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Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, in the Legislative Council today (March 12):
Question:
It has been reported that since its promulgation in 2004, the Register of Old and Valuable Trees has been criticised for lack of transparency, and that even if the names of certain old trees have been removed from the Register, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") will only delete their numbers from the Register, without disclosing the detailed reasons for their removal. It has also been reported that LCSD has recently indicated that so far, there are altogether eight old trees which have their names removed from the Register. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the information on the above eight old trees, including the location, species, age and size, etc. of each of them;
(2) of the detailed reasons for removing the names of these old trees from the Register, and whether any human negligence in their caring is involved; if so, whether any person or organisation has been penalised as a result; if any person or organisation has been penalised, of the details; and
(3) how many old and valuable trees have been added to the above Register since its promulgation?
Reply:
Madam President,
(1) Since the promulgation of the Register of Old and Valuable Trees (the Register) in 2004, eight trees of various species, including Chinese Banyan, Coral Tree, Norfolk Island Pine and Pink & White Shower, in Central and Western District, Southern District and Yau Tsim Mong District have been removed from the Register. Please refer to the Annex for information on the locations and species of the eight trees. These trees measure 12 to 30 metres in height with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 480 to 1,700 millimetres. Their estimated ages range from 50 to 100 years.
(2) There are over 500 old and valuable trees on the Register. The departments concerned conduct regular checks on each of them every year to enable early detection of any abnormalities in their growth and to give them immediate treatment as appropriate.
Trees are living things and each of them has its own characteristics. They may be attacked and damaged by pest or knocked down by natural disasters such as typhoons. Some trees therefore may not survive for a variety of reasons in spite of all the care they have received from the responsible departments. The removal of the eight trees mentioned above from the Register had nothing to do with human negligence in their caring.
With a view to enhancing the transparency of the Register, nowadays the LCSD will set out the information on trees being added or removed when updating the Register and keep the relevant District Councils informed of the changes. Information on the Register is available at LCSD website: http://www.lcsd.gov.hk.
(3) Since its promulgation in 2004, we have had eight new additions onto the Register with one from each of Eastern District, Yau Tsim Mong District, Yuen Long District and Shatin District and two from each of Kwun Tong District and Wan Chai District. The species include India-rubber Tree, Chinese Banyan, Weeping Fig and Ficus annulata.
Ends/Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:05
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