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Recent Developments
The Government formally re-adopted a forestry policy in 1953, the aims of which were to afforest the waste hills of the Colony, many of which were eroded and bare and as such were a threat to effective water catchment; to manage the forest so that it would produce a sustained yield of poles, fuel and small timber; to encourage private forestry and assist the villagers in the New Territories to establish and manage their plantations. By 1963 there were about 10,000 acres (4166 ha.) of Government plantations and around 2,000 acres (833 ha.) of Government-assisted village plantations. The erosion control planting in particular was often on a heroic scale, and it is this planting which characterizes much of Hong Kong's Country Parks today.
Around this time, however, the programme was scaled down considerably. The village population was declining as people emigrated or moved to the urban areas; the demand for wood fuel was declining as alternatives became available; and the problem of hillfires was as serious as ever. In 1966-67, the area of Government coniferous forest alone which was burned was 1,265 acres (527 ha.), and village plantations and naturally regenerating woodland also suffered. From 1970 to 1985, the total number of trees killed exceeded those planted, and the total area affected by fire was nearly twice as large as the woodland cover in 1985. In the event, the total planting programme was reduced, and the replanting of village woodlands was discontinued (Daley 1975).
For better facilities for informal "countryside" activities, such as walking and observing wildlife, more effective management of the hill areas was required. In 1977, the first Country Park was established in Hong Kong (Neil & Harding, 1983). Some 40% of the area of Hong Kong and the New Territories, covering most of the upland area, had been designated under 21 Country Parks by 1979. Under the Country Parks Ordinance, all development within the Country Parks is strictly controlled. As well as the Parks, the conservation framework in Hong Kong includes 13 special areas and 37 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which are sites chosen for their rare flora, fauna, and geology, or because of special educational, archaeological, or historic interest.
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, which manage the