1. HOI HA MARINE PARK
and
RIVER VALLEY
PLEASE ZONE FOR CONSERVATION
2. HOI HA ENCLAVE
A wilderness area
Country Park on 3 sides
Marine Park on the 4th side
Site of Special Scientific
Interest
Biodiversity hotspot
Rich in habitats
Diverse flora and fauna
Some rare.
Some only found at Hoi Ha
and nowhere else in HK or
in the world.
3. Convention on Biodiversity
Land adjacent to protected
areas – such as Marine Park
and Country Park – should be
protected from development.
Why has Hoi Ha been zoned for
development, as a Green Belt
reservoir of future building
land?
Why not zone it for
conservation, as Conservation
Area?
4. UNDER THE SEA AT HOI HA
• Have you ever been diving or snorkelling at Hoi
Ha?
• Have you ever been out on the WWF’s glass-
bottomed boat?
• This is what you will see:
• Raymond Man’s film: HK Marine Life.mov
• It is in the Public’s interest for you to conserve
this.
5. The biggest threat to the Marine Park used to be
fishing – we used to have trawlers and still have some
dynamite fishing
6. Now, the greatest threats are from the abuses of the
Small House Policy – and zoning for development
7. Hoi Ha is a biodiversity hotspot facing
destruction
15. HABITATS ARE HOMES
• All these habitats support life
• They are rich in fauna and flora
• They provide homes for plants and animals,
fish, birds and insects
18. Fung Shui forest demoted
from Conservation Area to
Green Belt
Plan D had originally zoned the forest to the east
of the village as Conservation Area
The forest contains Fung Shui Forest, secondary
woodland and open canopy shrubland
This is where the majority of rare species are
found at Hoi Ha – rich in flora and fauna
A few weeks ago, they took away Conservation
Area status and zoned this biodiversity hotspot
as a Green Belt reservoir of building land.
Why are they sacrificing this special area to the
Small House Policy when Fung Shui Forest is
supposed to be inviolate?
A stream flows through the middle of the Green
Belt – why are they considering septic tanks
either side of a stream that flows into the sea?
PLEASE REINSTATE CONSERVATION AREA
19. DESTROY FIRST, DEVELOP LATER
Usual tactic – destroy
anything of ecological value
• Bulldoze forest
• Clear the land
• Drain the marshes
• Divert streams
Establish a temporary farm or
market garden.
Apply to build on now
degraded land
Please place AGRICULTURAL
USE in Column 2
20. PLACE FARMING IN COLUMN 2
• The developers have told the villagers that they will cut down the forest and drain
the marsh.
• AFCD have objected to Column 2 because it will stop farming in the future.
STRANGE OBJECTION when:
• There is no longer any farmland at Hoi Ha.
• Even if there were, farming is still allowed on request if appropriate.
• Nature reclaimed this land when villagers emigrated to UK in the 1970s and
changed the river valley back into habitat.
• There is a 50-year old forest, a 50 year-old marshland and 50-year old open-
canopy shrubland on what used to be farmland
Is it in the Public’s interest to destroy this BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT?
FARMING AT HOI HA BELONGS IN COLUMN 2 – PLEASE PLACE IT THERE.
21. DO YOU AGREE THAT DEVELOPERS
SHOULD DESTROY HOI HA?
Bear in mind that:
• The reason why Hoi Ha has exceptionally
good coral coverage is that the seawater is
clean and unpolluted.
• It is the forest and the marshland that keep
the sea clean.
22. What are the consequences of removing forest,
diverting streams and draining marshland?
• The valley will be covered in bare soil.
• What happens when it rains?
The soil will be washed into the sea.
• What happens to coral when it is covered in silt?
It dies.
• Why WAS Hoi Ha Wan made a Marine Park?
Because of its coral.
Is it in the Public’s interest to allow the Marine Park to be destroyed?
23. What are the consequences of
temporary farming?
• What do farmers typically use on their soil?
Pesticides
Herbicides
Fertilizers
• What happens when these are broadcast on the soil?
