nicola 1st tpb, 19 may 14

HOI HA MARINE

PARK and RIVER

VALLEY

Sacrificed to the

Small House Policy?

Nicola NEWBERY

I first visited Hong Kong in 1966

Emigrated to HK

20 years ago

• HK is my home

• I am a Hong Konger

• Adopted 2 children

• My son has a 3* HK ID card

• Lived all their lives at Hoi Ha

• We love Hoi Ha

• Hoi Ha is our home

• Resident for 18 years, we are Hoi Ha villagers

• We are major stakeholders.

Environmentalist

I studied Environmental Impact Assessment at the Open University of Hong Kong

Still work with my Professor - an expert on Hoi Ha’s mangroves

Founded Friends of Hoi Ha in 2003, an environmental NGO

Guiding school children and university students around Hoi Ha for 18 years

Relocating starfish to Starfish Bay

Disappearing Countryside

• New Territories: used to be remote and beautiful

• Gradually the hills were

flattened

• Valleys were concreted and

cities built

• Wilderness areas still remain in

our Country Parks and Marine

Parks – but now under threat from plans to develop

• Come with me to Hoi Ha…

Where is Hoi Ha?

Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park

Hoi Ha Road

Hoi Ha is Special

64 species of hard stony corals

1989 – Site of Special Scientific Interest

1996 – Marine Park

MARINE BIRDS - CORMORANTS

Protected species, winter visitors to HK pass through Hoi Ha

White-bellied Sea Eagle and

Osprey

Protected Birds

Yellow SeahorsesIUCN Status: Vulnerable

The intertidal shore is also a habitat

The beaches are fringed by mangroves

Site of Outstanding Natural

Beauty

Tourist Destination

96,000 Visitors a year

A SCUBA-diving Destination

Sailing Boats moor overnight

Dive Boats come for the day

Outdoor Education and Field Trips

The River Valley and Marine

Park are a Biodiversity Hotspot Sea – including a lagoon

Shore

Rivers

Forest

Marshland

Open canopy shrubland

ALL VALUABLE HABITATS

See Lego Ho’s film:

The Beauty Of Hoi Ha.mp4

LAGOON

Mangroves

Mangrove flowers –providing nectar for insects

Marshland starts at the coast

MARSHLAND – insect habitat

Streams flow through the

marsh and into the sea

FOREST BEHIND THE MARSH

RIVER VALLEY

FOREST

Nature has reclaimed the abandoned

agricultural fields on the

valley floor

Now a 50-year old forest

CHAMPION TREEBanyan Tree and native epiphyte living in

harmony

Bracket FungusDead trees support life

Forest Streams

This one flows through the middle of the forest

Parallel to the main Hoi

Ha Stream

Exits through the marsh

into the sea.

The main Hoi Ha Stream

Crabs live in the stream

Protected orchids live alongside

Seasonal Marsh

Rare moth in the

seasonal marsh

Erebus hieroglyphica, Owlet Moth family

Within Hong Kong, this species is only found at Hoi Ha

Hundreds of moths found by Dr. Kendrick at this marsh

Seasonal Stream in Seasonal Marsh

Stream exits the Marsh into the sea

Open Canopy Shrubland

Very Rare Butterflies

Rare butterflies

Hoi Ha is surrounded by forest

Fung Shui Forest to the east

What is Fung Shui Forest?

• Mature, relatively undisturbed forest beside a village, typically less than an hectare in area

• Dense and tall with old trees and vines, including protectedspecies such as the Incense Tree, Aquilaria sinensis

• Surrounded by secondary and modified woodland which as a whole are of high ecological value

• Very important for maintaining biodiversity, rich in flora and fauna

Indian Muntjac Deer Porcupines

Leopard cats Wild Boar

Snakes Monkeys

Beetles Ants

Species Recorded by AFCD

Flora 243

Fish 26

Molluscs 20

Insects (Misc.) 24

Crustaceans 10

Butterflies 7

Amphibians & Reptiles 4

Birds 1

Moths 0

Spiders etc. 0

Other Marine Fauna 0

Mammals 0

Recorded by NGOs

222

20

27

139

26

50+

37

97

237

50

6

11

Poor Data from AFCD

“NGOs” include: HK Wildlife, FOHH, KFBG, HK Birdwatching Society

NGO DATA HAS BEEN COMPLETELY IGNORED

Plans to develop and destroy Hoi Ha

• You have now explored much of the river valley and looked into the Marine Park.

• You have seen that Hoi Ha is a special wilderness area, a biodiversity hotspot l loved by the public,

• The reason we are here today is because you have to decide how to zone Hoi Ha

Facing an Environmental Disaster?

A Monument to the Small House Policy

Death of the Marine Park? The forest keeps the sea clean and the coral healthy

Conservation AreaPlease protect Hoi Ha’s HABITATS and BIODIVERSITY

• Protect our forests from being felled

• Protect our streams from being diverted

• Protect our marshlands from being drained

• Please Save our Marine Park

• Please confine development to the existing village

• Please zone Conservation Area and Coastal Protection Area.

• Please place farming in column 2 to stop ‘Destroy First, Apply Later’ tactics

A Plan Which Conserves Bio-Diversity and

Preserves Hoi Ha for Future Generations.

Thank you. Any questions?