WWF’s letter to The Ombudsman

The Ombudsman has launched an investigation into possible inadequacies of the several government departments – including Environmental Protection Department (EPD), Planning Department (PlanD), and Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) –  in handling illegal landfilling and fly-tipping on private land.

To facilitate the investigation, WWF-Hong Kong’s environmental watchdog team, which has documented and reported to the authorities many new incidents of environmental vandalism in rural areas, have compiled and sent our case studies and opinions to The Ombudsman.

WWF is concerned that some ecologically important sites located on private land such as the Tsim Bei Tsui and Mai Po Ramsar Site have been degraded by landfilling (including filling of fish ponds) and fly tipping. These dumping activities cause serious damage to the environment and biodiversity, whilst the use of construction and demolition waste in pond filling can contaminate the water body and the fish within, posing possible risk to human health.

We strongly believe that the government departments need to be more proactive and work in tandem to quickly and effectively deter such illegal activities and stop further destruction of our natural environment

Click HERE to read WWF’s letter to The Ombudsman

Click HERE to read WWF’s Deep Bay Unauthorized Development Report (Chinese only).