Parts Of Kranji Woodlands Cleared For Apparent Development, Narrow Strip Of Rail Corridor Left Behind
Recently, nature lovers have been all abuzz over conserving nature spaces in the West like Clementi Forest and Dover Forest.
However, another forest may have gone slightly under the radar — the Kranji Woodlands Forest.
So much so that a nature lover who visited the area this month was aghast to find that large patches of land had already been cleared.
He said he and other nature lovers were “caught by surprise”, as they weren’t consulted on the development.
Drawn to rustic beauty of Kranji Woodlands Forest
In a Facebook post on Sunday (14 Feb), nature lover Brice Li said that he last visited Kranji Woodlands Forest in May 2019.
During that visit, he was so drawn to its rustic beauty that he made a drone video.
Rail Corridor runs through it
From the video, we can see that the Rail Corridor also runs through Kranji Woodlands.
That creates a lush valley framed by greenery on either side.
According to the book “The Green Rail Corridor – A Biodiversity and Ecological Overview”,
The woodland is the result of plant succession though the decades from grassland and scrubland, which are still in evidence in small patches in the area.
The scene looks like it wouldn’t be out of place in a fairytale instead of Singapore’s concrete jungle.
Some of the birds that have been seen there are the Lesser Coucal.
As well as the Crested Serpent Eagle.
Forest located next to Kranji & Woodlands roads
In case you’re wondering why people may not have about it, the Kranji Woodlands is located in a far-flung area of north-western Singapore.
The 70-hectare forest is bounded by Kranji Road, Woodlands Road and Sungei Pang Sua.
The MRT’s North-South Line cuts through it, as it travels between Yew Tee and Kranji stations.
Hence, unless you live or work in the area, you probably won’t pass by unless you make a special trip.
If you’ve walked the whole length of the Rail Corridor, however, you’ll definitely have passed through it.
Narrow strip left behind
According to Mr Li’s “before and after” photos of the area, large swathes of the land have already been cleared.
Curiously, a narrow strip of land has been left behind, which is basically along the route of the rail corridor.
What used to be thick forest has already been bulldozed into barren land that surely won’t stay empty for long.
Heart-wrenching sight, shocking development
Mr Li said that he was in total disbelief when he heard that part of Kranji Woodlands was being cleared.
He went back and witnessed the “destruction” of the area, and described the sight as “heart-wrenching”.
When he asked Friends of Rail Corridor – a community of nature lovers that work closely with National Parks Board (NParks) on the development of infrastructure and landscaping works – they also claimed to be caught by surprise at the development.
He questioned why the community weren’t consulted on this.
Sharing his post, Facebook group “We support The Green Corridor in Singapore” called it a “shocking development in an important green area of the Rail Corridor”.
Even though the area around the Rail Corridor doesn’t seem be touched yet, future walks will be considerably less serene if the path is surrounded by development on both sides.
Don’t forget Kranji Woodlands
Those who’re fed up with the relentless pace of change in Singapore would undoubtedly wish to see our remaining nature spaces conserved as much as possible.
After all, they’re windows to a quieter, simpler past that’s all but vanished.
As we focus on now-better-known places like Clementi Forest, let’s also remember that there are various other forested areas across the island that are under threat also.
Hopefully, Kranji Woodlands won’t join the ranks of forgotten green places in Singapore.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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