Singapore is set to revise plans to clear part of Maju Forest for high-density public housing after the proposal triggered an unusually strong public backlash over the loss of greenery and biodiversity.
The government announced in July that it was considering clearing about two-thirds of the 23-hectare Maju Forest in western Singapore to make way for more public housing. The move quickly drew opposition from residents and nature groups concerned about the city-state’s shrinking secondary forests.
More than 49,000 people signed two petitions calling for alternative sites, including brownfield areas such as golf courses and former commercial and institutional land, to be considered instead. Another petition signed by more than 700 residents urged their member of parliament to preserve Maju Forest, while organisers said about 2,000 people attended a nature and biodiversity rally on Sunday.
Following the public response, the government said last Friday that it would adjust the proposal to retain more greenery than initially planned. However, authorities have yet to disclose how much additional forest will be preserved.
Junior Minister Alvin Tan said the government would determine the amount of greenery that could be retained, while acknowledging that doing so would mean fewer homes could be built on the site.
The debate reflects Singapore’s wider challenge of balancing housing demand with environmental conservation. The island nation covers about 744 square kilometres and has limited land available for expansion, while property prices and demand for public housing remain significant concerns.
Government data showed that housing accounted for about 14% of Singapore’s land in 2020, compared with 9.3% used for parks and nature reserves. The country’s population reached a record 6.11 million in June last year and is projected to rise to between 6.5 million and 6.9 million by 2030.
Maju Forest has a long history, having previously been used for a rubber plantation and fruit orchards before becoming part of a railway route. Since train services ended in 1992, vegetation has gradually reclaimed the area, creating a mature forest with hiking trails, abandoned railway tracks and a tunnel.
An environmental study commissioned by the government found 113 animal species living in the forest, including the critically endangered straw-headed bulbul and the Sunda pangolin. The straw-headed bulbul population is estimated at only 600 to 1,700 worldwide, with about one-third found in Singapore.
Conservationists have also raised concerns about the wider loss of secondary forests. Estimates based on Singapore’s 2023 urban plans suggested that about 7,331 hectares of secondary forest could eventually be cleared for development, an area around 1.2 times the size of all parks and nature reserves in the city-state.
The controversy has also reignited debate over Singapore’s long-standing “garden city” identity. Nature Society Singapore president Leong Kwok Peng questioned the contrast between efforts to plant more trees and plans to remove mature vegetation from existing forested areas.
Researchers have meanwhile highlighted the environmental and public health value of mature forests. National University of Singapore conservation researcher Rachel Oh said established forests can help reduce heat stress, noting that newly planted greenery could take decades to develop the same characteristics.
Singapore relies heavily on public housing, with nearly 80% of residents living in government-built flats. The Housing Board has maintained that demand remains strong and that the country’s housing needs cannot be met solely through the redevelopment of brownfield sites.
With the revised Maju Forest proposal still being worked out, Singapore now faces a difficult choice between creating more homes and preserving one of its remaining pockets of mature natural greenery.
