Extensive damage found in Hong Kong wetlands earmarked for conservation amid technology hub plans under Northern Metropolis scheme, environmental groups warn

The scheme, first mentioned in 2021 by then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, is a blueprint for the development of the northern New Territories into a major hub for business, innovation and technology (I&T), eco-tourism, professional services and logistics.

The government that year said it aimed to establish a wetlands system spanning 2,000 hectares, including a proposal to build four wetland parks, but authorities in last year’s policy address only outlined plans for the Sam Po Shue Wetland Conservation Park.

No details were provided for wetlands in Hoo Hok Wai, Nam Sang Wai and a proposed extension of the Hong Kong Wetland Park.

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Development Secretary Bernadette Linn Hon-ho defended the zoning changes in October last year, saying that the city would have to prioritise the quality of conservation, rather than the amount of wetlands preserved, under limited land supply.

The two-year study found that Hoo Hok Wai, a patch of wetland next to the Lok Ma Chau Loop, incurred the most damage, as 11.5 per cent of the land designated for a wetland park in the government plan had been soiled.

Researchers said field trips, examination of prosecution records and satellite images had revealed that 36.9 hectares of land, out of about 320 hectares earmarked for a wetland park, had been tarnished due to illegal waste dumping and the unregistered expansion of fish ponds.

The damage doubled within two years, from about 17.6 hectares in 2021 to an estimated 36.9 hectares last year, according to the study.

Campaigner Chan accused law enforcement of being lax when it came to wetland destruction, saying the environmental group had found persistent contamination despite government intervention.

Researchers said a biotechnology firm was only fined HK$4,000 (US$511) for illegal construction work involving the conversion of a fish pond into a prawn farm.

Construction waste had contaminated a fish pond located to the North of Liu Pok Village in Lok Ma Chau, a month after a government clearance letter to certify restoration efforts in July 2022, according to the researchers.

“We cannot rely on law enforcement to resolve the growing problem of destruction. Environmental groups have reported to authorities with evidence of damage in the past, but the problem just got worse,” Chan said.

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The Sam Po Shue wetlands near San Tin, the only ecological site marked with a conservation timeline, has also been affected by nearby wreckage.

Kristy Chow Oi-chuen, a campaign officer at the Conservancy Association, said researchers had spotted as many as seven trucks pouring dirt into a fish pond in an hour near Tun Yu Road in San Tin during a field trip last month.

Researchers discovered these trucks heading back to a construction site, which public records showed was a private residential project, at the North of the Fanling golf course.

Advocates urged the government to lay out a concrete timetable for wetland parks in the Northern Metropolis plan to prevent private development projects and illegal waste dumping from encroaching the ecological sites.

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By comparing sites marked for conservation in the 2021 plan and recent development records, the environmental groups found at least 587.1 hectares of wetland earmarked for development.

The land includes 267.2 hectares allotted for approved private projects, 25.5 hectares for small houses and 114.3 hectares for other development projects.

“Under the government’s plans, the Sam Po Shue wetland park, the only park with a relatively concrete timetable, has already suffered so much damage, let alone other parks with no detailed plans, no timeline and no promise on when they will be built,” Chow said.

“Will we see further damage in the future? Where will it happen? We aren’t sure, and that’s our concern.”

The Post has reached out to the Development Bureau and the Environment and Ecology Bureau for comment.