ARTICLES
TRADITIONAL DWELLINGS, CONSERVATION AND LAND USE:
A STUDY OF THREE VILLAGES IN SAI KUNG, HONG KONG
SIDNEY CHEUNG
1
Introduction
In this paper, I seek to explain the historical backgrounds of three indigenous Hakka villages in Sai Kung district, the north-eastern side of the New Territories, in order to explore some current problems that these traditional settlements have been facing and the relevant complicated situation of conservation and land use in Hong Kong nowadays. Through the examination of Hong Kong's rural development and different roles played by several groups including indigenous inhabitants, government, developers and environmentalist, this paper aims to provide a holistic understanding of land administration in which tourism, conservation, rights of local inhabitants, natural landscape, heritage preservation, and environmental consciousness are involved. Finally, by investigating relations between local culture and ecological concerns, I will try to discern the local practices of conservation and environmentalism and their relevance to the process of globalization in contemporary Hong Kong society.
In recent years, anthropologists have called for increased involvement of the discipline in policy matters and have shown significant contributions in decision-making related to social and cultural issues. Under the titles of anthropology of policy, environmental politics, ethnoecology, and environmentalism, anthropologists attempt not only to study the discourses and diverse interpretation of development of the Third World,1 but also the public policy of environment and sustainable development in different countries.2 Studying development as a discourse helps us to explore the contested meaning of development given by various players, stakeholders, agencies, and organization; moreover, as a policy study, it aims for the examination of localization of global processes in today's world. Therefore, the relations between conservation and land
ARTICLES
TRADITIONAL DWELLINGS, CONSERVATION AND LAND USE:
A STUDY OF THREE VILLAGES IN SAI KUNG, HONG KONG
SIDNEY CHEUNG
1
Introduction
In this paper, I seek to explain the historical backgrounds of three indigenous Hakka villages in Sai Kung district, the north-eastern side of the New Territories, in order to explore some current problems that these traditional settlements have been facing and the relevant complicated situation of conservation and land use in Hong Kong nowadays. Through the examination of Hong Kong's rural development and different roles played by several groups including indigenous inhabitants, government, developers and environmentalist, this paper aims to provide a holistic understanding of land administration in which tourism, conservation, rights of local inhabitants, natural landscape, heritage preservation, and environmental consciousness are involved. Finally, by investigating relations between local culture and ecological concerns, I will try to discern the local practices of conservation and environmentalism and their relevance to the process of globalization in contemporary Hong Kong society.
In recent years, anthropologists have called for increased involvement of the discipline in policy matters and have shown significant contributions in decision-making related to social and cultural issues. Under the titles of anthropology of policy, environmental politics, ethnoecology, and environmentalism, anthropologists attempt not only to study the discourses and diverse interpretation of development of the Third World,' but also the public policy of environment and sustainable development in different countries.2 Studying development as a discourse helps us to explore the contested meaning of development given by various players, stakeholders, agencies, and organization; moreover, as a policy study, it aims for the examination of localization of global processes in today's world. Therefore, the relations between conservation and land
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