THE period for giving feedback on the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Parks and Waterbodies Plan will end next week.

Before it does, I would like to call for more emphasis on nature conservation and wildlife preservation to turn this already-good plan into an excellent one.

Conservation has hardly been highlighted in the plan, but the powers that be must surely realise that there should be more to a park than trimmed trees, potted plants and carpet grass.

The presence of birds, butterflies and squirrels will add immeasurable charm.

To encourage the proliferation of interesting wildlife within the framework of the existing plan, the URA should:

Deliberately make core nature-reserve areas not accessible to the public so that rare species can breed undisturbed until numbers build up sufficiently to spread outwards to other parks.

• Plant more fig, hibiscus and other types of trees and shrubs that attract wildlife in the green areas under government control that pedestrians normally do not frequent, where nobody is likely to be hit by bird droppings.

  An example would be the boundaries between residential blocks and major expressways.

   

• Incorporate some of these wildlife-friendly trees at regular intervals, but not close to human rest areas, along the planned park connectors that the URA is proposing to create.

  This will allow wildlife to travel and populate other parks.

   

• Designate heavily-planted areas within each park where the use of insecticides is prohibited.

  These will serve as reservoirs for the breeding of birds and butterflies.

  If these are demarcated on steep slopes or higher ground, they will not trap water, and there will be no risk of mosquito breeding.

  The public has often demonstrated that it values nature as part of Singapore's heritage.

  By taking a few simple steps, the URA will demonstrate that it is in tune with public sentiment - building a city with soul where there is space for all living things.

   

  LEE CHIU SAN