Saving the forest in Bukit Batok Hillside Park: A case for Nature conservation and sustainable development

How many of you can recognise the seed in the above picture?

For those of you who grew up in Singapore, I believe you would have seen rubber seeds before in a nature park or forest, especially when you were younger and there was more greenery.

Some of you may have collected the seeds for science lessons or for personal collection.

However, Singapore has seen rapid urbanisation the past few decades, and many rubber plantations have made way for development.

I was fortunate to see rubber trees in the abandoned Bukit Batok Hillside Park while hiking recently.

It is a former rubber plantation and now a regenerating secondary forest.

Alas, this forest may not last long as HDB is considering it for housing development.

They have hired a consultancy firm to conduct an environmental impact study of the park, whose results were released on HDB website for public feedback in July.

If the development plan were to go ahead, we would not only lose our natural and cultural heritage, but also the forest's biodiversity and its ability to mitigate urban heat island effect and air pollution.

We are racing against time to save the forest, since a number of other forests (such as Bidadari, Lentor-Tagore and Tengah forests) have been sacrificed in the name of development over the years.

It will be a sad day when our children and grandchildren have no real forest to go for a walk or field trip or nature appreciation.

Imagine them growing up not being able to see or touch a rubber seed in real life, and only see it in pictures in books or on the Internet.

May I invite you to sign the petition to support nature conservation and sustainable development for ourselves and our future generations?

Click here to view the petition.