Part of Holland Plain, home to orchid once thought extinct, up for conservation

Move to help protect the straggly rush orchid, and save sliver of space for rare pitcher plants

- Ang Qing Correspondent

A patch of scrubland in Holland Plain is slated for conservation, with the authorities amending plans for the private housing precinct to help protect an orchid once thought extinct in Singapore, as well as a stronghold for pitcher plants.

Holland Plain is one of two locations here formally disclosed in publications where the straggly rush orchid (Dendrobium lobbii) can be found. Critically endangered here, it was rediscovered in the forest near MacRitchie Reservoir in 2007, after going undetected for over 70 years.

Conserving the parcel, estimated to be about 0.34ha or nearly half the size of a football field, will also save a sliver of space for Singapore's pitcher plants. The area is naturally home to all three of the Republic's native species, two of which are locally vulnerable.

Retaining the patch - located near Clementi Forest - was among recommendations by two environmental impact assessments for the development of housing in Holland Plain and the enhancement of its road network. Both assessments were made public on Dec 12.

To balance development with conservation, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has amended its masterplan to incorporate the scrubland, said the environmental impact assessment for the project site, which covers a quarter of the land parcels slated for housing in Holland Plain.

Part of the scrubland had been identified as an area of high conservation value by an earlier environmental study assessing the impact of the Cross Island Line on Turf City and Holland Plain.

The patch will be incorporated as a “green finger” into a future park, wedged between two residential plots, according to the report.

When ready, the new neighbourhood will comprise about 2,500 homes as well as parks and recreational spaces, the URA said on its website.