The wanton destruction of natural habitats, including streams, has - sadly - been a regular occurrence in our countryside. Most people assume country parks are off limits to the shenanigans of builders and villagers. They are legally protected from development and patrolled regularly by conservation officers. However, it appears nothing is sacred to environmental vandals and their paymasters.
Conservationists have discovered illegal large-scale construction near Lai Pek Shan in the northeastern New Territories that has been described as the 'most shocking' destruction inside a country park in recent memory. These are strong words, but they are no exaggeration. Substantial portions of the illegal works fall inside the Pat Sin Leng Country Park; others encroach on government land. A long cement road has been built, and a bridge over a stream. Much vegetation has been cleared; more than 150 trees have been felled. There is evidence that indigenous villagers want to rebuild a deserted nearby village with the help of a developer, but it seems they do not have permission to do so.
The incident is a reminder of the cavalier and often lawless attitude of some people towards development in the New Territories. It is reminiscent of the illegal damming of a stream in Tai Po and the decimation of a scenic stretch of the Tung Chung River on Lantau. Both incidents caused outrage. Those who commit such criminal acts are not only thumbing their noses at the authorities but threatening some of our most valuable natural resources.
People need to be better educated, with public campaigns about their responsibility to the environment. Those who commit such acts must be punished with deterrent sentences. It is not that the available penalities are too lenient - the law allows those found responsible for the destruction near Lai Pek Shan to be jailed for a year - but that in the past many have been let off lightly with fines. Catching these criminals takes valuable police resources. Perhaps it is time for the government to consider setting up a special taskforce, headed by a retired police officer, to kick-start investigations.
