President, 40% of Hong Kong’s land belong to country parks, and as the Government has said in the main reply, about 13 million visitors to country parks were recorded in 2012. May I ask if the number is on the rise or on the decline? And given that country parks are important asset to Hong Kong, how does the Government promote greater utilization of country parks?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr CHAN for his supplementary question. According to the data of the past few years in hand, the average number of visitors was about 13 million per year. The number is pretty stable and no significant changes have been recorded. I think the Member was asking how the Government could attract more residents or tourists to enjoy such magnificent rural places through various programmes. As I have just said, the AFCD has launched various publicity campaigns to encourage people to visit the country parks, including the annual educational programmes that we organized jointly with schools and youth organizations. Through these programmes, tens of thousands of young people can use country park facilities, and enhance their knowledge about conservation and country parks.
Furthermore, to achieve this end, we will launch a series of publicity activities similar to that of geoparks. The abovementioned Tai Long Sai Wan is an example. While we propose to include it into the country park area, we also encourage local villagers and relevant non-profit organizations to join hands with the Government to develop green tourism by injecting capital into the Management Agreements Scheme under the Environment and Conservation Fund. This will bring benefits to the local people and enhance the value of the area, as well as provide enjoyment for the public.