Conservationists look poised to win their battle to prevent a two-hectare stretch of Sai Kung woodland, home to rare butterflies and birds, from being bulldozed to make way for village homes.
The Town Planning Board will tomorrow discuss the rezoning of the site near Mau Ping San Tsuen from village zone to green belt. The rezoning was requested by the environmental pressure group 'I Love Mau Ping', formed by residents.
The rezoning request followed earlier applications by individual indigenous villagers to build houses in the woodland area. The site is government land, but villagers with indigenous rights are entitled to build on such land if they lodge a successful application.
A spokesman for the board yesterday declined to comment on the case, fearing it would pre-empt the board's discussion, but a source said that the Planning Department would recommend to the board an alternative site for the new homes because of conservation concerns.
The pressure group has been campaigning against the planned developments since 2000.
Research by conservationists found at least 58 bird species, 40 butterfly species and 60 species of insects on the site.