They will wash off into marshland, streams and into the sea.
These are TOXIC and will kill life in these habitats.
It is not in the Public’s interest nor in the interests of Hoi Ha’s
biodiversity to allow this wanton destruction.
24. Under threat from abuses of the Small
House Policy
• SHP is riddled with corruption
• there is no Town Planning
– No access for emergency vehicles such as fire engines
– No parking
– No gardens
• The houses are built cheaply - Back-to back slums of the future
• They do not conform to Building Regulations
• The most environmentally-damaging form of building
• Each house will have a septic tank discharging toxic effluent
into Hoi Ha’s sensitive environment.
• There is no such thing as an environmentally-friendly
septic tank.
25. River Valley is a Waterlogged Flood Plain
Streams overflow their banks in rainy season
30. Hoi Ha Lagoon – an OPEN SEWER
• This area is not flushed
regularly by the tides
• Toxic waste will
accumulate in the lagoon
• This is where Hoi Ha’s
main stand of mangroves
is found
• The mangroves and
marine life will be
adversely impacted by
waste from additional
septic tanks.
33. V-zone in front of the Village Temple is flooded in
the rainy season and becomes a seasonal marsh
34. Flooded areas are not suitable for
building or for siting septic tanks
• V-zone has a high groundwater table
• Much of the Hoi Ha V-zone is waterlogged all
the year round
• There are water plants in the V-zone
• Areas that are dry in the winter become
flooded/waterlogged in the rainy season
– Evidence of seasonal flooding and waterlogging
– Evidence of streams flowing after rainstorms
36. The river valley is too waterlogged for a septic tank – it does
not pass a percolation test.
The area should not be zoned as V-zone or Green Belt
– this is not suitable building land.
37. Guidance Notes on Discharges from
Village Houses
• Septic Tank Systems are not feasible in areas:
– Prone to flooding during storms
– With high groundwater tables
– Hoi Ha floods during storms
– Hoi Ha has a high groundwater table and is waterlogged
a) Permanently in some areas
b) Seasonally in others
HOI HA IS TOO WET AND WATERLOGGED FOR SEPTIC TANK
SYSTEMS - so why have these areas been zoned as V-zone and
Green Belt reservoirs of building land?
PLEASE ZONE AS CONSERVATION AREA
38. Consequences of allowing septic tanks
at Hoi Ha
Why are septic tanks toxic to the environment?
What do they discharge into the marshes, streams and sea?
• Bleaches
• Non-biodegradable detergents
• E-coli
• EDCs: Endocrine Disrupting Compounds
– Interfere with the sexuality of fish in the Marine Park
– Have already changed the sex of snails – finding female snails with penises.
– How will this affect humans in the future?
Life in the streams and in the marshland, in the inter-tidal areas and in the streams will be KILLED or
DAMAGED
Human reproduction could be compromised
Is it in the Public’s best interests to allow this devastation at Hoi Ha for the
sake of a minority private interest occasioned by the inherently corrupt
and anachronistic Small House Policy?
39. Hoi Ha has 96,000 visitors a year
They love HOI HA
Here are Hong Kong families looking for starfish and crabs
43. Death of a Marine Park
Hoi Ha has some of the cleanest waters in Hong
Kong thanks to the surrounding forest and
streams
This is why the marine life, including the
mangroves and corals, are in good shape.
This is why Hoi Ha is a tourist destination
ZONE FOR CONSERVATION NOT FOR BUILDING
The minimum requirement is Conservation Area
and Coastal Protection.
If you don’t, what will you do next once the
Marine Park is dying and the beaches are closed
to the public because of e-coli?
ARE YOU PLANNING ON DEGAZETTING THE
MARINE PARK?
WHAT IS IN THE PUBLIC’S BEST INTERESTS?
There will be public unrest if this area is
destroyed
44. Please save Hoi Ha for future generations
• EXTINCTION is FOREVER
• Please zone this beautiful wilderness area as Conservation Area
