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Following is a question by the Hon Wu Chi-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (May 14):
Question:
I have learnt that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) decided in recent months that six country park enclaves (enclaves) located in Hoi Ha, Pak Lap, So Lo Pun, Pak Tam Au, Tin Fu Tsai and To Kwa Peng would not be incorporated into country parks. Yet, a number of members of the Country and Marine Parks Board (CMPB) have pointed out that Hoi Ha, Pak Lap and So Lo Pun are areas of high ecological value, and they are dissatisfied that AFCD did not provide CMPB with the relevant information nor consult CMPB before making the aforesaid decision. Nevertheless, AFCD has indicated that it will submit for CMPB's consideration only those proposals concerning the designation of lands as country parks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether AFCD had fully consulted CMPB before making the decision of not incorporating the six aforesaid enclaves into country parks; if it had, of the consultation process; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has all along been the practice of AFCD to consult CMPB only on the enclaves which it considers suitable for incorporation into country parks; whether AFCD has unilaterally revised the procedure for consulting CMPB; if it has, when and why the procedure was revised; if not, whether it will consider consulting CMPB on the incorporation into country parks or otherwise of all enclaves;
(3) as CMPB endorsed a set of revised principles and criteria for designating country parks in May 2011, whether AFCD will draw up a timetable for expeditious assessments, based on such principles and criteria, of the suitability of all enclaves for incorporation into country parks; if it will, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) of AFCD's assessment results of the six aforesaid enclaves in terms of their (i) conservation value, (ii) landscape and aesthetic value and (iii) recreational development potential, as well as (iv) the reasons for not incorporating such lands into country parks (set out in the table below); and
Enclaves (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)
Hoi Ha
Pak Lap
So Lo Pun
Pak Tam Au
Tin Fu Tsai
To Kwa Peng
(5) whether AFCD will make public all the discussion papers regarding enclaves submitted to CMPB in the past three years, so as to let the public and this Council understand the criteria adopted by AFCD for assessing whether the relevant enclaves should be incorporated into country parks; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In the 2010-11 Policy Address, the Government undertook to either include the 54 enclaves which had yet to be incorporated into country parks or protected by statutory plans into country parks, or determine their proper uses through statutory planning to meet conservation and social development needs. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) and the Planning Department carry out assessments having regard to the actual circumstances of each enclave, including factors of conservation value, landscape and aesthetic value, geographical locations, existing scale of human settlements of the sites, and the relevant development pressure, in determining which enclaves are to be incorporated into country parks under the Country Parks Ordinance or protected by statutory plans under the Town Planning Ordinance. My reply to the Hon Wu Chi-wai's questions is as follows:
(1) and (2) On assessing whether individual enclave is suitable for incorporation into country parks, the Country and Marine Parks Authority (i.e. the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, hereinafter as the Authority) have always referred to the principles and criteria for designating new country parks or extending existing country parks which was endorsed by the Country and Marine Parks Board (CMPB) at its meeting held in May 2011, which include conservation value, landscape and aesthetic value, recreational potential, size, proximity to existing country parks, land status and land use compatibility.
CMPB is the consultative body to the Authority on the matters of country and marine parks. As far as country parks are concerned, the terms of reference of the CMPB are laid down under section 5(1) of the Country Parks Ordinance (CPO) as follows:
(a) to act as a consultative body to advise the Authority upon any matter referred to it by the Authority;
(b) to consider and to advise the Authority on, the policy and programmes prepared by the Authority in respect of country parks and special areas, including proposed country parks and special areas; and
(c) to consider any objection that may be lodged under section 11 or section 17 (see remark).
AFCD has not unilaterally revised the procedure and principles for consulting the CMPB. Rather, it has always honored the terms of reference of the CMPB as set out under section 5(1) of the CPO in deciding what matters should be endorsed by the CMPB. For enclaves which are considered to be suitable for incorporation into country parks after assessment, the Authority will submit the detailed assessments and designation proposals to the CMPB for endorsement in accordance with the purview of the CMPB under section 5(1)(b) of the CPO. Such enclaves include Sai Wan, Kam Shan and Yuen Tun which have already been incorporated into country parks and Fan Kei Tok, Sai Lau Kong and the site near Nam Shan which are proposed to be incorporated into country parks. The Authority consulted the CMPB on the assessments of these sites.
As to the enclaves which are assessed to be not suitable for incorporation into country parks, the Planning Department will prepare statutory town plans for the consideration by the Town Planning Board in accordance with the Town Planning Ordinance. Although it does not fall on the scope covered under section 5(1) of the CPO, the Authority will provide an assessment summary to the CMPB for information.
Remark: section 11 of the CPO concerns about the objections against draft maps while section 17 is relevant to the objection to notice under section 16(2) (control of use of land in country park).
(3) In the course of country park designation of Sai Wan, Heung Yee Kuk (HYK) and the rural sectors have expressed very strong opposition to the incorporation of private land and village environs into country parks. Against this background, the Authority considers that it is more important to demonstrate to the HYK and the rural sectors that mutual benefits can be achieved through striking a balance between the villagers and private land owners and conservation work after the private lands are incorporated into country park, Sai Wan being a case in point. It is therefore suggested proceeding now with those enclaves which have no private land and no village environs while the CMPB is engaging the villagers to work out a suitable management plan for Sai Wan. The Authority recommends incorporating three enclaves with no private land and no village environ at Fan Kei Tok, Sai Lau Kong and the site near Nam Shan into country parks in accordance with the established principles and criteria. The assessments have been endorsed by the CMPB and the Authority is seeking the views of the stakeholders.
(4) Further to the replies in Parts (1) and (2), CMPB has endorsed the revised principles and criteria for designating new country parks or extending existing country parks, including conservation value, landscape and aesthetic value, recreational potential, size, proximity to existing country parks, land status and land use compatibility. For the six enclaves of Hoi Ha, Pak Lap, So Lo Pun, Pak Tam Au, Tin Fu Tsai and To Kwa Ping, the assessments revealed that their conservation values range from medium high to high while their landscape and aesthetic values vary from medium low to high. In the meantime, these enclaves are open valleys where most of the private land and village environs are located on their open flat land, making them unsuitable for recreational use by the public. Besides, the existing use in Tin Fu Tsai is incompatible to the surrounding country park areas. In summary, according to the established principles and criteria, these enclaves are considered not suitable for incorporation into country parks due to the land use, development potential, private land distribution pattern and uses and the location of village environs, etc. The Authority provided the assessment summary of these enclaves to the CMPB for information on February 12, 2014.
(5) The papers discussed by the CMPB in the past three years have been uploaded to AFCD's website for public access.
Ends/Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Issued at HKT 13:39
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