Part of a string of forest habitats that could have provided wild animals with a safe haven, in the midst of development in the Tengah area, has been levelled.
The plot at the junction of Bukit Batok Road and Bukit Batok West Avenue 2 has been cleared for a Housing Board Build-To-Order (BTO) project, checks by The Straits Times show. The development in question is HDB’s West Scape@ Bukit Batok project, a seven-block, 1,140-unit residential development.
It cuts off a green highway that could potentially be used by native animals, such as critically endangered pangolins, to move from the western catchment to the central nature reserves, say experts.
The authorities are taking steps to improve the situation, by adding an additional landscaped stretch and nature ways, or roadside plantings, and looking into whether a canal can be turned into a biodiversity corridor to help the animals travel.
Still, Dr Ho Hua Chew, vice-president of the Nature Society (Singapore), said that prior to the clearance of the forest plot, the Bukit Batok area had been fraught with disturbances, including busy roads, light and noise. Wiping out the vegetation there further disrupts the route that wildlife can use to move from forest to forest, he said.
National University of Singapore biology lecturer N. Sivasothi pointed out that in Singapore’s already fractured forest landscape, it is important to give animals a series of “stepping stones” to allow them to move from one vegetated area to the next to find food and mates. “Without such connectivity, the fear is that animals could become isolated and inbred, making them more vulnerable in the long term to disease and other stressors.”
In response to queries from ST, the authorities said they are building a 5m-wide landscaped stretch along the boundary flanking Bukit Batok West Avenue 2. This complements a future park connector and the existing Tengah Nature Way, said HDB and the National Parks Board. Nature ways are essentially roadside planting designed to replicate the natural structures of forests by including various levels, such as shrubs to tall emergent trees.
ST understands that agencies are also assessing if the canal along Bukit Batok West Avenue 2 can be converted into a 30m-wide biodiversity corridor, which could facilitate the movement of animals.
Mr Sivasothi welcomed the authorities’ commitment to include an additional 5m-wide landscaped stretch within the HDB project. “This is welcome news indeed, having something is an improvement,” he said, pointing out that it was important to factor connectivity into overall land use plans, rather than at the level of individual projects.
Some species of birds, such as parakeets, eagles and others that can fly longer distances, will be able to use the fragmented patches of forests as stepping stones from the Tengah forest to Bukit Batok Nature Park or the nature reserve and vice versa, said Dr Ho.
“But for ground-moving animals such as reptiles, mammals and birds that are short-distance fliers, like babblers and tailorbirds, they will not be attracted to move through this highly built-up environment, even with the 5m-wide path, which will be alongside a busy road.”
He said luring wildlife through corridors in residential areas may also increase the incidence of human-wildlife encounters.
The authorities said there are other existing areas for animals to travel, including canals, park connectors and nature ways, in the Bukit Batok and Bukit Timah areas. More nature ways are also on the way, they said.
The HDB plot is located across from the upcoming 700ha Tengah new town, on which about 42,000 new homes will be built. To make way for it, the majority of the regenerated forests there will be cleared.
According to HDB, a study it commissioned had found that most of the Tengah vegetation was of “low conservation significance”. But ecologists disputed this because the Tengah forest was considered an important connectivity node.
To facilitate the movement of wildlife, HDB said it will build a 15m-to 20m-wide forest fringe around the town, as well as a 100m-wide, 5km-long forest corridor through the estate that will be “part of the larger network of greenery that connects the western water catchment area and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve”.
HDB said it has been engaging nature groups on developments in Tengah over the past few years to find ways of balancing nature with land use for housing and other uses.
Said an HDB spokesman: “We will continue to consult and take on board the views and suggestions of all stakeholders, including the nature groups, and further fine-tune the plans for Tengah.”
“Source:[BTO project causing disruption to Bukit Batok wildlife corridor] © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction”
