Legislators urge more protection for rivers
A private member's bill may be drawn up to protect the city's rivers after officials yesterday rejected legislators' demands to introduce such a law.
Choy So-yuk, chairwoman of Legco's environmental affairs panel, said she might be forced to draw up such a bill after listening to officials' reports on the progress of restoration of a section of the Tung Chung stream on Lantau damaged by a contractor last year.
Lay Chik-chuen, an assistant director of agriculture, fisheries and conservation, said the stream had regained 80 per cent of its original ecosystem after manual restoration of its physical setting.
The stream suffered a reduction in fauna and in the volume of water flow after boulders and pebbles were stolen from a 330-metre section between Shek Lau Po and Shek Mun Kap last year.
Legislator Martin Lee Chu-ming called for a specific and comprehensive law to protect rivers at yesterday's panel meeting. But the demand was rejected by Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Roy Tang Yun-kwong, who said it would be 'too difficult to define rivers' in the law. He said rivers were already protected by seven ordinances, but he did not name them.
Ms Choy echoed Mr Lee's demand, but conceded that the bureau should, as an alternative, consider amending the Country Park Ordinance - a major nature conservation measure - to cover rivers.
This suggestion was also rejected by Mr Tang, who said he anticipated strong objections from the public to spending country park resources on rivers.
Ms Choy replied: 'But how do you know the public would object? You haven't held a consultation exercise to gauge public views ... I recommend that the government issue a consultation document to see what the public has to say.
'It seems that I am being forced into a situation where I may have to draw up a private member's bill to this end.'
Emily Lau Wai-hing, of The Frontier, agreed the government should do more to protect rivers.
