A three-month public consultation exercise has been launched on the Government's review of its nature conservation policy.

Secretary for Environment, Transport & Works Dr Sarah Liao said public views are being sought on improvement proposals garnered from the review.

Keeping green: A three-month public consultation exercise has been launched on the Government's review of its nature conservation policy, including how to better conserve ecologically important sites.

Starting today and running until October 18, the exercise will seek views on:

* the introduction of a scoring system for assessing, in a more objective and systematic manner, the relative ecological importance of sites with the objective of reaching a consensus within the community on the priority of sites for enhanced conservation; and,

* practical ways to better conserve ecologically important sites that are under private ownership within limited resources.

"The proposed scoring system will help us evaluate the relative ecological value of individual sites by taking account of the value of their peculiar habitat and biodiversity. It will in turn help us focus on our efforts and limited resources on the most deserving areas," Dr Liao said.

"We have examined a number of options for better conserving ecologically important sites under private ownership. We consider that the options of management agreements with landowners and private-public partnership are more practicable and worthy of further examination for application to the priority sites to be identified."

The options

Under the management agreement option, non-government organisations will be encouraged to enter into agreements with the landowners with Government subsidies or their own funding for managing the sites concerned to meet the nature conservation objective.

Under the private-partnership option, development at an agreed scale will be allowed at the less ecologically-sensitive portion of an ecologically-important site provided that there is a viable and acceptable plan and an undertaking to conserve the remaining part of the site on a long-term basis. Non in-situ land exchange with full justifications may be considered on an exceptional basis. Each proposal will be assessed on its own merits.

Dr Liao said other options such as land resumption, land exchange and off-site mitigation are considered impracticable and should not be pursued due to the huge financial and land resource implications or implementation complexities and difficulties involved.

Hong Kong a haven for nature

Hong Kong sports a vast variety of flora and fauna despite its rapid urban development and dense population. It includes over 3,100 vascular plant species, 50 mammals species, 450 bird species, 140 freshwater fish species, 230 butterfly species and 100 dragonfly species.

More than 40% of Hong Kong's total land area is protected through the designation of country parks, special areas and conservation zonings on statutory town plans.

"The conserved natural environment is a valuable asset important to the maintenance of ecological balance and improvement of the well-being of the community," Dr Liao said.

"The natural environment is an asset that belongs to every member of the community. We should respect wildlife and avoid causing any damage or disturbance to them. [Public] views will help us map out a more comprehensive nature conservation policy and improvement measures that will benefit not only [the public] but also future generations."

More information

The consultation document and details of the exercise can be downloaded from the Environment, Transport & Works Bureau's website. Consultation materials are also available at District offices.