RESPONSE TO MEDIA QUERIES

 

Site investigation works approved to proceed

 

The National Parks Board (NParks) has given approval for the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to proceed with site investigation works for the proposed Cross Island Line (CRL) in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR). The approval is given in view of the series of stringent safeguards, and comprehensive and substantive mitigation measures that will be put in place to limit the impact of the site investigation works on the ecology and biodiversity of the CCNR. These safeguards and measures are spelt out in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) commissioned by the LTA, and a supplementary document stipulating additional conditions and mitigation measures formulated after the public disclosure of the EIA report.

 

NParks’ approval for the site investigation works came following a stringent process of review and study with LTA. During the process, NParks has taken into account and benefitted from the varied inputs and constructive suggestions from the nature community in earlier engagement sessions. Their concerns have been addressed with the additional mitigating measures listed in the final EIA report. NParks is now satisfied that:

                                                                                                    

• Site investigation work will take place in existing trails/clearings, and will avoid the most ecologically sensitive parts of the CCNR, e.g., primary forests, swampy areas and within the forest stream system itself.

   

• The magnitude of residual impact will be restricted to “small” in most areas where the site investigation work will be carried out if stringent conditions and comprehensive mitigation measures proposed in the EIA and post-EIA document are strictly adhered to.

   

• More elaborate safeguards have been put in place to limit potentially higher impact of site investigation work in a few localised places around the forest stream systems and off-trail forested areas. These measures are designed to protect the wildlife living here, particularly the less mobile fauna (e.g. soil and leaf-litter insects and other invertebrates) and animals that may be particularly sensitive to environmental disturbances (e.g. babblers, nesting birds, mousedeers, pangolin, slow loris and barking deer).

   

• Compliance of the conditions will be closely monitored by a team of specially deployed NParks ecologists, supported by trained representatives from the nature community who have been invited as observers. Should there be any breach or deviation from the agreed mitigation measures or when pollution is detected, NParks officers will issue immediate stop work orders.

 

Details of these comprehensive and substantive mitigation measures are spelt out in the Appendix. The measures aim to achieve the following:

• reduce the footprint of borehole operations and confine them to existing trails and clearings;
• reduce the intrusiveness of off-trail geophysical surveys;
• reduce disturbances to fauna;
• protect the ecological integrity of jungle streams;
• reduce risks of spillage, soil erosion & compaction;
• reduce noise and light pollution;
• monitor and enforce compliance.

 

Full compliance of all the mitigation measures will ensure that any potential residual impact of site investigation work remains limited and short-term. Notwithstanding this, NParks is cognizant that any such site investigation work, even with stringent mitigation measures, can add on to the cumulative impact of the many other ongoing activities within the nature reserves and lead to the deterioration of the nature reserves over time. These include recreational activities such as jogging and hiking; military training; NParks’ own regular maintenance works; as well as biodiversity surveys carried out by researchers. All such activities can be highly intrusive and potentially damaging to the nature reserves if they are not properly regulated.

However, stringent regulation of activities within our nature reserves alone will also not be sufficient to protect our natural heritage. It must be accompanied by additional efforts to improve ecological connectivity, implement species recovery programmes, and restore and rehabilitate degraded habitat within the reserves. These must be further undergirded by a concerted effort to strengthen the ecological resilience of the nature reserves. It is for these reasons that NParks has taken proactive steps to establish nature parks around the nature reserves, e.g., the newly opened Chestnut Nature Park and the upcoming Windsor and Thomson Nature Parks, which further protect our nature reserves and also offer a rustic and natural alternative to visitors, and relieve demands of recreational activities within the nature reserves.

 

NParks notes that the Government has not decided if the final alignment of the CRL will go under the CCNR, or circumvent it. This decision cannot be made until the data and findings of soil and geological conditions can be gathered from site investigation work for further feasibility studies.

 

-End-

 

 

For more information, please contact:

Ms Cassandra Lew

Communications Manager

National Parks Board

DID: 6471-7909

Mobile: (redacted)

Email: Cassandra_lew@nparks.gov.sg

 

About National Parks Board (NParks)

National Parks Board (NParks) is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of our City in a Garden. Beyond building green infrastructure, NParks is actively engaging the community to enhance the quality of our living environment.

 

 NParks manages over 350 parks and 4 nature reserves. Adding to this is the extensive streetscape, or roadside greenery, that forms the backbone of our City in a Garden. An island-wide Park Connector Network is also being developed to link major parks, nature areas and residential estates.

