Nature parks and reserves to receive boost against climate change

NICHOLAS KHONG Today Online 26 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE — When Rifle Range Nature Park reopens to the public next year, visitors will return to a forest that is more resilient to climate change and caters better to native animals such as the Sunda Pangolin.

They will see a larger number of native plants such as Kumpang trees.

There may even be a chance for them to see the Common Palm Civet climbing new aerial rope bridges across Rifle Range Road, or the pangolin crossing beneath it using underground tunnels.

Rifle Range Nature Park is one of the eight nature parks buffering the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve that the National Parks Board (NParks) will restore over the next 10 years.

Announcing the Forest Restoration Action Plan on Friday (Jan 25), NParks said that it will also restore disturbed patches within the two nature reserves, which cover more than 3,000ha — around 4 per cent of Singapore’s land area — and are home to around 40 per cent of Singapore’s native flora and fauna.

The eight nature parks, such as Dairy Farm Nature Park and Springleaf Nature Park, occupy about 250ha of land. They serve as buffers from urban development for the nature reserves.

NParks and its community partners will plant more than 250,000 trees and shrubs over 10 years in the areas, said its group director of conservation Adrian Loo.

Much of the land in the nature parks was previously used for agriculture and while some vegetation has regenerated, some of these plots are not in an optimal state due to compacted and nutrient-deficient soil, Dr Loo said.

NParks wants to boost the diversity of plants in the nature parks and create a landscape akin to a mature rainforest.

“The genetic diversity in our tropical rainforests is amazing... we believe that this kind of natural heritage is important to protect for our future generations,” Dr Loo added.

The restoration strategy will be applied in future to other suitable green spaces managed by NParks.

Science underpins the three techniques under the action plan:

To improve the fertility of the soil, legumes and other plants that can boost nitrogen content will be planted. Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs will be introduced to attract animals and insects to help in pollination and dispersal of seeds.

Harmful exotic weeds that compete with native tree species will be removed. This will be done sensitively so that the habitats provided by some of these weeds will not be impacted.

Dominant and rarer tree species that are not easily dispersed will be introduced.

Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, was at Rifle Range Nature Park on Friday with other guests to mark the start of restoration works for the park.

Together with students from nearby schools and volunteers, Mr Lee planted trees.

Dr Shawn Lum, 55, president of the Nature Society Singapore and a volunteer with the Friends of Bukit Timah Forest community group, said: “I think this is really the first holistic plan to revitalise nature reserves, manage it better and involve the community, and the scientific community as well.”

Mr Joseph Koh, chairman of Friends of Bukit Timah Forest and the World Wild Fund for Nature in Singapore, said: “We spend millions (of dollars) restoring our national monuments but what we have here cannot be calculated in monetary terms. This is our heritage.”

As part of the efforts, the former Sin Seng Quarry will be restored into a freshwater habitat where animals such as the Malayan water monitor and heron can thrive.

Existing trails such as the Kampung Trail will also be improved with the installation of railings.

By providing visitors with an alternative to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, this will help to alleviate issues such as soil compacting and noise levels at the reserves.


NParks unveils 10-year action plan to make Singapore's rainforests more resilient
Farez Juraimi Channel NewsAsia 26 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board (NParks) unveiled a 10-year action plan on Friday (Jan 25) that seeks to "strengthen the resilience" of Singapore's native rainforests.

The action plan covers the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Central Catchment Nature Reserve and Nature Park Network.

In a press release, NParks said that the Forest Restoration Action Plan "will chart the restoration that will be undertaken over the next 10 years to regenerate the secondary forests in the nature parks buffering the two nature reserves, as well as disturbed patches within the reserves".

"This will assist the forests to regenerate and approximate a mature forest landscape in time," it added.

Buffer parks give the public a space to interact with nature and help lower visitorship pressure on the nature reserves. There are currently six of such parks covering more than 250 hectares, including the Rifle Range Nature Park.

