Hoi Ha n Pak Sha O beauty and threats

New Film on Beauty of and Threats to Hoi Ha and Pak Sha O

Actress and Conservationist Sharon Kwok visits these gems of the Sai Kung Peninsula, finding nature and heritage threatened by development

Hong Kong, 18 February 2014 — With the Hong Kong countryside facing a wave of developments, a new 9-minute film highlights the wonders of and threats to two “hot spots": Hoi Ha and Pak Sha O on the Sai Kung Peninsula. Sharon Kwok, founder of AquaMeridian Conservation and Education Foundation, visits the areas to learn of the issues first-hand.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBfuBen3Hj0%5D

The film shows Kwok finding wildlife and plants and admiring the scenery at Hoi Ha, where Dave Newbery, Friends of Hoi Ha, tells her that 60 three-storey houses might be built on forested slopes beside the main stream entering Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park. “We've already done so much to damage Hong Kong’s oceans – it’s really got to be left alone,” she notes. “Hoi Ha's precious Marine Park boasts astounding coral diversity and is one of Hong Kong's most beautiful coral areas. How can we allow this to be taken from our future generations?”

The villages of Hoi Ha and Pak Sha O are faced with demands for development which will cause environmental, cultural and social disasters.  The draft Outline Zoning Plan for Hoi Ha will see the beautiful landscape surrounding the village destroyed by the building of nearly 100 houses, which will discharge poorly-treated sewage into Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park.  Not only will the landscape be destroyed but, also, Hoi Ha Wan, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interests because of its coral and other marine life and a popular area for water-based activities for thousands of people because of its clean water, will be polluted to an extent which may see the coral and marine life destroyed and the beaches rendered unfit for human use.  This is not only an environmental disaster but, also, if tourists stop coming to Hoi Ha, the local business will fail.

Meanwhile, Pak Sha O, which is a wonderful, intact Hakka village, is threatened with being destroyed and replaced by up to 200 new houses; this would be an act of cultural and environmental vandalism.

The “requirement” for the developments at Hoi Ha and Pak Sha O will not help Hong Kong’s housing problems and is purely driven by the avarice of indigenous villagers who wish to exploit the out-dated Small House Policy and have no intention of ever living in the villages.  The developments are being orchestrated by developers who have already bought up nearly all of the agricultural land surrounding the villages.

Friends of Hoi Ha call upon the Government to zone the enclaves of Hoi Ha and Pak Sha O for conservation, not development, to restrict the V-zones in both villages to the present village footprints and to zone the remaining areas as Conservation Area or Coastal Protection Area.  Meanwhile, the houses at Pak Sha O need to be fully protected against the threat of demolition.

Over 10,000 people have written to the Town Planning Board expressing their opposition to the Hoi Ha OZP; 13,000 have signed petitions opposing the proposed developments.  The Government needs to listen to the voice of the people of Hong Kong and stop pandering to the unrealistic and unreasonable demand of absentee indigenous Villagers and property developers.

Kwok makes her first visit to Pak Sha O, and is greatly impressed by the Hakka architecture and the artwork on the buildings. A former wetland has already been replaced by farmland, probably as a prelude to development and there are plans for demolishing old buildings and replacing them with new three-storey houses. “People need to know about Pak Sha O,” says Kwok.

The film is intended to be one way Hong Kong people can learn of Hoi Ha and Pak Sha O, and join calls to protect them. It’s one of a series of short films being made by conservationist Dr Martin Williams, founder of www.hkoutdoors.com, who is a member of the Save Our Country Parks Alliance. “There are way too many threats to rural areas right now,” says Williams. “It seems the government has lost enthusiasm for conservation – yet Hongkongers care more than ever before about the countryside.”

One way people can show support for safeguarding Hoi Ha is through the SupportHK petition site. “This is Hong Kong’s first environmental petition platform,” says SupportHK manager Kelly Chan. “The Hoi Ha petition is to support protection of this area of outstanding natural beauty and high ecological value by zoning for conservation and not for development.”

The Hoi Ha zoning plans will soon be finalized by the Town Planning Board. Though provisional plans called for great expansion of the area allowing village development – which would enable far more housing than actually needed by the few indigenous residents, thousands of people have already called on the board to instead create zoning that favours conservation.

