Long Valley ( Chinese: 塱原) is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

Sheung Shui Sheung Shui (, literally "Above-water") is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Sheung Shui Town, a part of this area, is part of the Fanling–Sheung Shui New Town in the North District of Hong Kong. Fanling Town is to its southeast ...

of the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The wetland was originally formed by the

rice paddies A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Aust ...

between

Shek Sheung River The Shek Sheung River (; also known as River Sutlej), is a river in northern New Territories, Hong Kong. The river originates near Choi Po Court and Hong Kong Golf Club then flows beside the East Rail line before discharging into the Ng Tung Rive ...

and

Sheung Yue River The Sheung Yue River (; Hong Kong Hakka: ''Sung1ng2 Ho2''; also known as the River Beas) is a river in the northern New Territories, Hong Kong. Its sources are near Kai Kung Leng and Ki Lun Shan, where numerous streams flow into the river. It flo ...

. It is the last agricultural wetland in Hong Kong. Long Valley became notable in Hong Kong when the

Kowloon–Canton Railway The Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR; ) was a railway network in Hong Kong.Legislative Council information paper CB(1)357/07-08(0 THB(T) CR 8/986/00, CB(1)1749/07-08(0/ref> It was owned and operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC ...

proposed building the

Lok Ma Chau Spur Line The Lok Ma Chau Spur Line is the second railway link between Hong Kong and Mainland China, relieving passenger congestion at Lo Wu station. The alignment branches off the existing MTR East Rail line north of Sheung Shui station and then ru ...

across it. This proposal aroused great concern from the

Conservancy Association The Conservancy Association () is a Hong Kong non-governmental organisation founded in 1968. The organisation focuses on the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural and cultural heritage. It also seeks to enhance the qu ...

, and other Hong Kong environmental groups that the construction would greatly affect the habitats of the wetland, including waterfowl and water levels. The Conservancy Association launched the "Save Long Valley" campaign and wrote many letters to various Hong Kong government officials urging them to scrap the proposed spur line. Several methods thereafter proposed included a flyover or a tunnel under the wetland. The KCR initially adopted a hostile, non-conciliatory attitude towards environmentalist demands and eventually changed course after failing to get a permit from the

Environmental Protection Department Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is a department of Hong Kong Government concerning the issues of environmental protection in Hong Kong.The EPD is responsible for developing policies covering environmental protection, nature conser ...

. It was finally decided to tunnel under the wetland at great cost. During the process of public discussion, private land owners strongly criticized environmental groups, whom they feared could threaten their personal interests. Local farmers and tenants, however, feared for the loss of their own means of income and lifestyle, despite their age. Subsequent to the revised proposal several key projects were initiated to improve the quality of Long Valley. Among these The

(https://www.cahk.org.hk/) began a sustainable development project that would unify social, economic and environmental concerns. These included helping farmers shift from traditional farming practices to organic farming, organizing ecotours to educate the public about Long Valley and restoring abandoned lands to various types of wetlands.

Notable people

* Lam Chiu Ying, S.B.S, Chairman,

Hong Kong Bird Watching Society The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society (HKBWS) is an environmental non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in Hong Kong, a territory on the southern coast of China. It is a BirdLife International affil ...

* Dr.

Ng Cho-nam Ng Cho-nam (, August 15, 1960 – December 13, 2019), , was a Hong Kong environmental studies scholar and conservationist who taught as an associate professor within the Department of Geography at the University of Hong Kong. He served as a top ad ...

, S.B.S, J.P, former Director of The

* Mike Kilburn, former Chairman of the conservation committee,

References

External links

Aerial Image from Google Maps
Sheung Shui Places in Hong Kong {{HongKong-geo-stub Nature conservation in Hong Kong

Notable people

See also

References

External links