, PM.Haze’s partnerships and outreach manager, confirmed the funds would cover costs for RE.Peat 2026, an expedition for young people to learn about environmental issues in Indonesia. She expressed gratitude, noting the scarcity of grants for cross-regional and intercultural projects. While these funds provide temporary relief for specific programs, the total local disbursement of over $73,000 pales in comparison to the scale of environmental degradation driven by corporate expansion. Around the region, the foundation supports over $500,000 in grants, a figure that remains a fraction of the capital generated through the very industries contributing to ecological collapse.
Giving to environmental causes in Singapore accounted for only 4 per cent of total giving in 2023, significantly lagging behind areas like social service and welfare. Furthermore, grants disbursed by the Community Foundation of Singapore between April 2024 and March 2025 allocated just $510,000, or about 1.78 per cent, to environmental causes. These figures reveal the systemic underinvestment in addressing ecological crises, with capital prioritizing social management over fundamental environmental protection. Nature Society Singapore executive director Huang Ningxin noted the foundation’s funds helped engage over 1,620 students and teachers in a citizen science and nature education program, leading participants to support advocacy and conservation. However, such educational initiatives, while valuable, do not challenge the structural economic forces driving habitat destruction and climate change.
Mr. Zhu’s invitation for local environmental organisations to "connect with us so that we can explore collaborative partnerships" signals a continued strategy of integrating grassroots efforts into a philanthropic framework that ultimately serves to manage the symptoms of capitalist exploitation rather than confronting its root causes. The promise that "these projects are sustainable because the communities are also taught how to responsibly manage the conserved areas on their own while tapping on the land’s resources for their livelihood" suggests a reliance on the continued extraction of resources by these communities, rather than a fundamental shift away from the economic pressures that lead to environmental destruction.