5
6
7
8.1.1
Referring to the Sections 2.5 and 2.6
of this EIA report, the environmental and engineering considerations have been
identified and evaluated for Cavern Options 1-4 and Tunnel Options 1-8. The relocation site of Cavern Option 3 and the
tunnel portal adjacent to the Lion Rock Park Transit Nursey of Tunnel Option 8
are adopted and formed as the preferred options (Refer to Section 2.7). The
ecological impact assessment is assessed and evaluated based on the preferred
option.
8.1.2
This section presents an assessment of potential
direct and indirect ecological impacts associated with the construction and
operation of the Project. Mitigation measures to avoid, minimise and mitigate
the impacts have been recommended.
8.2.1
The EIA Study Brief No.: ESB-317/2019 for the
Project issued in June 2019 has stipulated the technical requirements for
ecological impact assessment (EcoIA), The aim of the ecological impact
assessment is to protect, maintain or rehabilitate the natural environment, in
particular, to avoid or minimise impacts on recognised sites of conservation
importance and other ecologically sensitive areas. The assessment is intended
to identify and quantify as far as possible the potential ecological impacts
arising from the construction and operation phases of the Project on the
natural environment and its associated wildlife and habitats or species.
8.3.1
A number of international conventions, local
legislation and guidelines provide the framework for the protection of species
and habitats of ecological importance. Those related to the Project include:
·
Wild
Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170), which protects wild animals listed
under the second schedule from being hunted, possession, sale or export,
disturbance of their nest or egg without permission by authorized officer
·
Protection
of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586), which
regulates the import, introduction from the sea, export, re-export, and
possession of specimens of a scheduled species, including live, dead, parts or
derivatives. The Ordinance applies to all activities involving endangered
species which include the parties of traders, tourists and individuals
·
EIAO
Guidance Notes NO. 6/2012, 7/2010, 10/2010 and 11/2010. These guidance
notes provide the observations on Ecological Assessment from the EIAO
perspective, providing the general guidelines for conducting an ecological
baseline survey for ecological assessment, introducing some methodologies in
conducting terrestrial and freshwater ecological baseline surveys, and
methodologies for marine ecological baseline surveys respectively
·
Country
Parks Ordinance (Cap. 208) which gives designation to country parks and
special areas to protect the vegetation and wildlife for the public enjoyment
·
Forests
and Countryside Ordinance (Cap.96) prohibits felling, cutting, burning or
destroying of trees and growing plants in forests and plantations on Government
land. Related subsidiary Regulations prohibit the selling or possession of
listed restricted and protected plant species. The list of protected species
in Hong Kong which comes under the Forestry Regulations was last
amended on 11 June 1993 under the Forestry (Amendment) Regulation 1993 made
under Section 3 of the Forests and Countryside
Ordinance.
·
Town
Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) which gives designation to conservation area,
green belts, sites of special scientific interest, coastal protection area, and
other specified uses to promote conservation, protection and education of the
valuable environment
·
Hong Kong
Planning Standards and Guidelines Chapter 10 (HKPSG) provides the
guidelines on landscape and conservation to achieve a balance between the need
for development and the need to minimise disruption of the landscape and
natural resources
·
The
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (the Bonn
Convention) is an intergovernmental treaty concluded under the aegis of the
United Nations Environment Programme concerned with the conservation of
wildlife and habitats on a global scale. Its aim is to conserve terrestrial,
marine and avian migratory species throughout their range
·
The IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognised as the most
comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status
of plant and animal species. The goal of the IUCN Red List is to provide
information and analyses on the status, trends and threats to species in order
to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation
·
Wild
Animal Protection Law of the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) is formulated
for the purpose of protecting and saving the species of wildlife which are rare
or near extinction, protecting, developing and rationally utilizing wildlife
resources and maintaining ecological balances
i.
Study Area
8.4.1
As stated in Section 3.4.8 of ESB-317/2019, the study
area for the purpose of terrestrial ecological impact assessment shall include
areas and LRCP within 500
metres distance from the boundary of the Project Area and any associated works
as well as any other area likely to be impacted by the Project.
8.4.2
The ecological impact assessment has been
conducted based on the preferred option.
ii.
Literature Review
8.4.3
The purpose of the literature review is to
identify existing information on the habitats and species present in Study Area.
