For hundreds of years, Sha Lo Tung was an ecologically rich area with lush green hills, clear streams, extensive terraced fields and farmlands. But since the 1970s, when a large number of villagers left and abandoned their farmlands – and especially in the last 20 years, the environment was repeatedly damaged, leaving Sha Lo Tung to become dried wetland and hectares of weeds. In 2017, the government agreed to “non-in-situ land exchange” to repossess the private lands at Sha Lo Tung.
As it will take time to implement the “non-in-situ land exchange”, The Environment and Conservation Fund approved the Management Agreement, “Habitat and Biodiversity Conservation Scheme in Sha Lo Tung” to speed up ecological recovery of Sha Lo Tung. Since 2020, the Management Agreement in Sha Lo Tung has been supported by the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme. Green Power is responsible for the rehabilitation work - starting a new chapter in the conservation of Sha Lo Tung.
Sha Lo Tung covers an area of 55 hectares, 11.45 of which are included in the Management Agreement. This area includes private lands surrounding Cheung Uk and Lee Uk, and there are several habitats – marshes, abandoned farmlands, woodlands, rivers, etc. Parts of the area are still pristine, while others have lost their ecological functions due to abandonment and anthropogenic damage.
Through various reconstruction efforts, we aim to restore the past ecological richness of Hong Kong’s rare valley wetland:
