No Plans to Make Tagore Forest a Nature Reserve, Says Singapore Minister

The Singapore government has no current plans to give Tagore forest the status of a nature reserve, a top minister said on Tuesday, September 8. Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat made this announcement while answering questions in Parliament. The forest is home to rare animals and has been called an important buffer zone for wildlife in the country.

Member of Parliament Kenneth Tiong asked the government whether it would consider protecting Tagore forest under the Parks and Trees Act. This law is used to officially gazette, or register, an area as a protected nature reserve. Tiong represents the Aljunied group representation constituency under the Workers' Party.

Tagore forest sits southeast of where Seletar Expressway meets Upper Thomson Road. Right now, the land is zoned for residential use, which means it could be used for housing in the future. In 2024, more than 40 scientists and nature experts called for the area to be studied for protection as a nature park.

Those experts wrote about their ideas in a report called the Singapore Terrestrial Conservation Plan. They highlighted that Tagore forest acts as a buffer zone around the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. It is also a refuge for rare animals like the Raffles' banded langur, a type of monkey that is very rarely seen.

Minister Chee explained that the government uses a 'science-based' approach when deciding what areas to protect. It looks at the biodiversity and ecological value of a place, along with how important it is for Singapore's native plants and animals. These factors are then weighed against Singapore's other needs for land, like housing and development.

Singapore currently has four nature reserves protected under the Parks and Trees Act. Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Nature Reserve were officially gazetted in 1990, while Labrador Nature Reserve and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve were added in 2002. Minister Chee said these four areas are 'the most biodiverse areas in Singapore and are representative of Singapore's native landscapes.'

He added that these reserves protect a wide range of habitats and act as safe homes for animals and plants that are endemic — meaning found only in Singapore — or are threatened with extinction. The URA works closely with NParks to factor ecology into long-term land planning. This helps make sure that nature is considered even before major building decisions are made.

Singapore has set aside more than 7,800 hectares of green spaces across the island, and that number is expected to grow to 8,800 hectares by 2035. NParks also runs an island-wide Ecological Profiling Exercise, which helps identify important wildlife corridors — pathways that let animals move safely between habitats. One example is EcoLink@BKE, a special bridge that allows animals to cross a major expressway safely.