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SINGAPORE: The National Parks Board said on Thursday (Jun 4) that it is investigating the unauthorised clearance of a site in Lower Peirce Reservoir, which contained trees planted under a <\/span>nationwide greening initiative<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n NParks said that an employee carrying out routine inspections on Tuesday morning discovered that around 40 saplings and shrubs within half of the original tree-planting site had been cleared.<\/span><\/p>\n A contractor had done this without approval to temporarily store materials at the site, NParks group director for conservation Lim Liang Jin said in response to queries.<\/span><\/p>\n NParks did not identify the contractor in its statement.<\/span><\/p>\n Mr Lim said that NParks immediately instructed the contractor to stop its work and remove the stored items.<\/span><\/p>\n He added that NParks intends to replant the site, which is located in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve.<\/span><\/p>\n The original tree-planting was done as part of NParks\u2019 OneMillionTrees movement, which aims to plant 1 million trees across Singapore from 2020 to 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNParks had earlier communicated to the contractor\u2019s site supervisor on a few occasions that the area was not suitable for their storage space and had advised them to use an alternative location,\u201d said Mr Lim.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the contractor went against NParks\u2019 direction and proceeded to clear the area on May 29, 2026 without informing NParks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It is an offence to cut, collect or displace any tree or plant within any national park or nature reserve without permission from the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation.<\/span><\/p>\n Offenders can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$50,000 or receive both penalties.<\/span><\/p>\n The tree-planting site held 87 saplings planted on Jan 22, 2025, by citizen scientists from the Raffles\u2019 Banded Langur Working Group.<\/span><\/p>\n The Raffles’ banded langur is one of only two species of monkeys native to Singapore and is critically endangered.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr Andie Ang, primatologist and chairperson of the working group, told CNA she organised the tree-planting as part of celebrations leading up to the group\u2019s 10th anniversary in 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n