More than 22 hectares (54 acres) of ecologically valuable land have been damaged in Hong Kong’s South Lantau and northwestern New Territories, local groups have found, warning that poorly planned tourism development in these areas will worsen the harm.
Greenpeace and Liber Research Community, an NGO focusing on development issues, released findings of a survey on Monday that identified 37 cases of land filling, fly-tipping and removal of vegetation, among other man-made causes, that threatened the environment in South Lantau, and Pak Nai and Tsim Bei Tsui in the New Territories.
They warned that future tourism development in these areas could worsen the situation, as the government in April invited submissions from the private sector for projects, including two places envisioned to become eco-recreational and ecotourism destinations.
“Although the government has laid out development blueprints, we worry that the ecological damage will become more severe without effective government supervision and ecotourism policies, especially when Hong Kong’s ecology is set to be used for tourism spots,” Greenpeace campaigner Ha Shun-kuen said.
“We worry that ecotourism development will turn into ecological disasters.”
The Development Bureau said on social media the Planning Department had taken appropriate and serious action on illegal developments in the areas. Developments in South Lantau existed before December 2022 and were not considered illegal under town planning regulations, it added.
