Editorial | Hong Kong wetlands essential for our natural harmony
- As the city government pushes ahead with the Northern Metropolis development, the need to strike an environmental balance has become all the more important
Nature conservation has never been easy in an advanced urban city. Hong Kong’s ever-growing appetite for development makes it even more difficult, as reflected in news reports from time to time on environmental damage. As the government pushes ahead with the massive Northern Metropolis development blueprint, the need to strike a balance has become all the more important.
The challenge is put into perspective in a joint study by Greenpeace and the Conservancy Association. It found that as many as 78.7 hectares of wetlands earmarked for conservation have been damaged since the announcement of plans for a technology hub near the border.
The problems range from illegal waste dumping to the unregistered expansion of fish ponds. Researchers saw as many as seven trucks pouring dirt into a fish pond in one hour in San Tin during a field trip.
A site next to the Lok Ma Chau Loop suffered the worst damage, with 11.5 per cent of land designated for a wetland park in the plan affected, according to the green groups.
Unauthorised changes in land use are not uncommon in the New Territories. What sets them apart is that the damage to the environment is often irreversible.
