The Clearing
What's proposed — and what it would cost.
Of Maju Forest's 23 hectares, 15 are proposed for clearing to make way for public housing development. The forest is zoned for residential use — but zoning is not destiny, and Master Plans have been redrawn before.
Public housing development.
Residential — but zoning has been redrawn before.
No human, climate, or heritage impact studies.
What clearing would cost
More than trees.
- Irreplaceable ecology
- A mature secondary forest that has taken decades to develop into a rich, layered ecosystem. Deforestation is irreversible — planted saplings are not a substitute.
- Wildlife habitat
- Documented habitat for Critically Endangered species, and part of a wider green corridor toward Clementi Forest.
- Natural cooling & cleaner air
- Forests measurably cool their surroundings, mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect — a growing concern for an ageing population in a warming city.
- Heritage
- The former Jurong Railway Line runs through Maju. Its railway heritage has been recognised, yet no Heritage Impact Assessment has been done in Sunset Way.
- A place for people
- Quiet, unstructured nature within the neighbourhood — for children's play, exercise, and mental wellbeing that manicured parks can't fully replicate.
What the EIA mapped
The forest's ecological value, on the record.
The government's own Environmental Impact Assessment mapped the site's habitats — including the Areas of High Ecological Value (pink) — against a much smaller Proposed Retained Area (blue). Much of what is ecologically richest sits inside the ground proposed for clearing.
'Retained' doesn't mean untouched
Even the "retained" forest isn't safe.
The Proposed Retained Area is presented as preservation. But by the EIA's own account, the terrain is steep and will likely need slope-stabilisation works — and parts of the "retained" forest would then be cleared, disturbed, and replanted with saplings as "reinstatement." In other words, even inside the area marked as saved, mature trees may be uprooted and replaced with new ones.
"The PRA also considered the existing topography of the area — which is highly undulating and therefore likely to require slope stabilisation works … Some areas within PRA may be affected … for … slope stabilisation works … These areas within the PRA will nonetheless be retained, and habitat restoration works (i.e. replanting with a native planting palette …) will be done as part of the reinstatement works."
A replanted slope is not a mature forest. Decades of growth can't be reinstated.
The official documents
Read the source
Is there a better way to build?