Singapore’s plans to clear forest for homes lead to rare public protests

Singapore – For at least three decades, Joanne Teoh, 68, has woken to views of a “pure green canopy” from her flat overlooking Maju Forest in Singapore’s Sunset Way estate.Teoh has watched her mother grow old and her sons grow up in its shade, alongside long-tailed macaques, ambling monitor lizards and critically endangered straw-headed bulbul.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Malaysia to return 1,500 Rohingya refugees next month, despite safety fearslist 2 of 4Iran says it will name its terms for reopening Strait of Hormuzlist 3 of 4Fmr US Diplomat: Netanyahu sees ‘political value’ in Turkiye as enemylist 4 of 4Chad accuses Sudan of air strike near shared border that killed 12end of listEarlier this year, Teoh, who has been documenting the forest’s flora and fauna since 2021, glimpsed Himalayan vultures for the first time, causing a stir among Singapore’s birding community.Teoh now fears that this habitat will soon be lost forever due to the government’s plans to turn much of the forest into a residential area.“Even if you build homes on part of this forest, as my sons tell me, we don’t want to live beside the graveyard of a desiccated ecosystem,” Teoh told Al Jazeera....