Is there no place for our very own Albizia?

Letter from Yap Yang Ming, Straits Times Forum 10 Dec 07;

Are we going to fell every single Albizia tree in a knee-jerk reaction to a freak accident that killed a person several months ago?

A FEW years ago, I experienced a magical moment while serving national service.

While waiting for a lecture to start on the fourth floor of a building, I took the chance to soak in the lush greenery around me. Suddenly a flock of dazzling white Goffin's cockatoos flew by and landed on a big, majestic tree.

My heart jumped with excitement as I knew that Goffin's cockatoos are endangered in their native lands in Indonesia and had established themselves in Singapore only in the last few decades.

To my amazement, a flock of long-tailed parakeets (native to Singapore) flew by and settled on the same tree and started having friendly squabbles with the cockatoos in a flurry of intoxicating colours.

On closer inspection, I realised that the cockatoos were actually nesting in one of the holes in the tree and the tree was none other than our humble, native Albizia tree.

Albizia trees are able to colonise on sub-fertile soils as they are from the leguminous group. They harbour useful nitrifying bacteria in their roots which convert nitrogen in the air directly to nitrates which fertilise the soil.

It is therefore not too far-fetched to say that we owe our current lush secondary forests to Albizia trees. Because of their size and height, they also provide nesting areas for cockatoos and hornbills and many other birds which require mature trees to nest in.

They are also majestic, beautiful trees to behold and, most importantly, they soak in vast amounts of carbon dioxide because of their size.

So I was shocked on reading Ms Chong Kuan Mui's letter about the Singapore Land Authority's intention to fell 63 Albizia trees ('Retain scenic trees in South Buona Vista Road'; ST, Dec 6).

Many other Albizia trees have been felled in other locations, including in Bedok Reservoir Park and Yio Chu Kang.

What is SLA and National Parks Board's stand on Albizia trees? Is there no place in Singapore for our very own native Albizia tree?

Are we going to fell every single Albizia tree in a knee-jerk reaction to a freak accident that killed a person several months ago?

Albizia trees have been with us for a very long time and have survived many extremes of weather, including strong winds. What makes the authorities think that other exotic trees from other lands are able to do the same?

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