SINGAPORE - Nestled in the HomeTeamNS Adventure Centre in Bukit Batok is a young forest earmarked for housing, where a songbird that has been poached close to extinction worldwide has been spotted. To limit the impact on the straw-headed bulbul – critically endangered around the world – and other wildlife that live in the plot of land or use it as a pit stop, a new report published on May 19 proposes to retain a patch of the young forest when works for a new neighbourhood begin in Bukit Batok. The young forest sprung up on land cleared around the 1960s. Retaining the 0.48ha area – which is smaller than a football field – is among key measures proposed by the environmental impact assessment, which aims to ease the impact of development on Singapore’s native flora and fauna. This is about 9 per cent of the roughly 5.5ha of existing vegetation on the site, which also includes urban greenery, forested orchards and a fragment of scrubland. The development will also be built on the land occupied by the Bukit Batok Driving Centre, a heavy vehicle park and a driving range. The planned neighbourhood of about 14.5ha at the junction of Bukit Batok Road and Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 has mainly been set aside for future housing since 2014. The environmental impact assessment was commissioned by the National Parks Board (NParks) on behalf of the Housing Board to guide planning in the area. The retained area aims to continue to serve as a “stepping stone” for wildlife moving from Singapore’s western forests to the central nature reserves, even after most of the vegetation is cleared for housing. Also saved in the patch would be 11 of 20 flora species in the site that are of conservation significance, as well as the endangered gaping fig tree (Ficus glandulifera). The study found a total of 117 animal species in the area during the study in 2024. Of these, three are of conservation significance, including the straw-headed bulbul. Singapore serves as a stronghold for the songbird, with a third of its world population found in Singapore. The other two are the Swinhoe’s white-eye bird, which is considered vulnerable to extinction in Singapore, and the shade-loving harlequin butterfly on the verge of extinction here.   While the vegetated plot in the area is small compared with other forested habitats in Singapore, it is considered a key “stepping stone” linking Bukit Batok with the other green spaces nearby. These include the remaining vegetated areas in neighbouring Tengah, where forest clearance is ongoing, to Bukit Gombak Park. The report found that the planned works will disrupt this connection that helps wildlife to travel across a larger area in search of food and mates. If their movement is disrupted by development, the healthy exchange of genetic material for the flora and fauna in Singapore’s western forests, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve could be affected. To protect this green link, the report proposed preserving the sliver of young forest, and planting native flora throughout the estate, to compensate for the habitat loss. It said the planted vegetation could form a green link weaving through the upcoming estate, that simulates the upper layers of a forest. This can facilitate movement for fauna that can fly. Additionally, NParks is also studying installing crossings to facilitate movement for wildlife that cannot fly, according to the study. However, even after adopting the report’s recommendations, the 146-page study by Tembusu Asia Consulting found that development will cause noticeable stress on flora and flying fauna when works are under way.   Members of nature groups and biodiversity specialists welcomed the attention to protecting wildlife of Bukit Batok, where years of construction in the area and the neighbouring Tengah estate has led to the loss of forest habitat. Ecologist Anuj Jain, who has visited the site several times, said the proposed plans to limit impact were robust for a “very small” parcel with a decent diversity of butterflies dependent on the forest – a sign that the spot is well-connected with surrounding forest patches. Meanwhile, head of outreach for nature group Singapore Youth Voices of Biodiversity Jayden Kang called for HDB to go one step further by retaining the whole 5.5ha vegetated plot, citing observations that the replanting of native vegetation does not mean associated wildlife will be attracted. He argued that the natural connection between forests in Singapore’s central and western areas has already suffered a great blow with the mass clearing of Tengah, so the loss of any remaining forest patches like the Bukit Batok site puts a bigger hole in the wider connectivity landscape. He added: “It’s like death by a thousand cuts.” The report published on the Housing Board’s website is open for public feedback until June 15 at 6pm. There has been no official indication for when development will begin, but there are signs that the homes in the neighbourhood will be ready in the 2030s. The Bukit Batok Driving Centre recently had its lease extended until Dec 31, 2028, while the clubhouse replacing HomeTeamNS’ recreational facilities is expected to be built by 2031.

3rd kit is a beauty @Cybertan

touch by ah tiong = to cut corner