THE green lobby yesterday extended an olive branch to property developers in an effort to resolve a looming war over the Mai Po marshes.
World Wide Fund Hong Kong (WWFHK) said it was prepared to compromise with five developers who have appealed against decisions banning their construction plans for the fragile marshland area. The companies have earmarked seven sites in the wetlands around Mai Po for housing estates, including one which lies within buffer zone one, an area banned from development by the Government.
Conservationists will push for a deal with property companies that will allow a limited number of low-density developments that would cause little disruption to the fish ponds.
The five developers who have lodged appeals with the Town Planning Appeal Board are Cheung Kong, Henderson Land (which also has a plan for a golf course in the area under judicial review), New World, Pak Lei Property and Shirring Development.
Green lobbyists have rejected developers' claims that the fish ponds are of no significance to the survival of bird life.
The fresh development appeals came in the last month amid mounting evidence that the area was a crucial sanctuary for rare birds.
An ecological survey of the eastern coastline of the Pearl River Delta completed last week sighted just 2,510 birds - less than five per cent of the 53,460 spotted in Deep Bay.