Dear petition supporters,

"How about Tengah forest?"
 
This question may have occurred to some of us when we read about petitions to save Bukit Batok Hillside Park area, Clementi Forest and Dover Forest since last year onwards.
 
After all, Tengah forest is much bigger, having an area of 700 ha.
 
It is described as "one of the largest contiguous pieces of green area" in Singapore, serving as an important ecological corridor between Western water catchment and Central catchment nature reserve.
 
However, its plight has been relatively unknown to many people.
 
As noted in an article published by Rice Media on 5 June 2021:
 
"Unfortunately, being located remotely meant that there was little fanfare when it was announced that the forest would soon give way to what was termed the “Tengah Forest Town”, an HDB residential estate resembling the size of Bishan."
 
Thankfully, Nature Society of Singapore (NSS) has been engaging with HDB, URA and NParks regarding the baseline study on Tengah forest done in 2017.
 
So far, Tengah forest has been fenced up for construction works, and about 30% or more of the forest has been cleared.
 
This means 70% or less (or about 490 ha or less) of the forest and its remaining biodiversity are still intact.
 
Also, HDB is currently conducting an EIS in the north of Tengah, which "is expected to be completed around the 2nd quarter of 2021. HDB will continue to engage the nature groups and share the findings when ready".
 
Meanwhile, NSS has found the mitigation measures to be "woefully inadequate".
 
As described in the article, "The land area of the corridor, which totals only 10% of the original forest or less, is inadequate in accounting for the volume of species present..."
 
Thus, the fate of the rest of Tengah forest, together with its rare and endangered species, is hanging in the balance.
 
Many of the endangered species, such as Sunda pangolins, straw-headed bulbuls, changeable hawk-eagles and Malayan box turtles, etc, are forest-dependent, so they wouldn't be able to adapt well to urban areas.
 
In view of the pandemic, climate emergency and biodiversity loss, can we do something about Tengah forest, given its significant impact on the microclimate and ecosystems?
 
Perhaps it is not too late to make our voices heard for the sake of a better and more sustainable future for all of us.
 
May I invite you to click the link below to support the preservation of at least 30-50% of Tengah forest to prevent further biodiversity loss and tackle climate emergency?
 
https://www.change.org/tengahforest
 
P.S. For those of you who have supported any of the above-mentioned petitions in one way or another, it's thanks to you that we have come so far in creating awareness and having conversations on nature conservation and sustainable development.