Tree conservation areas are large urban areas in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in which no tree with a girth above 1 metre when measured 50 centimetres from the ground may be felled without permission from the

National Parks Board The National Parks Board (NParks) is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. History In November 1989, Minister of National Development, S. Dhanabalan, presented the National Parks Bil ...

. There are currently two such areas, Central TCA (South Central of Singapore) and Changi TCA (Eastern Parts of Singapore).

Illegal felling of a ''Hopea sangal'' tree

On 20 November 2002, a large tree was chopped down by a property management company, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung. The tree in question was a ''

Hopea sangal ''Hopea sangal'' is a tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. It is native to tropical Asia. Description ''Hopea sangal'' grows as a canopy tree, up to tall, with a trunk diameter of up to . It has buttresses. The bark is cracked and scaly. The p ...

'', or Chengal pasir tree, a rare tree reputed to have given

Changi Changi () is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the Sera ...

its name. In addition, the tree was standing in a tree conservation area, which forbids any unauthorised felling of a tree with a girth above 1 metre. The tree in question had a girth of 3.4 metres. Public sentiment against the felling was high, and the courts imposed a S$8,000 fine on the company for the offence, which has a maximum fine of S$10,000. The company was also ordered to pay S$76,035 to the state in compensation for the felling. Nature groups and concerned citizens were determined to ensure that this episode became a lesson to be learnt for others. In September 2003, the logs which has been cut down were recovered and transformed into sculptures. A major educational drive, called "The Hopea sangal Tree: Sculpture Symposium", was organised by The Sculpture Society (Singapore) in partnership with the

and the

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA); (Standard Chinese: 南洋艺术学院; ms, Akademi Seni Halus Nanyang; ta, நன்யாங் அகாடமி ஆஃப் ஃபைன் ஆர்ட்ஸ்) is a publicly-funded post-secondary ar ...

, and with the support of the

Nature Society (Singapore) The Nature Society (Singapore) (NSS) is a non-government, non-profit organisation centered towards the preservation and appreciation of Singapore's natural heritage, as well as that of the surrounding region. Run by volunteers, the NSS depends fi ...

and the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 Apri ...

, representing a government-NGO combined effort to raise awareness towards the conservation of trees. Seeds recovered in September 2002 were grown in National Parks Board's Pasir Panjang Nursery. On 7 November 2004, Minister Mentor

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

planted a sapling in Hendersonville (between blocks 103 and 104), Henderson Crescent.

References

{{Reflist

External links

National Parks Board, Singapore
Nature conservation in Singapore Flora of Singapore Lists of biota of Singapore Natural history of Singapore Singapore geography-related lists Plant conservation