英譯概念：Land Development
【明報專訊】Both the construction of public housing and the future development of the Northern Metropolis plan are related to land development. Land development is regulated by relevant ordinances, and conservation needs and compensation for land acquisition must also be considered.
Many years ago, the government set aside an area of about 500 metres in width and 1,000 hectares in area at the edge of the Deep Bay Wetland Conservation Area (后海灣濕地保育區) as a wetland buffer zone. According to the planning guidelines, no development should be pursued in the buffer zone unless an ecological impact assessment had been done.
The Development Bureau stated in 2022 that the Planning Department was reviewing the planning guidelines for the development of the Deep Bay Wetland and the wetland buffer zone with the aim of balancing conservation and development. The goal is to come up with a simplified planning procedure that is compatible with the surrounding environment without compromising the development of the wetland.
Since mid-2021, the Conservancy Association has discovered successive pond filling activities at Shan Pui Tsuen, Yuen Long, within the wetland buffer zone. Two large fishponds with a total of about 5.6 hectares (equivalent to about 6 Hong Kong Stadiums) were suspected to have been dumped with waste. The Conservancy Association said that the two fishponds are home to black-faced spoonbills in winter. However, the fishponds have been designated as a rural development area and have been threatened by development for many years. The association called on the government to take the initiative to designate planning purposes for lands with ecological value when reviewing the wetland buffer zone planning guidelines.
■Mock examination question
Name two factors that the government needs to consider when amending the relevant ordinances on land development. Explain your answer based on the information and your knowledge.
(4 marks)
1. Procedural justice
When the government revises ordinances related to land development, it needs to consider whether the amendments are in line with procedural justice. For example, it is necessary to conduct public consultation exercises in accordance with the law and relevant guidelines so as to avoid reducing public participation and harming the public interest.
2. Conservation needs
When the government revises the relevant regulations on land development, it needs to consider whether the amendments can protect places of high ecological value. According to the information, the Conservancy Association has discovered pond filling activities in Shan Pui Tsuen, which is located in the wetland buffer zone, since mid-2021. The association has pointed out that the filled fishponds have ecological value, but they were designated as a rural-style development area many years ago and are threatened by development. The information shows that many ecologically valuable lands are currently threatened by development. When the government revises the relevant ordinances on land development, it should consider how to protect the ecologically valuable lands.
(本刊刊出的文章若提出批評，旨在指出相關制度、政策或措施存在錯誤或缺點，目的是促使矯正或消除這些錯誤或缺點，循合法途徑予以改善，絕無意圖煽動他人對政府或其他社群產生憎恨、不滿或敵意。)
[智學公民 第034期]
