Team Tree should help build a green HK
When Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen picked Henry Tang Ying-yen to head a taskforce on tree management after the furore surrounding a young woman who was crushed to death, there was a mixed response.
The decision to select the chief secretary to lead the so-called Team Tree was described by this newspaper as an overreaction. Cynics doubted the government's ability to unravel the many knots in the city's tree management.
Others were willing to give the team the benefit of the doubt. The taskforce and the condolences Mr Tsang offered to the victim's family, they said, showed the government's sincerity in responding to the public outcry that followed the death of the university student in Stanley in August.
A Coroner's Court jury ruled in April that although the incident was an accident, it could have been prevented if government inspections of trees had been carried out more professionally.
The court recommended the establishment of a dedicated tree office and the recruitment of local and overseas experts to conduct risk assessments.
With the issue of safety put on the agenda and the typhoon season approaching, the government is under growing pressure to find a solution to problems of co-ordination and the fragmentation of responsibilities among departments over tree management. On the face of it, the immediate task is to streamline the work of tree inspectors and the handling of dangerous trees and to enhance risk assessment, management and the professional standards of relevant staff in the medium to long term.
A tree office headed by a prominent expert and manned by a team of professionals, when established, seems to be the direct response to the court's advice and the community's concern. The public, however, will judge the new structure on its own merits - specifically, how it helps connect the disjointed government structure and does a better job in tree management. They will measure the success of the structure on whether accidents that could have been avoided are kept to a minimum and whether overall management has been improved.
It could be argued that that is the relatively easy part. Expectations over the government's handling of a whole range of tree-related issues looks set to rise.
For example, political parties and green groups have called for a law on trees that, among other things, would make it harder for them to be chopped down.
And in society at large, people will expect more than officials simply ensuring that trees pose no danger to public safety. Now that the government has assigned its No 2 to the handling of trees, people will expect a more comprehensive, long-term policy and strategy to build a greener Hong Kong.
In view of the physical constraints in the city, such as population density and the shortage of open public areas, people have long been resigned to the reality facing Hong Kong. Talk of transforming it into a garden city sounds to many like a pipe dream.
After all, Hong Kong is highly urbanised, a city in which the planting of trees in areas such as Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui is easier said than done. That said, people expect their civil servants to do a better job by displaying the heart, professional expertise and farsightedness in the planting of trees that matches the goal of being a world city.
There is no denying that Hongkongers will put safety high on their list of priorities when it comes to tree management.
But if officials believe some sort of band-aid, quick-fix approach is good enough to handle the tree issue, they could be in for a shock. People will be looking for a holistic approach and a policy that can let trees live and die with dignity.
It will be an opportunity lost if the review turns out to be a mere belated damage-control exercise, and not a community campaign to build a green Hong Kong.
