Hong Kong: Save the Ha Pak Nai Wetland

According to a mainstream media report( quoted from inmediahk.net), a major developer in Hong Kong is planning to develop one of the most beautiful piece of wetland called Ha Pak Nai (下白泥)in Yuen Long. The plan is to build 122 country houses, 56 village style hotels, a golf court around the 5 million square meters wetland and a tiny insect museum, which means the whole wetland area will be privatized in term of spatial arrangement.

People's blog urges people to submit form against the town planning application. The deadline is Sept 26. The blogger also posts a map showing the details of the development plan.

Ha Pak Nai development plan

Chan Siu Ming creates a facebook group calling for an alliance against the development plan. More than 460 people have joined the group. Here are some of the discussions in the group:

Judy To: can we do something like protest… signing activites to voices out our disagreement????

Felix Chan:

122個豪宅單位同56個低密度酒店單位,哥爾夫球場…起完呢堆野仲有q昆虫咩,個昆虫館用黎昆d人捉虫用啊…?

122 luxurious houses and 56 low density hotels, and a golf court… after building all these, can the insects still survive? what's the function of the insect museum? to preserve the dead insects for cheating us?

Kan Cheng plans for further action in the group:

to Loy, we can write a letter to EPD about this after 26 September, but it must be pro, about the environmental concern of golf course to the surrounding ecology. I can do it later because the EPD may not even know about this project right now, and we need time to make a detailed objection.

To Him, that is why we need to raise concern in the public, but it must be simple, because people in Hong Kong are some how pro-development. But if we can raise concern in certain concern groups in the society about the ecology, fairness issue or whatever, then the Government may not take the risk to support this.

To Felix, this is a kind of give and take -> the “planning gain” of approving their plan… so we need to point out that those open space and insert place can hardly be used by the public due to transportation issue, we can revoke this application.

Loy Ho gives some more political background about the so-called environmental friendly development plan:

Eco-architecture has not yet happen in Hong Kong. It got passed in the pass only because environment science knowledge is not functioning on Land and Law level. Our Environmental Conservation Department is a very small department inside the government, they don't have no power to stop to developer, even though they failed environment protection. If company is rich enough to do good PR strategy, they can buy the district opposite voice down. That was how they get pass most of the time. Taking Fung Yuen Butterfly garden or CLP LNG project for example. Fung Yuen project is so obvious another screen effect development. What developer did was to 50meter buffer zone from the butterfly garden as their protection for the garden.

So how does the Ha Pak Nai wetland look like? (All photos are from the facebook group.)

Maybe now you will also consider to submit the opposition letter to town planning board or write some comments to the Hong Kong Tourism Board before September 26.

6 comments

  • Wendy

    This is the only place in Hong Kong which remains the same as in the last 40 years. It is the nusery bed of the Horseshoe crabs which are extincting… The mangroves, birds,insects, streams, villages, fish pond, fields, farms and nature……. They will be all gone once developed into a commercial golf course. The “Eco” plan from the developer is a pack of lie…. Only idiot will believe in these bullshits. Please mobilize nature lovers to express objection through the govt gazettee web-site provided. 26th Sept is the deadine… action now before too late… We want to preserve the place for our next generation to enjoy…..

  • Wendy

    Please send articles to the press and consider seeking assistance from the universities in HK who are making researches on Horseshoe crabs, eagles and mangroves at Ha Pak Nai….. Write to the newspapers…We do not want to see this beautiful place being ruined.

  • Sunnyboy

    我愛大自然,下白泥係香港的生態保育好地方,香港人的活動教室,小朋友及長者的溝通好地方,何解要變成一個改變自然生態的122個豪宅單位同56個低密度酒店單位,哥爾夫球場呢?有錢人的住宅?官官相護,官私合營,官字兩個口?

  • […] Council election, facebook network of friends fooled the election poll. Environmental campaigns in Ha Pak Nai and Lung Mei also spread through facebook and internet forum. No wonder the government proposed to […]

  • On

    【蘋果日報訊】繼西貢大浪西灣與海下灣後,「新界王」鄉議局主席劉皇發屬下公司,近日再度向城市規劃委員會申請,在極具生態價值的元朗下白泥興建 137幢獨立屋豪宅,佔地超過 31公頃。環保團體擔心釀成生態災難,矢言反對到底。

    大興土木必破壞生態
    身兼行政會議成員的劉皇發屬下公司,上月 29日向城規會提交申請,在下白泥興建 137幢 3層高獨立屋豪宅及 12幢營舍,地積比率由 0.2倍至 0.32倍。劉於 07年底曾向城規會首次申請,但當時因為社會輿論壓力太大,主動撤回申請。
    經過近兩年籌備,劉皇發今次委託其御用建築師、特首曾蔭權表兄香灼璣再度出擊。新方案除了將項目規模略為縮減,及放棄興建高爾夫球場外,加入「生態農田」、「蝴蝶世界」等名目配套,希望加強項目的「生態成份」。城規會暫定十月廿九日審理,公眾可於未來三星期提交意見。
    環保團體長春社公共事務經理李少文表示,一定會提出反對,「下白泥生態價值高,而且仲有耕作活動,大興土木一定破壞生態。」他批評政府現行缺乏整體的保育生態政策,任由發展商不斷入侵珍貴的大自然鄉郊。環保觸覺主席譚凱邦表示稍後會提交反對意見。他指發展商雖然聲稱是低密度住宅,但佔地範圍太大,「嗰度生態敏感,承受唔到咁大規模發展。」

    以上文字內容,來自2010年8月8日蘋果日報

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