The following studies and reports were reviewed to extract relevant information
on the flora and fauna present in these areas:
·
Final EIA Report for Shatin to Central Link –
Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section (Arup, 2011)
·
Baseline Ecological Survey Report – Relocation
of Diamond Hill Fresh Water and Salt Water Service Reservoirs to Caverns –
Feasibility Study (Mott MacDonald, 2017)
·
Baseline Ecological Survey and Assessment Report
– Relocation of Diamond Hill Fresh Water and Salt Water Service Reservoirs to
Caverns – Investigation, Design and Construction – Ecological Survey for Portal
Option near Lion Rock Park (AECOM, 2019)
8.4.4
Relevant literature that have been reviewed
include:
·
Hong Kong Biodiversity (AFCD Newsletter)
·
AFCD Unpublished Biodiversity Database (AFCD,
2002 to 2013)
·
Hong Kong Butterfly Inventory (Green Power Hong
Kong, 2008 to 2012)
·
Porcupine! (Newsletter of the Department of
Ecology and Biodiversity, Hong Kong University)
·
A Field Guide to the Terrestrial Mammals of Hong
Kong (Shek, 2006)
·
A Field Guide to the Amphibians of Hong Kong
(Chan et al., 2005)
·
Field Guide to the Dragonflies of Hong Kong, 2nd
Edition (Wilson, 2004)
·
Field Guide to the Freshwater Fish of Hong Kong
(Lee et al., 2004)
·
The Avifauna of Hong Kong (Carey et al., 2001)
·
Freshwater Fish in Hong Kong (Lam, 2002)
·
Hong Kong Bird Report (HKBWS, 2019)
LRCP
8.4.5
LRCP is one of the three earliest country parks
of Hong Kong. Designated on 24 June 1977, it covers a wide upland region set
between North Kowloon and Sha Tin. The park borders on Kam Shan Country Park to
the west by a boundary line on Tai Po Road, and commands a total area of 557
hectares (AFCD, 2019a). Lion Rock is a narrow mountain range stretching from
east to west. The southern slopes are abrupt with thin vegetation. By contrast,
the northern slopes are nourished by abundant streams, which in turn give rise
to flourishing flora.
8.4.6
The most common plants in LRCP are Chinese Red
Pine (Pinus massoniana), Strawberry
Tree (Myrica rubra), Chinese Hackberry (Celtis sinensis), Microcos (Microcos
paniculate), Fishpole Bamboo (Phyllostachys
aurea), Incense Tree (Aquilaria sinensis),
Ivy Tree (Schefflera heptaphylla),
Chinese New Year Flower (Enkianthus
quinqueflorus) and various Melastoma species. In one particular gap known
as Strawberry Tree Pass, Strawberry Trees (Myrica
rubra) flourish, while valleys and ravines in the park support great
numbers of shrubs and ferns. Dedicated cultivation and maintenance over the
decades have transformed these hills into thriving mixed forests of introduced
and native species (AFCD, 2019a).
8.4.7
Several habitats identified in the ecological
survey for the feasibility study of the current Project (Mott MacDonald, 2017)
and ecological survey for portal option near Lion Rock Park (AECOM, 2019)
partially overlap with the Study Area of the current Project. The habitats
identified by Mott MacDonald (2017) include woodland, shrubland, plantation,
stream and developed area. Habitats identified by AECOM (2019) include mixed
woodland, plantation, developed area and landscaped area. Both woodland and
mixed woodland are identified as secondary woodland for the current Project
while the landscaped area identified by AECOM (2019) forms part of the
plantation habitat of Lion Rock Park and developed area on the other side of
Chuk Yuen Road in the current Project.
8.4.8
Secondary woodland is found at the western
periphery of the Study Area on hill slopes adjacent to Lion Rock Upper Village
north of Lion Rock Park and north of Chuk Yuen North Estate and Pang Ching
Court. It is found in the northernmost part of the Study Area, above the trail
leading to the Reunification Pavilion within the LRCP. Most parts of this habitat are relatively
natural and dominated by native species in the understory, where it supports
moderate to high structural complexity with continuous canopy. The top layer of
the canopy is occasionally covered by exotic tree species commonly used for
tree plantation such as Acacia
auriculiformis and Lophostemon
confertus while the mid-layer is dominated by native tree species such as Celtis sinensis and Sterculia lanceolate (Mott MacDonald, 2017). Such differential
dominance of different canopy layers suggests that at least some part of this
habitat was once a tree plantation but has undergone substantial changes of
becoming a relatively natural woodland (Mott MacDonald, 2017). The tree canopy
consists mostly of semi-mature trees with heights mainly ranges from 12 to 15 m
and some mature trees up to about 25 m in height. Signs of human disturbance
are evident, particularly at the edges adjacent to roads, footpaths and
plantation area where exotic species commonly used for landscape planting are
commonly observed. Overall, this habitat supports a moderate to high floristic
diversity in the tree, shrub and herbaceous layers with 150 floral species
recorded.
