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25 Nov 2019  (370 Views) 
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Ministry of Environment


Publicise benefits of wildlife bridge projects
I applaud the efforts made to build a bridge for animals to safely pass through fragmented areas of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve at Mandai (Wildlife bridge in Mandai to help animals cross safely, Nov 7).

Previously, a similar bridge, the Eco-Link@BKE, was a huge success and recorded a significant reduction in road-kill incidents of critically endangered species.

Wildlife crossing infrastructures have proven effective in Europe, Canada and the United States, reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions by 85 per cent to 95 per cent.

The building of Mandai Wildlife Bridge demonstrates the commitment of the authorities to balance conservation and economic development.

However, certain factors may impede the effectiveness of this infrastructure.

First, animals may be too afraid to move across the bridge due to noise disturbances and vehicle headlights. More trees or higher walls could be built along the sides of the bridge to shield the animals from such intimidating stimuli.

Second, with the bridge made to resemble a multilayer forest landscape, it would take five to 10 years before the vegetation matures. In the interim, measures could be incorporated to help tree-dwelling species move about freely.

The developers could consider transplanting mid-age trees temporarily to provide routes for these species to manoeuvre across the bridge. Sources of food, such as wild fruits, could also be grown to entice animals to utilise the bridge when there is only scarce vegetation.

Lastly, there will be those who might question the need to spend exorbitant amounts of money on such projects.

There should be more publicity on the benefits of the bridge to both animals and humans.

For instance, exhibitions and screenings of documentaries of our native species could be held at public spaces like parks.

Benefits to humans, such as improving the safety of drivers, could also be highlighted by influencers on social media for greater outreach.

A successful example would be how the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources engaged micro-influencers to raise awareness of climate change and what households can do to help.

Leonard Tan Yi Xuan

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/publicise-benefits-of-wildlife-bridge-projects


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