According to a recent report, the construction of a traffic interchange, which will connect residents of the upcoming Tengah town to the Kranji Expressway, is likely to have an irreversible impact on forest patches of high conservation value that cannot be mitigated. Clearance of about 22ha of forested land and vegetation to make room for the vehicular interchange is also expected to be detrimental to 13 ecologically important plant species, and reduce the natural habitat for rare fauna. These adverse findings of an environmental impact assessment (EIA), commissioned by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), draw attention to the need to balance conservation and development in Singapore’s economic trajectory.

That is not easy, as the present case demonstrates. However, a solution has to be sought. In this case, it consists of mimimising the impact of invasive development by replanting about 3 per cent of a forest corridor cleared for the flyover once works are completed, and building a culvert to facilitate the movement of wildlife. However, some conservationists focus on the report’s limited scope and hence its inability to account for the impact of all construction projects in Tengah forest and surrounding green spaces. Whether the planned measures are sufficient to shield wildlife from development, therefore, remains a question. The LTA, on its part, is committed to undertaking necessary mitigation measures and working with environmental consultants. Singaporeans who care for the natural habitat will watch the outcome of those deliberations carefully.