Update on the petition

Dear fellow petition supporters,

Many of you may have read the local news on 7 December 2020 about the two new nature parks in Singapore; namely, Bukit Batok Hillside Nature Park and Bukit Batok Central Nature Park.

Overall, they are good reports, but there is still much to be done for nature conservation and sustainable development.

After examining the map in the news articles, I realise that nothing has changed much for the Bukit Batok Hillside Park (BBHP) area, which will occupy 8.9 ha, including one of the streams and the small catchment area, as a designated nature park.

HDB is still planning to develop 2 plots of land for housing, which will occupy almost half of the 17-ha forested area, where the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out.

HDB is also planning to launch the first batch of BTO flats in this area in Feb 2021.

I feel that it is much better to build these BTO flats on redeveloped sites elsewhere than to destroy parts of a fairly mature secondary rainforest and its rich biodiversity in this area.

As for the so-called "Bukit Batok central nature park", I learnt that it refers to the existing forested hill where the civil service club and the MRT tunnel are located.

To me, there is nothing new, as this forested area is already in existence, just that it was formerly unnamed.

Thus, it is important to note that half of the BBHP area and the whole forested hill next to BBHP are still planned to be developed, according to the revised URA master plan as of today. (Please see attached map) 

This petition will continue to press for the conservation of the entire forested areas in this vicinity for the sake of our biodiversity (including endangered flora and fauna that depend on the forests for survival), our battle against adverse climate change, and our health and well-being, etc.

Meanwhile, let's mourn for the loss of the forest in a section of Pasir Ris Park, near where the recent wild boar attack took place. 

May we continue to seek to cherish and protect the few remaining forests we have, so that our animal friends have safe homes to live and co-exist with us in peace too. 

Your encouragement and continued support is much appreciated.