WWF ends development partnership with Cheung Kong
Conservation group also says policy change made partnership unworkable as it ends two decades of ties with Cheung Kong
A disagreement with a property developer over the speed of a wetland housing plan was what drove WWF, the city's biggest environmental group, to pull out last week from the controversial project, the group's chief says.
Adam Koo Tze-cheung, chief executive of WWF Hong Kong, said it had flagged its intention to withdraw as a partner and adviser to Cheung Kong's controversial Fung Lok Wai wetland housing and reserve project about a month ago.
It had failed to convince Cheung Kong to immediately withdraw the project's application that the company had filed with the Town Planning Board, pending further efforts to develop a model for a wetland reserve trust.
A trust is seen as vital for delivering long-term conservation for most of Hong Kong's wetlands, but a government policy change two years ago prevents a trust from functioning in the way WWF had wanted.
Michael Lau Wai-neng, WWF's senior programme head, said a government policy change in 2011 rendered the group's original deal with Cheung Kong unworkable. The modified policy required developers participating in nature reserve partnerships to put their money into the Environment Conservation Fund, from which all management initiatives would require funding approval.
The land ownership of the reserve would continue to remain with the developer instead of transferring to the trust over the long term.
Lau said that meant less flexibility for long-term planning and management of the reserve.