Information on 2,000 trees identified by the government as being unhealthy will be disclosed to the public following a public outcry over tree safety across the city.
However, a certified arborist doubted if such a move would help reduce the risk of trees falling.
Following a spate of tree collapses, including one which led to the death of a cyclist in Sha Tin, independent lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee questioned the capability of government officers inspecting their condition.
During yesterday's Legislative Council meeting she said officers had failed to spot problems with the trees in their inspections before the collapses.
'It means that the government's visual checks fail to do the gate keeping for Hongkongers. I suspect that the government officers or contracted-out workers on tree inspections do not have the sufficient expertise and experience,' she said.
In one of the recent cases, the sister-in-law of the cyclist, who died on June 15, said it was ridiculous for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to have overlooked the problem in an inspection a month before. At that time serious internal trunk decay had already infected half the tree.
In the absence of the secretary for development, Secretary for the Environment Edward Yau Tang-wah said the government would release in two weeks information on some 2,000 trees that were subject to detailed risk assessment by various departments.