Hong Kong concern group unhappy public housing plan will disrupt butterflies, birds if nature belt rezoned
- Ecological impact assessment done last summer missed butterflies and birds spotted later, group says
- NGO found more than 55 kinds of birds in December, almost double those seen in summer
A Hong Kong concern group has criticised a government proposal to build more than 5,000 public flats on a green belt, saying authorities had ignored the presence of butterfly and bird species there.
Authorities underestimated the ecological value of the 5.4-hectare (13.3 acre) green belt between the existing public estate at Shek Lei in Kwai Chung, and Kam Shan Country Park, according to the community group.
Shek Lei Communities said the government’s ecological impact assessment done last summer had missed the presence of more than 600 butterflies and recorded only half the bird species a nature group had found later in the year.
“The government did not conduct the ecological survey during winter and severely underestimates the site’s value when other reports have identified a butterfly valley and more bird species in winter,” said Kristy Chow Oi-chuen, a member of the concern group.
The government plans to rezone the 5.4-hectare green belt, which is an environmental buffer zone, to build about 5,400 public flats by 2035 to house 15,000 residents.
About 100 residents at Shek Lei Hang Village in the green belt would have to be relocated.
The environment impact assessment, which covered the site and areas within 500 metres (1,640 feet) of it, did not anticipate “unacceptable ecological impacts” though it proposed transplanting some plants of conservation interest and planting trees between the future estate and the country park.