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1. Developer forcing rare bird from wetlands: green group

1. Developer forcing rare bird from wetlands: green group

Tycoon Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong (Holdings) has been accused by a green group of forcing a rare species of bird out of its environment by covering wetlands at its Yuen Long site with carpet. The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society's conservation officer Carrie Ma Ka-wai said a marsh site owned by Cheung Kong, near the Kam Tin Mung Yeung Public School, had previously been used as a breeding ground by the rare painted snipe. She said that the wetlands had previously attracted more than 30 varieties of birds but recently they had all disappeared from the site, about the size of a football pitch. The area is now covered by a blue carpet with a spread of potted plants. Under the terms of the deed, the site has been listed by the government for agricultural purposes only. "Now I can't even see a wetland any more,'' Ms Ma said. She said it was painful to see the damage done to the wetlands and she feared that Cheung Kong intended to change the use of the land and would not preserve the area. Painted snipes are one of many rare bird species living in the Kam Tin Valley in the northwest New Territories. In August last year, Kowloon-Canton Railway made a report to the Environmental Protection saying the site had been drained, sprayed with insecticide and had all the plants removed. Cheung Kong was accused of being responsible for all the damage. The company was not available to comment last night.

[Source: HK-iMail, 26 September 2001]