Consider ecological value of fish ponds

Hong Kong’s mega infrastructure development plans have made conservation more challenging, but the need to strike the right balance between the two remains. A case in point is the technopole project in the New Territories. The government must ensure that proposed mitigation measures do provide sufficient protection for the affected environment and wildlife.

Green groups were understandably concerned when Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu seemingly put development above conservation. This came after Lee defended the conditional endorsement of an impact assessment report on the San Tin project by the Advisory Council on the Environment. “If the fish ponds are abandoned or even have no fish in them, this can’t be a good and proactive environmental protection policy,” he said.

We hope the government is not dismissing the ecological value of such areas even if they are no longer used for fish farming. As green groups argued, the public may not realise that half of the ponds in the conservation area are still active and contribute to a third of the local freshwater fish supply. The abandoned ones also offer important habitat for wildlife, such as Eurasian otters and migratory birds, as illustrated in a recent social media post by a wildlife photographer featuring scores of birds foraging in the area.

The controversy stems from the scale of the development, under which more than 600 hectares of land near the border will be turned into an innovation and technology hub and a new town centre with 54,000 flats. The project will occupy about 150 hectares of the Wetland Conservation Area, including plans to fill in 90 hectares of fish ponds, to be compensated by a proposed 338-hectare wetland park at Sam Po Shue.

Green groups said the environmental impact assessment was flawed, and cited 35 violations of statutory requirements and guidelines, as well as 27 serious technical assessment and data errors. The report was nonetheless passed by the advisory council with eight conditions, including the need for a habitat creation and management plan with compensation measures and monitoring parameters. The requirements shall put the balance to the test.