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Nature parks and reserves to receive boost against climate change

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.

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 will restore over the next 10 years.

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 will restore over the next 10 years.

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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.

An artist’s impression of the aerial view of the freshwater habitat at Sin Seng Quarry and the forests of Rifle Range Nature Park. Photo: NParks

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. 

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