As part of restoration efforts, NParks will engage the community in activities such as planting more than 250,000 trees and shrubs across the nature parks and open areas in the nature reserves.

The plants are native to Singapore and include nitrogen-fixing plants like the petai, as well as fruit-bearing trees like the kumpang and common sterculia.

Other measures carved out in the action plan include the installation of aerial rope bridges across Rifle Range Road, as well as underground culverts so that animals can move safely between the Rifle Range park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

On Friday, NParks' group director for conservation Dr Adrian Loo highlighted the importance of community stewardship.

“We always believe in community stewardship. By actually planting a plant, they will feel like they own the forest as well. We are encouraging that kind of community stewardship over the forest," said Dr Loo.

Mr Joseph Koh, chairman of the Friends of Bukit Timah community group, also expressed hope that the action plan would become a national effort.

“What we really need to do is explain to the community, to our younger generation, the science and the broader strategic considerations behind this programme," said Mr Koh. "They can (then) see precisely (that) what we are doing has a multiplying effect on how the forests can be further protected.”

The works in Rifle Range park are scheduled to be completed by next year.

Restoration efforts at the park began on Friday, involving Second Minister for National Development Desmond Lee, as well as advisers for the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Also participating were nature group members and 80 students from Fuchun Secondary School, Nanyang Girls' High School and ITE College East.

Source: CNA/zl(hs)


250,000 trees and shrubs to be planted in NParks' 10-year forest restoration plan
Jolene Ang Straits Times 25 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE - To protect and restore Singapore's forest landscape, the National Parks Board (NParks) will plant 250,000 trees and shrubs in nature parks and reserves here over the next 10 years.

The Republic's first-ever Forest Restoration Action Plan will involve two nature reserves - Bukit Timah and Central Catchment - and the eight nature parks surrounding them.

NParks started restoration works at Rifle Range Nature Park on Friday (Jan 25).

Among other things, the works will involve planting tree species that can increase nitrogen levels in the soil, which encourages plant growth.

More dominant and rare species of rainforest trees and shrubs will be planted, said NParks in announcing the plan.

Its group director for conservation, Dr Adrian Loo, said: "The genetic diversity in our tropical rainforests is amazing.

"There are still things we are discovering and rediscovering, and we believe this natural heritage is important to protect for our future generations."

The move to restore the forest landscape comes under the Nature Conservation Masterplan laid out in 2015, which sets the course of Singapore's biodiversity conservation plans.

The masterplan covers four broad themes - conservation, restoration, research and community outreach.

Said Dr Loo: "It's important to ensure that our diversity (in these nature parks) is not lost, and that we keep on protecting it."

A community tree-planting session was also held on Friday at the same location.

It was attended by Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, as well as advisers from Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and Ms Sim Ann, and students and members of nature groups.

Nanyang Girls' High student Foong Wei Qi, 15, who helped remove weeds at Rifle Range Nature Park, said: "We hope the native plant species will thrive better after we clean up this part of the forest.

"Singapore is known as a garden city, so we want to protect this place."

Wei Qi is a member of her school's Nature Society, which is involved in school-wide environmental initiatives.

Mr Joseph Koh, chairman of the Friends of Bukit Timah Forest community group, said it is important to get students to understand the science behind their efforts.

"This is a good step, but it should not be a one-off thing. We need a sustained effort," he said, referring to the involvement of students in the restoration works.

"We spend millions restoring our national monuments but what we have here cannot be calculated in monetary terms - this is our heritage."

Mr Koh is also chairman of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore.

The Friends of the Parks is an initiative to promote community ownership and stewardship of the parks in Singapore.

Restoration works for Rifle Range Nature Park will be completed in 2020.

NParks said works for the other areas involved in the Forest Restoration Action Plan will be carried out progressively.

Members of the public who are interested in volunteering can sign up at www.nparks.gov.sg/contribute/volunteer