The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement on Friday that in the fourth quarter it will start its hills and forest ecology repair plan, adding that it plans to plant 15,000 seedlings.
According to the statement, in recent years the city has experienced a few super typhoons that caused serious damage to the hills and forests in Macau, and over 500,000 trees experienced different levels of damage. The statement said that the bureau has been carrying out its repair plan since 2018. The statement said that some Taiwan Acacia and Casuarina trees are getting old, therefore the bureau decided to replace them with some local species.
The statement said that the plan has been divided into two phases, noting that from 2018 to 2020 the bureau completed the first phase, which is emergency ecology repair. The statement noted that during the first phase, bureau officials cleared a total of 40 hectares of damaged trees located within five to 10 metres of hiking trails. The statement also said that 40,000 seedlings were planted during the first phase, forming a “forest community” which is dominated by native broad-leaved trees.
The statement said that as the first phase is completed, the bureau is ready to start with its second phase, which focuses on Hac Sa Reservoir and Taipa Grande.
The statement said that in the fourth quarter the bureau plans to keep the existing trees and plants in the area but will also add 15,000 seedlings from different species to the forest. The statement underlined that the bureau strives to finish repairing 120 hectares of land by 2024.
This undated handout photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Friday shows a forest area undergoing ecological repairs.