 

As the lead agency on biodiversity conservation, NParks has developed an urban biodiversity conservation model, which aims to conserve representative eco-systems in land-scarce Singapore.  NParks also monitors and coordinates measures to enhance the presence of biodiversity in our urban landscape.

 

NParks is working closely with partners in the landscape and horticulture industry to increase productivity, and provide training for all levels of the workforce.  Enhancing competencies of the industry will support Singapore’s vision of being a City in a Garden.

 

For more information, visit www.nparks.gov.sg and www.facebook.com/nparksbuzz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX

SAFEGUARDS AND MITIGATION MEASURES

 

NParks is satisfied that the LTA has adopted very stringent safeguards and comprehensive and substantial mitigation measures for the proposed site investigation work at the CCNR. These mitigation measures include but are not limited to the following (*denote additional mitigation measures after public disclosure of the EIA report):

 

Confining and limiting the impact of borehole operations

 

• Reducing the number of 10 cm-diameter boreholes from 72 to 16 within CCNR.
• Confining the 16 boreholes along existing trails and clearings, away from ecologically sensitive areas directly above the tunnel alignment under consideration.
• Employing alternative measures such as Horizontal Directional Coring (HDC) and geophysical surveys to compensate for the reduction of boreholes, while ensuring that such alternative approaches will be carried out in the most non-intrusive way as far as practicable. 

• Engaging a certified arborist to assess and propose methods to avoid damage to the trees due to borehole operations.*

   

  Reducing the intrusiveness of off-trail investigation

   

• Reducing the width of the geophysical survey corridor from 150m to 100m.
• Conducting the geophysical surveys on existing albeit unmarked trails within the forest and avoiding sensitive locations such as primary rainforests, streams and swampy areas.
• Supervising of geophysical surveys by NParks officers competent in forest ecology to ensure that the surveyors will not trample on plants on the forest floor, and to minimise the impact on fauna.

• Mapping out of specific access routes that will be used by geophysical surveyors. These will be restricted to existing trails in the forest.*

   

  Reducing disturbances to fauna

  • Synchronising borehole operations and geophysical surveys so that they are carried out together within the same sector in phases, so as to allow animals to move away from activity zones.
  • Restricting all site investigation activities to daylight hours, so as not to affect nocturnal animals.

• Scheduling the geophysical survey to include at least one to two rest days in between surveys, to allow respite for less mobile and sensitive fauna for the duration of borehole operations within the same sector.*

   

  Protecting jungle streams

• Dispensing with the use of the Mackintosh Probes which will remove all works from streams.*

   

  Reducing risk of spillage, soil erosion & compaction

• Locating the HDC worksites outside the forested area of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.
• Allowing a longer interval before resuming site investigation works after heavy rain to reduce soil erosion into streams and to protect the integrity of the top soil structure. NParks officers are to give consent before resumption of work.*
• Using tracked vehicles in order to reduce ground compaction in the transportation of water and waste material. Waste material will be removed from the site daily to minimise the chance of pollution.
• Modifying the drilling equipment to prevent spillage of slurry and fuel, as well as to reduce noise level.
• Suspending site investigation works during rain to limit occurrence of soil erosion.
• Working with PUB to access boreholes through Bukit Kallang Service Reservoir compound. This will reduce vehicular movement along Terentang trail where it is narrow and undulating, so as to minimise the risk of spillage to the surrounding areas which are ecologically sensitive.*

   

  Reducing noise and light pollution

• Reducing light and noise pollution arising from HDC operations by throttling down equipment when not in use, using acoustic enclosures and erecting temporary shelter over the work sites.

• Modifying the drilling rig further by installing a silencer at the end of the drill engine exhaust to reduce noise. The exhaust pipe will also not be extended to the top of the drilling rig to avoid affecting fauna at the upper canopy levels.*

   

   

   

   

  Enforcing compliance

• Requiring the appointed site investigation contractor to conduct trial runs of the borehole operations and geophysical survey off-site prior to actual works in the Nature Reserve. This provides the opportunity to further fine-tune operations to minimise impacts, while allowing contractors to familiarise themselves with the stringent requirements of working within the Nature Reserve.*
• Issuing of immediate stop-work orders by NParks officers, should there be any breach or deviation from the agreed mitigation measures or when pollution is detected.*
• Inviting representatives from the nature community as observers for the site investigation works to reinforce compliance of the mitigation measures.*