Fewer people caught venturing off designated trails in nature spaces: NParks

SINGAPORE – Hikers and bikers caught straying off designated trails in nature spaces have become rarer in recent years, the National Parks Board (NParks) told The Straits Times.

The number of such cases that the board has taken enforcement action against has fallen from about 430 in 2021, when Covid-19 pandemic restrictions hampered travel, to roughly 85 in 2024, said NParks group director of conservation Lim Liang Jim.

The risk of such activities surfaced in June after a man was hit by a bullet slug while cycling with his friends along a popular unofficial cycling route in an area closed off to the public in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.

Mr Lim said enforcement action is taken against visitors who disregard signs and opt to go off-trail, the bulk of whom are handed fines and warnings.

Only a handful are prosecuted in court. The latest case to conclude involved a man who was fined $11,000 in 2021 for taking a dog into a nature reserve, trespassing into an area at Upper Peirce Reservoir Park and other offences.

However, enforcement cases reveal only the tip of the iceberg, nature guides and consultants said when recalling their encounters with such trespassers during wildlife surveys.

Nature guide Ivan Kwan of Nature Adventures SG said that as part of his work conducting nocturnal fauna surveys, he has encountered “quite a few groups” within Windsor Nature Park, even though walking in the park is prohibited after 7pm.

He said: “When we confronted them and told them that they are not supposed to be entering the nature park at night, they pleaded ignorance and left immediately. However, it does raise the question of how often this happens on other nights when we’re not around.”

Other hot spots include Rifle Range Nature Park, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Chestnut Nature Park.

Even with the decline in cases, every errant visitor runs the risk of endangering himself and causing lasting damage to the surroundings and the wildlife that live there.

Mr Lim said visitors who stray from designated trails risk injuring themselves by getting lost, falling down and encountering wildlife like hornets. Getting help in such situations can also be hampered due to the difficulty of pinpointing their exact locations, he added.

In 2021, a man hiking an unmarked trail was trapped in a ditch for about 90 minutes after misjudging its depth. Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force had to trek about 2km to locate him.

Wandering off the beaten path can take a toll on the untouched spaces enjoyed by thrill-seekers.

Mr Lim said: “Going off-trail may cause damage to the forest floor beside the paths or trails.

“Human activity in these areas can also affect animal movement, or result in trampling of plant saplings, some of which could be endangered species.”

Singapore Wildcat Action Group co-director Vilma D’Rozario, who has bumped into cyclists in restricted zones during biodiversity surveys, said bikers riding off-trail, usually at high speed, run the risk of running over wildlife and killing them.

The cyclists she encountered turned back after they were instructed to leave, but some have been known to return to these areas when “they feel the coast is clear”, she added.

She said: “The nature reserve is ‘on reserve’ for a reason – to protect our precious biodiversity, several species of which, like the leopard cat, are critically endangered.”

While wandering off the trail is acceptable in some countries, Singapore’s green spaces are too small to accommodate “free for all” usage, said Mr Dennis Chan, founder of nature outreach group The Untamed Paths.

Conservationists suggested that more intensive education efforts and employing community rangers could help deter people from straying.

Mrs Shamla Subaraj, who runs Strix Wildlife Consultancy, said: “Given the recent incidents and safety concerns, more signage noting the risks of entering these nature areas after a stipulated time is needed.”

Both she and Dr D’Rozario called for park rangers to patrol the nature reserves, with the option of citizen conservationists joining these patrols as volunteers.

Alternatively, a middle ground could be found for undeterred thrill-seekers in unofficial routes that do not harm wildlife, suggested Mr Chan.

He said: “For those popular off-trail routes, perhaps NParks can consider opening them seasonally or running guided nature walks from time to time, like how it does with Chek Jawa Wetlands. A more grassroots approach would be to directly engage the different communities that tend to go off-trail and perhaps explore alternative routes or options for these groups.”

Those caught straying off designated trails in nature reserves can be fined up to $2,000.