Heavy penalties will deter people from felling trees

Straits Times 16 Aug 09;

With reference to the article, 'House owner fined $6,000 for cutting down 3 trees' (July5), the punishment puts those who cut down trees unnecessarily in the same class as vandals who deface other aspects of Singapore's heritage.

This sends the correct message.

In another case, some people who made unauthorised alterations to a conservation building were forced by the authorities to restore it to its original condition.

Very sadly, in the case of lost trees, the damage cannot be so easily undone.

After mature trees have been felled, even if the culprit offers to plant fairly large 'instant' trees, it will be decades before the replacements can provide the same shade and cooling effect on the area's micro-climate as those that were lost.

The presence of heavy penalties must therefore be highlighted to discourage people from removing mature trees.

That said, the Government should set a better example by making sure that its contractors do not reach for their chainsaws to clear sites as the first step in carrying out development projects.

I witnessed sadly the loss of a great number of fine old trees along Airport Road, Eunos Link and in Serangoon Gardens when those areas were 'upgraded'.

Surely, with better planning, many of those trees could have been saved?

Lee Chiu San