8.4.9
Three floral species of conservation interest
were recorded in this habitat including Small Persimmon
(Diospyros vaccinioides), Incense
Tree (Aquilaria sinensis) and Hong
Kong Pavetta (Pavetta hongkongnensis).
Diospyros vaccinioides was recorded
in the secondary woodland northeast of Ma Chai Hang Fresh Water Service
Reservoir (FWSR) and in the shrubland at Sha Tin Pass Road (Mott MacDonald,
2017). Aquilaria sinensis was
recorded in the secondary woodland next to Lion Rock Park and Pavetta hongkongnensis was recorded on
the hillslope near the northern portal location at Lion Rock Park (AECOM,
2019).
8.4.10
Plantation mainly comprises the roadside amenity
landscaped areas and vegetated engineered slopes, usually between developed
areas and relatively natural hillslopes. It is mainly scattered in the southern
half of the Study Area. Within the Study Area, plantation mainly covers the
engineered slope north of Chuk Yuen North Estate and Pang Ching Court. This
habitat is characterised by high vegetation coverage with some paved
maintenance access or footpaths. Vegetation within roadside amenity areas is
mostly regularly maintained landscape planting such as lawn, shrubs and tree
planting while tree plantation on engineered slopes are mostly semi-mature
trees with heights ranging from 10 to 15m with an understorey shrub layer
co-dominated by exotic landscape species and self-seeded native species. This
habitat supports a moderate to high floristic diversity in the tree and shrub
layers with 135 floral species recorded (Mott MacDonald, 2017; AECOM, 2019).
8.4.11
Shrubland is the dominant habitat in the
northern and northwestern part of the Study Area. This habitat is dominated by
shrubs below 1.5 m with some scattered trees. Rock outcrop is often observed in
this habitat, indicating that this habitat is characterised by thin soil which
probably limits the development of trees. This habitat supports a moderate to
high floristic diversity in the shrub and herbaceous layers with 147 floral
species recorded (Mott MacDonald, 2017).
8.4.12
Two floral species of conservation interest,
namely Small Persimmon (Diospyros vaccinioides) and Red Azalea (Rhododendron simsii), were recorded in this habitat within the Study
Area. Diospyros vaccinioides was
observed adjacent to Shatin Pass Road at the edge of the shrubland habitat and Rhododendron simsii was recorded
adjacent to the footpath leading to the Lion Rock within the LRCP boundary.
8.4.13
Several stream courses are found within the
northern part of the Study Area running from north to south, but most of them
were only seasonal with no water flow observed even in wet season (Mott
MacDonald, 2017).
8.4.14
The stream courses are largely natural with
width of 1.5 to 2.5 m. A mixture of boulders, cobbles and sand is the common
substrate in the stream bed of most stream sections, while some short sections
are modified with hard paving near some of the confluences or decked over by
road structure. For the two stream courses with persistent flow where aquatic
fauna survey was conducted, both of them are largely natural with modified
sections near Shatin Pass Road.
8.4.15
This habitat supports a low floristic diversity
with 29 floral species recorded. Floral species of conservation interest, Diospyros
vaccinioides, was recorded in
the riparian zone of a stream adjacent to Shatin Pass Road at the northeastern
periphery of the Study Area.
8.4.16
Developed area mainly includes urban areas
dominated by residential development within the Study Area. A temple and the
existing DHSRs, part of which is for leisure recreational use with an urban
park setting, are also found in the Study Area. This habitat is characterised
by largely paved areas and building structures. Most of the vegetated areas in
this habitat are purposively planted and regularly maintained, which include
public recreational areas such as playgrounds and roadside amenity planting.
8.4.17
Because of the use of different landscape
species for planting in various areas, this habitat supports a high floristic
diversity and comprise common species (Mott MacDonald, 2017). No floral species
of conservation interest was recorded in this habitat (Mott MacDonald, 2017;
AECOM, 2019).