Nature groups welcome revised Maju Forest and Gillman Barracks housing plans, but call for safeguards

More green spaces would be able to support more wildlife and improve ecological connectivity, say some nature groups.

Maju Forest borders the backyards of landed homes in the private estate at Sunset Way. (Photo: CNA/Erin Liam)

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SINGAPORE: Some nature groups have welcomed the revised plans for Maju Forest and Gillman Barracks, although they maintained the need for environmental safeguards.

More green spaces would be able to support more wildlife and improve ecological connectivity, but development plans must be carried out according to environmental management and monitoring plans, they added.

Nature Society Singapore’s (NSS) Lester Tan said that while the group prefers to “conserve as much”, it also understands the need for balance between development and conservation.

NSS president Leong Kwok Peng had previously proposed conserving two-thirds of Maju Forest and leaving the third for housing.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less On Wednesday (Oct 28), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said housing plans for Maju Forest and Gillman Barracks have been revised to retain more greenery following public feedback. Under the revised plans, the area retained as greenery at Maju Forest will increase from around 8ha to about 10ha. This accounts for about 45 per cent of the 23ha site, up from about 35 per cent under the original plans. At Gillman Barracks, the area set aside for greenery will increase from around 8ha to about 12ha. This is about 60 per cent of the 20ha of existing greenery, up from about 40 per cent under the original plans. It means 1,200 fewer homes than initially planned. Under revised plans, about 11,000 units could be built at both sites.

On Wednesday (Oct 28), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said housing plans for Maju Forest and Gillman Barracks have been revised to retain more greenery following public feedback.

Under the revised plans, the area retained as greenery at Maju Forest will increase from around 8ha to about 10ha. This accounts for about 45 per cent of the 23ha site, up from about 35 per cent under the original plans.

At Gillman Barracks, the area set aside for greenery will increase from around 8ha to about 12ha. This is about 60 per cent of the 20ha of existing greenery, up from about 40 per cent under the original plans.

It means 1,200 fewer homes than initially planned. Under revised plans, about 11,000 units could be built at both sites.

Mr Tan said the additional retained areas at both plots provide a “compromise”, as development stress is contained within the same areas, and not shifted to another patch of forest.

The enlarged areas will also be safeguarded as new nature parks, with opportunities for the community to participate in habitat enhancement efforts.

“Nature park means there will be trails. Residents can also go in and join the nature spaces. So basically, creating more green spaces for the residents around as well, on top of enhancing the connectivity that's already existing,” said Mr Tan.

Dr Shawn Lum, a lecturer at Nanyang Technological University’s Asian School of the Environment, said he was “pleasantly surprised” and “greatly heartened” to hear about the revised plans.

“There is still a considerable clearance, but by retaining roughly half, in theory, most of the diversity that was present in the original space can still be maintained in the slightly reduced ... space,” said Dr Lum, who is also an NSS member.

9 Lock Road at Gillman Barracks on Jul 10, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Erin Liam)

IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT REMAINS

However, nature experts cautioned that the impact on the environment remains.

The reduced forested area might increase competition for food and shelter, said Dr Lum.

“Because there's a smaller space, but the same number of animals, so there might be individual animals that won't compete as well,” he said.

Dr Lum added that many of these animals are active in the evenings and early mornings, so there would be a need to limit noise or light and adhere to a window of work that minimises disturbances to the animals.

Mr Ho Xiang Tian, the co-founder of LepakInSG, said that the additional area is “good enough as a connectivity corridor”, but not as a habitat.

“Essentially because there's less space for (animals) to live, so it’s like survival of the fittest. Whoever can fight and survive in the remaining 10ha is what will live. Then the rest will die or be forced out into the adjacent blocks,” he said.

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一些自然保护组织表示，更多的绿地能够为更多野生动物提供栖息地，并改善生态连通性。

马朱森林毗邻日落大道私人住宅区的独立式别墅后院。（图片：CNA/Erin Liam）

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新加坡：一些自然保护组织对马朱森林和吉尔曼军营的修订计划表示欢迎，但他们也坚持认为需要采取环境保护措施。

他们补充说，更多的绿地能够养活更多的野生动物，改善生态连通性，但发展计划必须按照环境管理和监测计划执行。

新加坡自然协会 (NSS) 的 Lester Tan 表示，虽然该组织倾向于“尽可能多地保护”，但也理解发展与保护之间需要平衡。

新加坡国立大学校长梁国平曾提议保护马朱森林三分之二的面积，并将三分之一用于住宅建设。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小谜题，脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 周三（10月28日），建屋发展局（HDB）表示，根据公众反馈，已对马朱森林和吉尔曼军营的房屋规划进行修订，以保留更多绿地。根据修订后的规划，马朱森林的绿地面积将从约8公顷增加到约10公顷，约占23公顷地块的45%，高于原规划的约35%。吉尔曼军营的绿地面积将从约8公顷增加到约12公顷，约占现有20公顷绿地的60%，高于原规划的约40%。这意味着房屋数量将比最初计划减少1200套。根据修订后的计划，这两个地点大约可以建造 11,000 套住房。

周三（10月28日），建屋发展局（HDB）表示，根据公众反馈，马朱森林和吉尔曼军营的房屋规划已进行修改，以保留更多绿地。

根据修订后的计划，马朱森林保留的绿地面积将从约8公顷增加到约10公顷。这约占该23公顷地块的45%，高于原计划的约35%。

在吉尔曼军营，绿化面积将从约8公顷增加到约12公顷。这约占现有20公顷绿地的60%，高于原计划的约40%。

这意味着比最初计划减少1200套住房。根据修订后的计划，这两个地块大约可以建造11000套住房。

陈先生表示，这两个地块额外保留的区域提供了一种“折衷方案”，因为开发压力被控制在同一区域内，而不会转移到另一片森林。

扩大的区域也将作为新的自然公园加以保护，并为社区提供参与栖息地改善工作的机会。

“自然公园意味着会有步道。居民也可以进入其中，融入自然空间。所以基本上，除了增强现有的连通性之外，还能为周边居民创造更多的绿色空间，”陈先生说。

南洋理工大学亚洲环境学院讲师林绍恩博士表示，听到修改后的计划，他感到“惊喜”和“非常鼓舞”。

“虽然还有相当大的空间，但通过保留大约一半的空间，理论上，原空间中存在的大部分多样性仍然可以在略微缩小的空间中保持，”卢博士说道，他也是 NSS 的成员。

2026年7月10日，吉尔曼军营9号锁路。（图片：CNA/Erin Liam）

对环境的影响依然存在

然而，自然专家警告说，对环境的影响依然存在。

卢博士表示，森林面积的减少可能会加剧对食物和住所的竞争。

他说：“因为空间较小，但动物数量相同，所以可能会有一些动物的竞争力下降。”

卢博士补充说，这些动物大多在傍晚和清晨活动，因此需要限制噪音或光线，并遵守能够最大限度减少对动物干扰的工作时间段。

LepakInSG 的联合创始人何向天先生表示，新增区域“作为连接走廊足够好”，但作为栖息地则不然。

“本质上是因为（动物）的生存空间变小了，所以就像是适者生存。谁能在剩下的10公顷土地上生存下来，谁就能活下来。其余的要么死去，要么被迫迁徙到邻近的地块，”他说。

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