Drab concrete paths and long metal railings; giant retaining walls and concrete drainage channels. They are the results of 'improvement works' that dot country parks and rural areas across Hong Kong. There is little doubt that many of these projects are necessary to provide better access and safety. But they often have a ruinous effect on the natural scenic beauty - which is the reason the paths were built and the country parks created in the first place.

As we report in Post Magazine today, the government's budgets for these improvement projects have dramatically expanded since 2000, with HK$1.5 billion allocated this financial year for flood-prevention works alone. And while large projects such as the harbour reclamation or widening work on Sai Kung's Ho Chung River attract widespread public interest, dozens of smaller ones simply escape notice until it is too late. Yet, taken together, these public works will have a profound and permanent impact on the landscape in rural areas.

To the government's credit, departments are now required - at least on paper - to consult district council members, rural committee representatives, residents and other stakeholders such as green groups. But this usually happens only when they involve large projects such as the Ho Chung River widening work. It is still not uncommon, according to WWF Hong Kong, for officials to put up rural project notices in out-of-the-way places where few people are likely to come across them.