Country parks authority must do its duty to block destructive development

Hong Kong's country parks are among our greatest treasures. Yet they are under development threat. And the "landlord", the Country and Marine Parks Authority, stands by silently. When country parks were established in the 1970s, some 500 hectares of abandoned private land was immediately incorporated into the parks. Another 2,000 hectares of private cultivated land and "small nucleated villages mostly of traditional character" were excluded as "enclaves" from the Country Parks Ordinance. Soon after, most of these villages and farm land were abandoned, too.

Since 1991, the government has acknowledged the need to protect these country park enclaves against incompatible uses which may adversely affect the overall beauty and integrity of our country parks and special areas.

Following the public outcry over illegal development at an area in Tai Long Sai Wan that is surrounded by a country park, the government agreed that the need to enhance protection of country park enclaves was urgent. A survey revealed 54 enclaves located deep inside country parks that were not protected by the country park or town planning ordinances.

In 2011, the authority - the director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department - acknowledged that development in enclaves could degrade the country parks. He also explained that conservation objectives cannot be fully achieved under the Town Planning Ordinance because of the lack of powers to curb eco-vandalism, the absence of resources to improve the habitat and amenities and because the enclaves would not benefit from AFCD patrols and law enforcement, refuse collection and vegetation management.

The authority spent two years on changing its long-standing principles, specifically that the mere existence of private land would no longer automatically be taken as a determining factor for exclusion of land from the boundary of a country park. It took responsibility for handling possible land management problems, objections by land owners and compensation demands.

Under these new guidelines, it decided to include Tai Long Sai Wan and five small enclaves in country parks. The green groups were jubilant, and the Heung Yee Kuk cried foul and blocked footpaths. Villagers challenged the decision in court but the judge ruled that the decision to incorporate Tai Long Sai Wan was justifiable.

But, in a complete turnaround, the authority is refusing to control and manage all other enclaves with private land, claiming "it is too difficult". This has forced the Town Planning Board to prepare outline zoning plans for Hoi Ha, Pak Tam Au, So Lo Pun and all other large enclaves facing development pressure. These plans include zones for village expansion where development control is further relinquished to the Lands Department under the small house policy.