Zoning plan sparks question: when is a country park not a country park?
Zoning plan for 'special area' sparks confusion over whether islands will get extra protection
Confusion reigns over whether a geologically important set of islands in Tai Po will be given extra protection after plans were announced to zone them as country park land.
The Planning Department yesterday released a zoning plan for Ma Shi Chau, Yeung Chau and a small island to the northeast of Yim Tin Tsai, under which most of the area would be zoned as country park. Ma Shi Chau has been at the centre of a row over the unauthorised building of a columbarium.
But the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, which is responsible for managing country parks, would not be drawn on whether the islands would formally become the city's 25th country park.
The islands make up most of the Ma Shi Chau Special Area, designated in April 1999, and the spokeswoman said they were managed "under the Country Parks Ordinance".
"They are already under protection," she said.
But Country and Marine Parks Board member Dr Man Chi-sum said special areas had less protection.
"Country parks are given more resources for management," Man said. "The parks have wardens … and are protected with a larger buffer zone."