Wetlands Lament

Above: BEFORE. Halcyon days of yore, etc. A part of the interlinked Pui O wetlands in 2012. A lovely, lush vista scattered with grazing water buffalo,

egrets, starlings and other creatures, even fish have seen fit to elbow their way into the water grooves dug by the buffalo. Fast forward to 2015 and:

A rain shelter, a washing machine, metal fences everywhere (to keep what? Who? Out of a dense copse of trees) and of course lots and lots of concrete plus some house-like structures. NOT permanent, you understand. That would be against the law. Because this is, amazingly, all legal! Courtesy of the Environmental Protection Department.

Now, however, egged on by the dumping all around, some people have found it easier not to bother with the applications to dump. Why not? It will only be approved anyway. This is the result:

We must save the Pui O wetlands, unique in the world and certainly in Hong Kong. But how? Suggestions welcome.

白鷺 – Bak lou (egret)
水牛 – Seoi au (water buffalo)
環保署 – Wan bou jyu (environmental “protection” department)