Deep Bay project must not start without sound conservation plan

The fate of the Deep Bay area can no longer be left to future discussion. It is a place of important ecological value, designated for international protection under the Ramsar wetland convention.

It has taken us decades to make some progress in managing a small part of this wetland system, in the hope of conserving the whole. Yet, Deep Bay's ecological value has steadily declined. Development has risen to the top of the city's economic and political agendas.

Deep Bay cannot wait any longer. In the wake of WWF-Hong Kong's departure from the Fung Lok Wai project, now is the most opportune time to bring all back to the table.

Any discussion of a holistic plan for Deep Bay should be prefaced by an overview of the area's development history. Marshlands were reclaimed for planting rice 1,000 years ago. In the 1960s and 1970s, many rice paddies in the area were turned into fish ponds for better economic return.

Development caught up in the area with the building of Fairview Park in the mid-1970s, followed by the Tin Shui Wai new town and Palm Springs. Also at that time, land developers bought up the fish ponds and large tracts of farmland.

This, plus the introduction of more commercial fishing practices to meet increasing local demand, began to create challenging conditions for the ecosystem of Inner Deep Bay. In the 1980s, green groups began to ask the government for a holistic conservation management plan. Urban planning discussions can take decades, but time is a luxury nature cannot afford.

The ecological value of fish ponds, which in essence are artificial wetlands, is related to the management practices employed by fish pond farmers. Fish ponds are an integral part of the Deep Bay ecosystem, and fish pond farming is regarded as an example of the wise use of wetlands in a Ramsar site.