Marine Parks and Protected Areas

Hoi Ha Wan marine park is under direct threat

The threat to Hong Kong’s country parks that is making news at the moment is of direct concern to lovers of Hong Kong’s marine life and marine parks.

Living Seas Hong Kong is concerned; we all should be, about the threat to country parks and specifically the immediate threat to Hoi Ha Wan marine park.

As a reminder, Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park has amongst the highest coral coverage and is beautiful above and below water:

The beautiful Emperor AngelfishHoi Ha Corals Goniopora Fish fish fish, at Hoi Ha Wan

 Marine life @ Hoi Ha Wan marine park

 

The problem, is that the Hong Kong Government, through the Town Planning Board has put together an Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) that effectively sets a large expansion of the village area into country surrounding the existing village, right next to the marine park. The Town Planning board has accepted a plan that “and to make provision for future Small House development for the indigenous village of Hoi Ha.”

So what is happening is that we are moving from a village area, that looks like this:

Existing Hoi Ha village area
Existing Hoi Ha village area

To something that looks like this:

The disastrous proposed OZP for Hoi Ha
The disastrous proposed OZP for Hoi Ha

The huge problem here is the large brown area, zoned as “V”illage type development, is

  1. Mostly owned by developers and not villagers (see Paul Zimmerman’s post on this subject here (http://thehousenews.com/nature/land-zoned-for-small-houses-in-hoi-ha-already-sold-to-developers/), and will be uncontrolled.
  2. “V”illage type developments are “exempted from planning controls, site formation, sewerage, drainage, and lack formal access. Both the construction and habitation of small houses severely impacts surrounding country and marine parks and is incompatible with the ecologically sensitive environment and high landscape value of enclaves, and Hoi Ha and the marine park specifically.”

 

This is a really huge issue.   Infrastructure is not there to support a large development and there are effectively no controls.  From a marine conservation perspective this spells disaster for the Marine Park and the fragile marine ecology that it aims to protect.

It should be noted that the Town Planning Board has also gazetted and “Outline Zoning Plan” for two other Country Park Enclaves, at Pak Lap (also in Sai Kung Country Park) and So Lo Pun (in Plover Cove Country Park)

 

The public still has a chance to overturn and correct these crazy decisions.

We suggest that you keep informed and be ready to take action, join and watch the following websites and Facebook groups:

 

The details, for those that are interested as follows:

Press released from the govt, related to the gazetting of the OZP for Hoi Ha Wan : http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201309/27/P201309260298.htm

Detailed zoning plan for Hoi Ha Wan Village: http://www.ozp.tpb.gov.hk/pdf/S_NE-HH_1_e.pdf