PUBLISHED ONJune 04, 2026 11:56 AMBYWong Dao EnA patch of land in the protected Central Catchment Nature Reserve which contained saplings and shrubs planted by volunteers was unlawfully cleared last Friday (May 29).
A National Parks Board (NParks) officer carrying out routine inspections on Tuesday morning in the area, located within Lower Peirce Reservoir, found the land cleared by a contractor — for temporary storage of materials — without approval.
"NParks immediately instructed the contractor to stop its work and remove the storage items. NParks intends to replant the site," the board's group director for conservation Lim Liang Jim told AsiaOne in reply to queries.
The affected area had been planted with native saplings and shrubs as part of the OneMillionTrees movement last year, Lim said.
About 40 saplings and shrubs within half of the original tree-planting site was cleared by the contractor.
NParks had earlier told the contractor's site supervisor on a few occasions that the area was not suitable for their storage space, and advised them to use an alternative location, Lim said. But the contractor went against the board's direction.
"NParks will investigate this incident and will not hesitate to take action against the errant parties," Lim added.
Under the Parks and Trees Act, it is an offence to cut, collect or displace any tree or plant within any national park or nature reserve without permission. Offenders face a fine of up to $50,000 and/or up to six months' jail.
The OneMillionTrees movement aims to plant a million trees across the country by 2030. To date, 870,430 trees have been planted since its launch in April 2020.
Speaking to AsiaOne, Andie Ang, the chairperson of the Raffles' Banded Langur Working Group, said it was alerted to the incident by a volunteer who was on the ground at about 2pm on Tuesday.
The group is an alliance of nature organisations, including NParks, dedicated to conservation works relating to the eponymous rare primate that resides in the forested Central Catchment Area.
Upon receiving photos of the incident, Ang immediately forwarded it to NParks, who told her they were investigating the incident.
Two hours later, the volunteer noticed that the construction materials had been removed, with the area cordoned off.
Ang said the incident is "shocking" as it happened inside a protected area and is a habitat restoration site.
She said the group had organised the tree-planting exercise last year under the OneMillionTrees movement, in which volunteers planted five different species of plants, two of which serve as food sources for the langurs.
Ang also expressed concern about how the movement is being monitored, as well as the survival rate of trees that have been planted.
"We need to ensure something like this never happens again," she said.
In photographs seen by AsiaOne, a sign that read "reforestation in progress" can be seen. Ang said it was put up on Thursday.
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daoen.wong@asiaone.com