新片發佈 – 海下和白沙澳之美態及威脅

保育人士藝人郭秀雲到訪西貢，了解海下及白沙澳的自然風光，文化歷史以及現時面臨的發展威脅。

香港，2014年2月18日 – 香港的郊野公園現正面臨發展的威脅，為宣揚保育海下及呼籲公眾反對城規會海下分區計劃大綱草圖，海下之友聯同其他環保團體及保育人士舉行記者招待會，向公眾人士展示海峰環保教育基金創辦人暨執行總監郭秀雲到訪西貢，直接瞭解問題所在的影片。

在影片中，郭秀雲認識到海下的生態環境及欣賞海下的美景。海下之友創辦人David Newbery表示，海下灣海岸公園的山林及河流旁邊將興建60間三層高的房屋。郭秀雲指：「我們已經破壞了不少香港的海洋，這裡真的很需要受到保護。海下寶貴的海岸公園擁有品種豐富得令人驚訝的珊瑚，這裡是香港最美麗的珊瑚棲息地。我們怎能剝奪後代欣賞美景的機會？」

海下及白沙澳村落現正面臨被開發的危機，這些開發將會引致環境、文化、社會上的嚴重破壞。分區計劃大綱草案會令海下村周圍的美景被接近100間房屋破壞，並令污水直接流入海下灣海岸公園。海下灣因其珊瑚及其他海洋生物而具特殊科學價值，亦因其清澈水流而受過千市民歡迎，到該處進行不同的水上活動。但屆時，發展草案不單止令其風景受到破壞，更會令海下受到嚴重污染，破壞珊瑚及海洋生物，海灘亦會變得不再適合供市民使用。這不止是場環境災難，更會令遊客不再到訪海下，令該處的生意大跌。

與此同時，白沙澳 – 一個風景漂亮及完整的客家村落 – 亦正受到威脅，隨時被開發及被近200間房屋取代。而這會是對文化及環境的蓄意破壞。

海下及白沙澳的開發「條件」根本不能夠幫助香港的房屋問題，只是那些本地村民貪得無厭，希望利用不合時宜的小型屋宇政策，但其實從不打算住在村落中。這些發展計劃全都是發展商精心策劃，而他們幾乎都買下了圍繞村落的所有農地。

海下之友促請政府劃分海下及白沙澳聚居區作保育用途，而非發展用途，限制兩村的鄉村用途區不會超過現時的村落足印，並劃分餘下的區域作保育區或海岸保護區。同時，於白沙澳的房屋亦希望能受到保護，不被拆卸。

超過10,000人曾去信城市規劃委員會，表達反對海下分區計劃大綱；13,000人簽署請願，簽署發展草案。政府須聆聽民意，停止迎合那些沒有住在該處的村民和發展商，停止幫助實現那些不踏實及無理的要求。

郭秀雲還到訪了白沙澳，並被這裡的客家建築和房屋間的藝術作品所吸引。以前的濕地已經被農地取代，也許是為日後開發作準備。計劃稱要拆毀舊建築並新建三層高的住宅。郭秀雲指出：「大眾需要認識白沙澳。」

影片是其中一個途徑讓香港人了解海下和白沙澳，也是保育人士衛林士（Dr. Martin Williams）博士所拍攝的一系列影片中的其中一部。衛博士是http://www.hkoutdoors.com網站的創辦人，是保衛郊野公園聯盟的成員之一。衛博士指出：「現在都市人對鄉村地帶的威脅太大了」，他續道：「看起來政府對保育失去了興趣，但香港人卻比以往更加關心郊野地區。」

市民可透過撐香港網站表達對保護海下的支持。撐香港經理陳寶瓊(Kelly Chan)指出：「海下之友的聯署目的是要保育這片卓越的自然美景和具有極高生態價值的地方。我們需要把海下劃做保育分區而非發展分區。」

城規會很快會最終決定海下分區計劃大綱草圖。雖然城規會的暫時方案是大面積擴大鄉村式發展地帶的面積，提供的房屋數量將遠遠超出原住民的需求。目前已有數千人呼籲城規會將海下劃作保育分區。